Dr. Pytal’s area of expertise is public safety psychology. She earned a Diplomate in Police Psychology awarded by the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology.  Prior to opening her practice in Northern New Jersey, she provided psychological services to the men and women of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department.

As a former law enforcement officer, she knows that the needs of first responders are unique. She is familiar with the organizational dynamics in law enforcement agencies as well as the police culture. She understands the unique stressors and working conditions law enforcement officers face on a daily basis. Shift work, longer hours, and the hazards of public safety also have disruptive effects on families.

She has presented at the 2018 Society for Police and Criminal Psychology 44th Annual Conference in Sarasota, Florida, at the 2018 Concerns of Police Survivors’ Adult Children’s Retreat, Potosi, Missouri, at the 2018 Concerns of Police Survivors National Survivors’ Conference at Police Week in Alexandria, Virginia, at the 2017 Symposium hosted by PEEL Institute at the Bergen County, New Jersey Sheriff’s Office, and at the 2016 Concerns of Police Survivors National Conference on Law Enforcement Wellness and Trauma in Grapevine, Texas. Additionally, she teaches a class on mental health for the Essex County New Jersey Crisis Intervention Training.