Dr. Gerdner is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice and on the faculty at the Yale Child Study Center, where he previously served as a Chief Fellow, an honor to which he was elected by his peers and faculty. He is passionate about providing excellent patient care and “making the world a better place for kids and their families.”

Raised in Connecticut, Dr. Gerdner studied psychology at Georgetown before returning home to the University of Connecticut for medical school. At UConn, he did research on the roles of fathers in caring for children with HIV and was elected by his peers for induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which recognizes integrity, compassion, altruism, and service in addition to clinical excellence. After earning his M.D., Dr. Gerdner trained in adult psychiatry at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. At Harvard, he served as a Chief Resident and completed a Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He also served on the premedical committee of Harvard College's Currier House and pursued advanced training in Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) at McLean.

A double board-certified general psychiatrist and child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Gerdner served as an assistant editor for the Harvard Review of Psychiatry and has written book chapters on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, and autism spectrum disorders. He has published on the nature of the patient-physician relationship and has presented at national conferences on difficult-to-treat psychiatric conditions and on innovations in medical education.

Dr. Gerdner is thankful to have had the opportunity to pursue subspecialty training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Yale, where he had the honor of being elected Chief Fellow by his peers and faculty. At Yale, he also had the privilege of teaching an undergraduate course on the neuroscience, psychology and history of mindfulness.

Dr. Gerdner is delighted to be working with patients and families in his private practice in Darien, Conn. In his free time, Dr. Gerdner enjoys spending time with his family, reading, playing video games, tending to his bonsai trees, discovering new music and exploring beautiful Connecticut by bicycle and kayak, often with fishing pole in hand.

Dr. Drozdowicz is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice and an Assistant Clinical Professor on faculty at Yale Child Study Center, where she is active in teaching and mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows.

She was raised in CT and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology, recognized by Phi Beta Kappa as “the top scholar in liberal arts and sciences in the University of Connecticut graduating class.” She received her M.D. from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, where she was selected by her peers to be the graduation speaker. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association.

Dr. Drozdowicz was Chief Resident in Psychiatry at NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital, and she completed fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine’s Yale Child Study Center. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Drozdowicz has achieved national recognition with an American Psychiatric Association Leadership Fellowship, and she was chosen as the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Senior Resident Administrative Fellow, an honor awarded to one psychiatrist in the country annually. She has received teaching awards from Mount Sinai and Yale, as well as national recognition for her work in medical education. She has also worked to connect the public with medical advances, writing articles and appearing as an expert for ABC News.

In her spare time, she enjoys playing music, hanging out with her kids, and staying up to date on the latest teenage slang.

Awards and Honors

Mayo Clinic Alumni Association Board of Directors, 2024-2030

Yale Melvin Lewis Award for Commitment to Excellence in Medical Student Education, 6/2020

AADPRT (American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training), George Ginsberg Fellowship Award for Excellence as a Clinician Educator, 2/2019

American Psychiatric Association Resident Recognition Award, 6/2018

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Senior Resident Administrative Fellowship, 9/2017

American Psychiatric Association/APAF Leadership Fellowship, 7/2016

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Resident Teacher of the Year Award for Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, 6/2016

Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Commencement Speaker, 5/2014

Minnesota Psychiatric Association, Gloria Segal Award, 5/2014

Phi Beta Kappa, George Stafford Torrey Scholarship – Top scholar in Liberal Arts and Sciences in the University of Connecticut graduating class, 5/2008

Elmport Group is thrilled to welcome Dr. Maria Motlagh, a Yale-trained child and adolescent psychiatrist with over a decade of experience in the field. Her extensive expertise includes working with individuals affected by severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette Syndrome, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Dr. Motlagh joined Yale Child Study Center as a research scientist, specializing in childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research encompasses various domains, such as the impact of prenatal stress and adversity and electrophysiological studies aimed at enhancing our understanding of ADHD and OCD. She has collaborated closely with leading experts at Yale and Columbia University on neuromodulation techniques, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), in clinical trials for Tourette Syndrome and OCD.

Dr. Motlagh’s recent research focuses on understanding resilience and developing strategies to enhance it. Her clinical approach emphasizes exploring and strengthening resilience in each individual, particularly concerning developmental conflicts. By identifying and fostering resilience, Dr. Motlagh aims to support individuals in overcoming challenges and promoting mental well-being.

Dr. Motlagh completed her residency in Adult Psychiatry and a fellowship in Public Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. Subsequently, she served as Chief of the Behavioral Health Department at the Connecticut Institute for Communities, where she gained substantial leadership experience in behavioral health. Following this, she completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Yale Child Study Center with a focus on early childhood and trauma.

Her approach to care is comprehensive and integrative, drawing on specialized training in areas such as parenting, child-parent psychotherapy, mentalization-based therapy, and play therapy.

In her spare time, Dr. Motlagh finds solace in literature and hiking with her family.