Maria Guerrero, Psy.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Maria Guerrero earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Yeshiva University and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from St. John’s University.

Before joining the Bio Behavioral Institute, she completed externships at NYU’s Child Study Center, Northwell Health’s Behavioral Health College Partnership Program, and Great Neck North High School. Dr. Guerrero has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults, treating a broad range of disorders including OCD and related disorders, anxiety, depression, and personality disorders.

She integrates Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and acceptance-based strategies and takes a compassionate, validating approach to therapy. Her doctoral research focused on fostering resilience in children to help buffer psychological distress.

February 23, 2026

What Are DBT Skills? The Four Core Skill Sets That Help You Manage Intense Emotions

Learn about the four core DBT skills — mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness — and how dialectical behavior therapy can help you manage intense emotions.

February 21, 2026

When Anxiety and OCD Cause School Refusal: What Parents Need to Know

For most children who refuse school, anxiety or unrecognized OCD is the root cause. Learn how separation anxiety, social anxiety, contamination OCD, and other conditions drive school avoidance—and what evidence-based treatment looks like.

February 19, 2026

What Is School Refusal? A Parent's Guide to Understanding School Avoidance

School refusal affects 2-5% of children and is driven by anxiety, not defiance. Learn to recognize the signs, understand the four functions behind school avoidance, and know when to seek professional help.

February 11, 2026

Sensorimotor OCD: When You Can’t Stop Noticing Your Own Body

You’re lying in bed, and suddenly you notice your breathing. Not because anything is wrong—but because your brain has decided, for no clear reason, that breathing is something you need to monitor.

February 9, 2026

Just Right OCD: Understanding “Not Just Right” Experiences and Finding Relief

If you’ve ever spent an hour rereading the same paragraph because it didn’t feel “complete,” or walked through a doorway multiple times until the sensation was “right,” you know how exhausting and isolating this experience can be. You’re not alone—and what you’re experiencing has a name.

April 3, 2024

Autism: A Tik Tok Trend or a Missed Diagnosis?

Many adults question a missed ASD diagnosis due to difficulties with social cues, humor, and routine rigidity. Seeking a professional diagnosis offers better self-understanding and access to support services to improve social and personal functioning.

September 9, 2025

OCD and School Refusal

School refusal is an anxiety-driven avoidance symptom of OCD in students, often mistaken for defiance. Combatting it requires understanding the cause, home and school collaboration, and seeking specialized OCD treatment.

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