Dr. Aronica Cotton, Psychiatrist in Howard County, Maryland
Dr. Aronica Cotton is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and the founder of Common Hours Psychiatry, a private practice dedicated to providing thoughtful, whole-person psychiatric care for children, adolescents, and families. At Common Hours Psychiatry, Dr. Cotton specializes in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD, emotional regulation challenges, anxiety, and complex developmental concerns, with a clinical approach rooted in mind-body medicine, developmental neuroscience, and collaborative family-centered care.
Dr. Cotton completed her adult psychiatry training through the combined programs at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, followed by fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry through the combined program at University of Maryland School of Medicine and Sheppard Pratt. This rigorous training provided her with extensive experience across the full continuum of behavioral health care, including emergency psychiatry, juvenile justice settings, school-based mental health, consultation-liaison psychiatry, outpatient child and adolescent treatment, integrated behavioral health within pediatric primary care, and systems-level leadership across diverse healthcare environments.
Dr. Cotton believes that exceptional mental health care requires more than symptom management. A strong advocate for integrated care, She has collaborated extensively with pediatricians, therapists, schools, and interdisciplinary teams to expand access to psychiatric care and bridge gaps between mental and physical health treatment. Her publications include work in Academic Psychiatry on integrated pediatric mental health care and child psychiatry access models through her academic work with Georgetown Medical School and the University of Maryland respectively. Through her work, Dr. Cotton is committed to helping families move beyond crisis management to help young people and their families thrive within their communities.
Outside of the office, Dr. Cotton enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, dancing, attending live theater, and writing. These interests reflect her belief that emotional well-being is nurtured through creativity, movement, connection, and moments of joy. As a physician, she is passionate about compassionate, whole-person care that brings together behavioral health, primary care, families, and communities.
Her work is guided by a simple but powerful belief: every child, every family, and every person is inherently enough. Through thoughtful partnerships and individualized care, she strives to help patients build resilience, discover their strengths, and thrive.