EducatioN & Training

Education

  • Punahou High School in Honolulu, Hawaii.
    Graduated in 1980.

  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
    BA with Highest Honors in Psychology in 1984.

  • University of California at Berkeley. 
    Master's degree in Clinical Psychology in 1992
    Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1996 

Clinical Training

Practicum

  • UC Berkeley outpatient clinic, Berkeley, CA

  • The Veteran's Administration Hospital, Martinez, CA

  • The Children's Health Council, Palo Alto, CA

Internships

  • Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford, CA

  • The Children's Health Council, Palo Alto, CA

Post-doctoral Fellowship

  • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

License and Affiliations

  • Licensed in the state of California (PSY16509)

  • Member of the American Psychological Association and the California Psychological Association

Research

A Clinical Psychologist's education and training weaves together the study of psychological treatment methods and research methods. Like the medical model, psychologists want to develop treatment methods that are supported by state of the art research. My research background informs how I practice. I have studied psychological development and brain function, the assessment and treatment of psychological disorders, and the factors that contribute to healthy development, resilience and successful treatment outcomes. Although I no longer conduct research, in my clinical practice I am committed to using methods of assessment and treatment that are supported by today's empirical research.

During my education and training at the University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University I conducted research on the following topics:

  • the development of character disorders in adolescence

  • trajectories of personality development in adolescence and early adulthood

  • factors that lead to vitality and high intellectual functioning in late life

  • innovative measures of psychopathology and personality as applied to diagnostic methods

  • the measurement of therapeutic effectiveness in the treatment of depression

In my early career, I conducted clinical outcomes studies in the outpatient setting of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. Specific topics that I studied there include:

  • clinical, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes of children with specific genetic disorders (e.g., Fragile X and Velo-cardio-facial syndrome)

  • the clinical outcomes of children, adolescents and families in treatment at outpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic services