Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and French (BA)
Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology (MS)
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (PhD)
While in graduate school, I attained comprehensive training and experience in working with dissociative disorders was obtained in trainings from Catherine Fine, Ph.D., Richard Kluft, M.D., Ph.D. and Colin Ross, M.D. I have been working with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD) since 1992. I have worked with persons with cult and mind control histories and well as those with familial and other abuse.
After graduate school, I became certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a structured treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD in 2001. I was trained by one of her students. I use the classic protocol with patients with trauma who do not present with significant levels of dissociation. Certain levels of dissociation require some modifications to the protocol. With DID, the modifications are significant because of the nature and severity of the dissociation. The use of EMDR in this population requires a clinician with significant experience in complex dissociative disorders.
I have a special interest in psychopharmacology and Bipolar Disorders so I have taken many classes post-licensure in these areas. I have included the knowledge gained in these classes extensively in my practice since 2002.
My education and experience have focused on psychodynamic and developmental theories (including object relations) and cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectal behavioral therapy techniques which I have woven together into a unique combination of approaches which ensures that each person is best understood by their developmental needs and their specific challenges and the skills that are needed to heal them.
My experience includes working with various cultures with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, trauma, dissociative disorders, crisis intervention, suicide and substance use.
I worked at RAMS (formerly Richmond Area Multiservices) for one year providing individual therapy to adults and children with predominantly Asian and Russian populations.
I provided services for three years at Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC) to a largely Latino population. I gained extensive experience in crisis intervention which included managing a 24-hour mobile crisis service for out-of-control and at-risk youth struggling with truancy, gangs and suicide. I worked closely with the San Jose Police to reunite these youth with their families and to keep these youth from getting more deeply into trouble.
In three years at Asian American for Community Involvement (ACCI) I worked with Asian, Bosnian. Serbian and Croatian refugees and asylees and with other Asian Pacific Islanders. Patients from India were included in my caseload. I managed and developed both a substance abuse program for adolescents and a dual diagnosis (mental health and substance use) program for adults. Court ordered and volunteer patients were served with a combination of individual and group treatment that included education about drugs and alcohol, learning new skills and 12-step programs.
I worked for one year of Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, California, in a Maximum-Security Yard providing men’s psychoeducational groups, crisis intervention and suicide and homicide risk assessment.
At ARCC I taught practicum students and interns basic clinical skills and unlicensed and newly licensed clinicians advanced clinical skills. At AACI I ran the Internship Program teaching diagnostic and clinical skills to practicum students and interns and supervised the clinical hours they needed for graduation or for licensure.
I was trained in Neuropsychological Testing in 2007, resulting in special training and subsequent extensive experience in administering, scoring and interpreting neuropsychological assessments.
Historically, I used my training in Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessments for the differential diagnosis of Psychological Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Learning Disorders, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I now only test for ADHD, Executive Functioning Challenges and Disorders and Learning Differences. I can assist in interpreting and understanding reports from other psychologists for the disorders for which I no longer test.
My expertise in neuropsychological assessment allows me to provide a more thorough and complex understanding in the testing for ADHD, Executive Functioning Challenges and Learning Differences than that provided by psychologists without a neuropsychological testing background. Seeing the results through a neuropsychological testing lens allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weakness across these areas.
My training in testing of ADHD has taught me that up to 50% of people diagnosed with ADHD have a learning disability. When ADHD is suspected, testing usually starts with an assessment for the presence or absence of ADHD. Initial testing results may reveal the need for testing for learning differences. More Executive Functioning testing might also be appropriate.
My experience has taught me that sometimes a person who appears to have ADHD will not prove to have the disorder based on testing results and will require further assessment after the initial battery of tests has been scored in order to understand a more complex array of executive functioning and learning differences. I am trained to test for and interpret these results through that same neuropsychological testing lens for a complex and complete understanding of functioning.
In addition, my experience allows me to provide clarity by assessing for Executive Functioning strengths and weaknesses in those who struggle with performance on the job when planning and execution are a result of executive functioning challenges. ADHD may or may not prove to be diagnostically appropriate.
In the final appointment, an interpretive report informed by training and years of expertise will be reviewed which will include a complete list of accommodations for school or work, if indicated, as well a list of recommendations to improve functioning as extensive as required based on the complexity of the presentation.
Article and Presentation
Turpin, G., Sturmey, P., London, M., and May, C. (1988, September). Consumer satisfaction with services for people with chronic psychiatric disabilities: The service satisfaction questionnaire. Presented at the Behavioral Therapy World Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dissertation
London, M. (1996). Comparing levels of dissociation and levels of depression, anxiety and trauma sequelae in a nonclinical sample of elementary and middle school children aged 8-12 years. Dissertation Abstracts.
Telephone: 408.247.1140
Fax: 408.247.1144
920 Saratoga Avenue,
Suite 105 B San Jose,
California 95129
Monday: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Tuesday: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Wednesday: 9:00am - 7:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am - 6:30pm
Friday: 10:00am - 1:00pm