Meet Dr. Gabriela Metzler | Licensed Clinical and School Psychologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Gabriela Metzler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Gabriela, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I run a private practice for families seeking psycho-educational assessments and/or IEP coaching. My thought process was really driven by a sense of unmet need and a desire for deeper impact. As a school psychologist, I saw firsthand the systemic barriers and the sheer volume of students needing support. Naturally, the goal of school systems is to promote education, but I often wanted to focus more on the family and dive deep into their needs. The solutions often felt too distant from the individual impact that I wanted to see, and I saw families struggle to interact with the school in any meaningful way. Even worse: many children fall through the gaps because schools are naturally meant to capture the most severe needs. Starting my private practice was about blending the best of both worlds: taking the rigorous, evidence-based knowledge from my extensive training and delivering it directly, flexibly, and effectively to students and their families. Specifically, I realized there was a critical shortage of practitioners who could offer both high-quality, specialized assessments for developmental differences (like ADHD, ASD, and dyslexia) AND the crucial IEP and 504 coaching necessary to translate those findings into real-world educational support. It was a conscious move from institutional service to personalized, expert-driven care.

What should our readers know about your business?
My journey to founding this practice was a calculated pivot, not a straight line. As a school psychologist, I observed firsthand how systemic limitations, like rushed assessments and inconsistent follow-through, often failed students. Although I am naturally risk-averse, the sheer necessity of filling this critical gap became a strong driver, compelling me to step away from institutional constraints.

What truly sets us apart is our commitment to the full circle of service: Clarity and Advocacy. Most practices offer either assessment or coaching, but we seamlessly integrate both. We provide definitive, gold-standard assessments for developmental disabilities (ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, etc.), applying our expertise to give families objective data and confident understanding. Crucially, we then follow through with IEP and 504 coaching, actively ensuring those findings translate into the legally entitled accommodations at school. This integrated strategy moves families immediately from confusion to clear action.

The biggest challenge in this journey was psychological: conquering my own initial risk aversion. I overcame this by treating the business problem analytically, meticulously studying the market and making data-driven decisions. My primary lesson learned has been that Clinical Integrity must always be met: if we focus on delivering gold-standard service, the business will follow, and shortcuts are never an option. Furthermore, I learned that perfection is the enemy of progress. You have to launch, iterate, and refine based on the real-world needs of the families you serve.

What excites me most is the fundamental shift our work creates in family dynamics: replacing years of stress and self-doubt with definitive clarity and hope. Ultimately, we bring insights to the confusion of childhood learning and behavior, ensuring every child has the clear, actionable path to success they deserve.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a Colorado native who grew up in Aurora. I am lucky to live in such a beautiful state, so I love to show it off! I would have to show them a little bit of everything: city, mountains, desert, and forest. In the city, I like taking visitors to RiNo and Baker neighborhoods, plus a drive to see some of the historic homes of the city. A nice walk through Wash Park is always a welcome addition and a visit to Chatfield for some kayaking. Then, if we had several days, I would take them on a tour of the mountains. We would start by driving through Boulder, Estes, Rocky Mountain National Park, through Winter Park, then over towards Aspen. My favorite drive is through Independence Pass in the late summer. Of course, we would stop and hike, camp, or just look at the scenery. They couldn’t leave without doing some classic CO activities like eating a smothered burrito, going to a microbrewery, seeing snow, or visiting an old mining town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to a few folks: 1) My clinical supervisor from grad school, Dr. Lynn Emken. She taught me all the skills above and beyond clinical or scientific knowledge, 2) My husband, Joey. I feel supported and pushed to pursue my goals everyday, and I’m so grateful for that freedom.

Website: https://RootEdPsychology.net