Voted Best Psychologist in Sarasota

The psychologists at Davenport Psychology were voted Best Psychologist/Therapist in Sarasota, FL by the readers of SRQ Magazine’s Best of SRQ Local Competition 2025. Our Venice office has also been honored as Best Psychologist in Venice for four consecutive years (2021–2024) by the Venice Gondolier Sun.

These community-voted awards reflect the trust that Sarasota and Venice families place in our doctoral-level psychologists to provide evidence-based care for the challenges that matter most — from anxiety and relationship struggles to comprehensive psychological testing.

What Makes Davenport Psychology the Community’s Choice

Winning the Best of SRQ award is meaningful because it comes directly from the community we serve. SRQ Magazine’s readers chose Davenport Psychology from among dozens of mental health practices in Sarasota County, recognizing the qualities that set our practice apart.

Every clinician at Davenport Psychology holds a doctoral degree in psychology — a Psy.D. or Ph.D. — with five to seven years of graduate-level clinical training beyond a bachelor’s degree. This level of education equips our team of psychologists with specialized diagnostic abilities, advanced clinical assessment skills, and access to treatment approaches that require doctoral-level training.

In Florida, psychologists are one of only two mental health professions — along with psychiatrists — that require a doctoral degree for licensure (Florida Board of Psychology, n.d.). When patients choose our practice, they receive care from providers whose credentials represent the highest standard of training in the mental health field.

Our Commitment to Sarasota’s Mental Health

Since 2018, Davenport Psychology has been committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based care to individuals, couples, and families throughout the greater Sarasota area. Our Sarasota office in historic Laurel Park near Burns Court provides a private, welcoming environment for patients from Downtown Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Longboat Key, and surrounding communities.

Our comprehensive psychological services include individual therapy for adults navigating anxiety, depression, career stress, and life transitions; couples counseling using research-supported methods such as the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy; child and adolescent therapy for young people ages 5–17; and full psychoeducational testing for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, and giftedness.

Rather than employing a single therapeutic model, our psychologists are trained across multiple evidence-based approaches — including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and trauma-focused interventions. Each treatment plan is individualized based on a thorough clinical assessment of the patient’s strengths, challenges, and personal goals (American Psychological Association, 2019).

Serving the Unique Needs of the Sarasota Community

Sarasota’s population includes young professionals building careers downtown, families navigating the pressures of high-achievement schools like Pine View and Out-of-Door Academy, retirees adjusting to a new chapter of life, and seasonal residents managing the transitions between their Florida and northern homes. Each of these populations faces distinct mental health challenges, and our psychologists bring specialized expertise to meet them.

For adults, we provide confidential support for career burnout, relationship difficulties, anxiety disorders, and major life transitions — common concerns in a vibrant city where professional demands and social expectations can create significant psychological pressure. Research consistently shows that early intervention with a qualified psychologist leads to better outcomes and shorter treatment durations (Cuijpers et al., 2019).

For children and adolescents, our child psychologists understand the unique academic, social, and emotional pressures facing Sarasota’s young people. From gifted program expectations and standardized testing anxiety to social media challenges and peer conflict, our clinicians provide developmentally appropriate, evidence-based interventions that help young people build resilience and emotional regulation skills (Weisz et al., 2017).

Our psychological testing services serve as a regional resource. Families from Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties choose our doctoral-level expertise for comprehensive evaluations, including ADHD assessments, autism spectrum evaluations, learning disability testing, and gifted identification. These evaluations provide diagnostic clarity and detailed recommendations that inform treatment planning, school accommodations, and educational placement decisions (American Psychological Association, 2020).

Why Doctoral-Level Care Matters

When you are searching for a psychologist in Sarasota, the provider’s level of training matters. Doctoral programs in clinical psychology require four to five years of intensive graduate coursework in psychopathology, neuropsychology, research methods, assessment, and advanced therapeutic techniques — followed by a supervised predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship. This training produces clinicians who can not only provide therapy but also conduct comprehensive psychological testing, formulate complex differential diagnoses, and design treatment plans grounded in the scientific literature.

By contrast, master’s-level providers — including Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) — complete two to three years of graduate training. While these professionals provide valuable services, their scope of practice does not typically include psychological testing, formal diagnostic assessment, or the depth of clinical training that characterizes doctoral-level practice.

At Davenport Psychology, every patient works with a doctoral-level psychologist. Our patients benefit from the clinical depth, diagnostic precision, and breadth of training that this education provides. When your mental health matters, credentials matter.

Visit Our Award-Winning Sarasota Office

Our Sarasota office is located in the heart of historic Laurel Park near Burns Court:

Davenport Psychology
1608 Oak Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 702-2457

We also serve South Sarasota County from our Venice office at 200 Capri Isles Blvd, Ste 7G, Venice, FL 34292.

Both offices offer flexible scheduling including early morning, evening, and Saturday appointments. For patients who cannot visit in person, we offer secure telehealth services throughout Florida and over 40 PSYPACT states.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to be voted Best Psychologist in Sarasota?

The Best of SRQ award is determined by a public vote conducted by SRQ Magazine, a respected Sarasota-area publication. Readers nominate and vote for their preferred local businesses and professionals across dozens of categories. Being voted Best Psychologist/Therapist reflects the trust and satisfaction that our community feels toward Davenport Psychology’s approach to care. You can verify our award through SRQ Magazine’s published results.

What is the difference between a psychologist and a therapist in Florida?

In Florida, “therapist” is a broad term that can refer to any licensed mental health provider, including Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) who hold master’s degrees. A psychologist holds a doctoral degree (Psy.D. or Ph.D.) with five to seven years of graduate training, including supervised clinical hours and a doctoral dissertation. Psychologists can provide both therapy and psychological testing — a service that master’s-level therapists are not licensed to perform. At Davenport Psychology, all providers hold doctoral degrees.

What types of therapy do your Sarasota psychologists provide?

Our psychologists provide individual therapy, couples counseling, child and adolescent therapy, family therapy, and comprehensive psychological testing. We use evidence-based approaches including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Gottman Method for couples, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), trauma-focused CBT, play therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. View our full range of psychological services.

Do you accept insurance at your Sarasota office?

Davenport Psychology operates as an independent practice to maintain the highest quality of care without insurance company restrictions on treatment length, frequency, or therapeutic approach. We provide detailed superbills for patients with out-of-network benefits. This model ensures your treatment is guided solely by clinical need — not insurance limitations.

How do I schedule an appointment with a psychologist in Sarasota?

You can schedule a confidential consultation by calling (941) 702-2457 or by completing the intake form on our website. Our intake coordinator will match you with the psychologist whose expertise best fits your specific needs and goals. Contact our Sarasota office to get started.

References

American Psychological Association. (2019). Clinical practice guideline for the treatment of depression across three age cohorts. APA Guidelines. https://www.apa.org/depression-guideline

American Psychological Association. (2020). APA guidelines for psychological assessment and evaluation. APA. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-psychological-assessment-evaluation

Cuijpers, P., Reijnders, M., & Huibers, M. J. H. (2019). The role of common factors in psychotherapy outcomes. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 207–231. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095424

Florida Board of Psychology. (n.d.). Licensure requirements. Florida Department of Health. https://floridaspsychology.gov/psychologist

Weisz, J. R., Kuppens, S., Ng, M. Y., et al. (2017). What five decades of research tells us about the effects of youth psychological therapy. American Psychologist, 72(2), 79–117. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040360