Dr. Beth has been helping families for over 15 years. She is a consultant and evaluator for the Mirman School for Gifted Children and Head Start Preschools. She works with the Pasadena School District Preschool Team, the Regional Center and Children's Hospital USC Affiliated Program.

 

She lives and works in Santa Monica.  Her office is a cozy, home-like environment designed to make your child feel comfortable and at ease.

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology                                                      September 1997

Specialization:  Health Psychology

California School of Professional Psychology

Los Angeles, CA

 

M.A., Clinical Psychology                                                         June 1995

Specialization: Health Psychology

California School of Professional Psychology

Los Angeles, CA

 

M.A., Psychology                                                                       June 1992

Pepperdine University

Los Angeles, CA

 

B.A., Psychology (Cum Laude)                                              June 1990

California State University, Northridge

Northridge, CA

 

AFFILIATIONS

 

Licensed Psychologist PSY 18436

American Psychological Association

Association for Childhood Education International Division for Infancy/Early Childhood/Later

         Childhood and Early Adolescent

Infant Development Association of California

Psi Chi National Honor Society for Psychology

Adoptee's Liberty Movement Association

Resolve Organization

Psychology Association at California State University, Northridge

 

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

 

Psychologist - Contractor                                                        September 2003-current

     Lanterman Regional Center

     Los Angeles, CA

     Supervisor: Hasmig Mandosian

     Vendor #LOW2769

     Psychological assessments and evaluations for Regional Center Clients with variety of developmental disabilities, including Autism, Mental Retardation, Hearing Impairments, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

 

     Responsibilities include:  clinical intake interviews, psychological Assessments, diagnosis and making recommendations for Treatment planning and intervention services.

 

Psychologist -Contractor                                                         July 2003-current 

     Westside Regional Center

     Culver City, CA

     Supervisor: Tom Kelley, Ph.D.

     Vendor #:PW2769

     Psychological assessments and evaluations for Regional Center Clients with variety of developmental disabilities, including Autism, Mental Retardation, Hearing Impairments, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

 

Responsibilities include: clinical intake interviews, psychological Assessments, diagnosis and making recommendations for Treatment planning and intervention services.

 

Psychologist -Contractor                                                         July 2003

     Mirman School for the Gifted

     Los Angeles, CA

     Psychological Assessments and evaluations for assessment of Giftedness.

 

     Responsibilities include: clinical intake interviews, administering IQ and academic tests, treatment planning and educational counseling.

 

Psychologist                                                                             May 2003-current

     Private Practice

     Santa Monica, CA

     Psychological assessments and evaluation for developmental Disorders - specializing in infant assessments and treatment planning, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Attention Disorders, Learning Disabilities, extra time on standardized testing, Kindergarten readiness, Assessment for Davidson Institute, Assessment for Mensa, and IQ consultations.

  

Responsibilities include:  Educational placement, treatment planning and diagnosis.

 

 

CLINICAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTANT                                         September 1999-May 2007

Pasadena Unified School District

Pasadena, CA

Psychological Assessment for the Infant and Preschool Program for children with a variety of developmental disabilities including Autism, Mental Retardation, Speech and Language delays, Hearing Impairment, Learning Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy.

 

Responsibilities include:  clinical intake interviews; psychological assessments of children (aged 0-5) utilizing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, Ordinal Scales, WISC-II, Woodcock Johnson Achievement Tests, Roberts Apperception Test, Achenbach Behavioral Rating Forms, and Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales; School Planning; holding and administrating over IEP meetings; developing individual behavorial plans; teacher consultation; and parenting consultation.

 

PSYCHOLOGIST-CONTRACTOR                                           July 2003-current

Westside Regional Center

Culver City, CA

Supervisor: Janet Wolf, Ph.D.

Vendor #:PW2769

Psychological assessments and evaluations for Regional Center Clients with a variety of developmental disabilities including Autism, Mental Retardation, Hearing Impairments, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

 

Responsibilities include: clinical intake interviews, psychological assessments diagnosing and making recommendations for program planning and intervention services.

 

FORENSIC TESTING ASSISTANT                                            February 1993-May 2007     

Lamers Medical Group

Los Angeles, CA

Supervisor: William M. Lamers, M.D.

Psychological assessments and evaluations for court cases involving allegations of emotional distress.  Specific tests utilized: Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R); Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI); Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test; Thematic Apperception Test; Projective Drawing Tests and Sentence Completion Tests.

 

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

REGISTERED PSYCHOLOGIST                                               September 1997-2001

Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Center for Child Development and Developmental Disabilities

University Affiliated Program, USC School of Medicine

Los Angeles, CA

Supervisor: Marie Kanne Poulsen, Ph.D.

