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Who We Are

Woburn Pediatric Psychological Services (WPPS) is a private behavioral health practice serving patients and families of Woburn & North Andover Pediatric Associates. We started this practice in response to the critical need for mental health services and in hopes of providing our families with easier access to quality care.

Our Providers

Our providers support the mission and goals of Woburn and North Andover Pediatric Associates by providing behavioral health services to its patients via psychiatric care and therapy.

Lauren Avery, MD

Lauren Avery, MD

Dr. Lauren Avery joined our practice in January 2015. She completed her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University, graduate school at Columbia University Teachers College, and medical school at The George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Avery’s residency training in adult psychiatry was completed at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Program and her fellowship training was completed at the Massachusetts General Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program. Dr. Avery also serves as the Medical Director.

Karen Saroca, MD

Karen Saroca, MD


Dr. Karen Saroca joined our practice in October 2017. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of California in San Diego, CA and her medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Saroca’s residency training was completed at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is triple board certified in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Jenifer Walkowiak, PhD

Jenifer Walkowiak, PhD

Dr. Walkowiak joined our practice in May 2023. She completed her graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin and her predoctoral internship at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Walkowiak’s postdoctoral residency in pediatric neuropsychology was completed at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC. Prior to WPPS, she worked at the Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN) at Tufts Children’s Hospital, where she completed evaluations on a wide range of children with complex neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders and supervised predoctoral and developmental-behavioral pediatric trainees with an Assistant Professor faculty appointment in both Pediatrics and Psychiatry. She currently serves on the Professional Affairs Committee of the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society. Dr. Walkowiak has particular interests in social competency disorders and executive functioning and has presented and published in both areas. She currently sees Woburn and North Andover Pediatrics patients who require consultation about their neurodevelopmental, neuropsychological evaluation, and school-based needs.

Sophia Tollefson, PMHNP-BC

Sophia Tollefson, PMHNP-BC


Sophia Tollefson, PMHNP joined our practice in October 2022. She completed her master’s in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing and her undergraduate degree at The George Washington University. Sophia completed her clinical training at the Yale Child Study Center in outpatient child-adolescent psychiatry and the IICAPS program for intensive in-home individual and family therapy.