Mental health consultation with Pacific Asian Consortium Employment Head State Preschools in Los Angeles and with Community Housing Projects Head State preschools in Pasadena and Glendale.  Services include providing consultation with administration and teaching staff on adaptive classroom behavior, providing guidelines to foster socialization and emotional development among children (e.g., an 8 week classroom curriculum was developed for teachers to foster emotional health in preschool children), and developing brochures ("Points for Parents" and "Tips for Teachers") to aid in helping children with more adaptive functioning both in and out of school.  Other responsibilities include assessment, diagnosis, crisis intervention, and cognitive testing for Head Start preschool children and their families.  Currently, also working with the preschool assessment team from Pasadena Unified School District to conduct cognitive assessments and attend IEP meetings to determine appropriate school placement and planning.

 

THERAPIST                                                                              April 1998 - 2000

Saint Francis Children's Counseling Center

Lynwood, CA

Supervisor: Rigoverto Bricent, Ph.D.

Diagnosis and psychotherapy with children, parents and families.  Responsibilities include: individual and family psychotherapy; clinical intake interviews; psychological assessments of children utilizing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, WPPSI-R, McCarthy Scales, WISC-III, Wide Range Achievement Test for Children, Robert's Apperception Test for Children, Children's Depression Inventory, and Woodcock Johnson Achievement Tests; treatment planning; leader of social skills groups, sexual abuse groups, and parenting classes; case presentations; and formal training in sand tray therapy.

 

ASSESSMENT TRAINING COORDINATOR                        September 1998-2000

Saint Francis Children's Counseling Center

Lynwood, CA

Planning and coordination of a clerkship program involving first year Ph.D. students from California School of Professional Psychology.  Responsibilities include: individual and group supervision in administering, scoring, interpreting and formulating write-ups of assessment batteries; development of a didactic curriculum; deliver lectures on the administration, scoring and interpretation of specific tests (Bayley Infant Scales of Development, McCarthy, WPPSI-R, WISC-III, RATC, Rorschach, and ADHD rating scales); deliver lectures on emotional and cognitive development of children between the ages of 0-5.

 

INFANT - PRESCHOOL COMMITTEE                                   September 1998-2000

Saint Francis Children's Counseling Center

Lynwood, CA

Developed and coordinated a multi-disciplinary staff (including nurses, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, and psychologists) in the development of a prenatal parenting and support group program.  Participated in the early mental health committee meetings and planned and adopted policies for pregnant women.  Presently also involved in developing a program for "at-risk" infants and toddlers and their parents.

 

CLINICAL ASSISTANT                                                             September 1998 - 2000

Fuller Theological Seminary

Graduate School of Psychology

Pasadena, CA

Supervise Ph.D. students in the administration, scoring, interpretation and formulating write-ups of psychological assessment batters for children and adolescents.

 

PSYCHOLOGY INTERN /Post Doctoral training                    August 1996 - August 1997

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES

Center for Child Development and Developmental Disabilities

University Affiliated Program, USC School of Medicine

Los Angeles, CA

SupervisorL Marie Kanne Poulsen, Ph.D.

Direct clinical experience included participation in the Behavior in Babies Clinic.  This clinic was developed as training clinic specifically for "at-risk" infants with special needs (e.g., Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Autism, and Pervasive Developmental Disabilities).  The clinic provided experience in assessment (standardized and non-standardized/play-based), appropriate placement and early intervention programs for infants and toddlers.  The clinic also provided ongoing and follow-up services for parents and children with developmental delays.  Consultation with Head Start Preschools. Specific responsibilities included: mental health consultation for parents, children, and teachers; tailoring lesson plans to meet the special needs of Head Start Children; ongoing therapy with children; outreach services; and lectures and trainings for teachers and administration staff regarding mental health needs.

 

PSYCHOLOGY INTERN                                                              August 1995 - August 1996

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES

Center for Child Development and Developmental Disabilities

University Affiliated Program, USC School of Medicine

Los Angeles, CA

SupervisorL Marie Kanne Poulsen, Ph.D./Cecile Falk, Ph.D.

Diagnosis and psychotherapy with infants, children, adolescents and adults with special needs (e.g., mental retardation, learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disturbances, physical disabilities, developmental delays).  The program was geared toward training and multidisciplinary team of professionals.  Emphasis was on training, leadership development and direct service. Responsibilities included the evaluation, treatment, planning and case coordination of specific cases.  Specifically, responsibilities included psychological assessment utilizing a variety of psychometric instruments (e.g., Achenbach, WPPSI-R, WISC-III, WAIS-R, WRAT, Woodcock Johnson, Vineland, PPVT, Bayley Scales of Infant Development) and individual, family and group therapy.  Presentation and lectures on various developmental and emotional disabilities were presented to first year psychology interns as well as interns from other disciplines.

 

PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICUM TRAINEE                                   September 1994-July 1995

Saint Francis Children's Center

Lynwood, CA

Supervisor: Vincent Castro, Ph.D., Clinical Director

(See above clinical responsibilities at Saint Francis Counseling Center)

 

COUNSELOR                                                                            June 1989-August  1991

University of California Los Angeles

Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI)

Westwood, CA

Supervisor: Mary Neil, Ph.D.

Counseling of adult outpatients with a diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa.  Responsibilities included: treatment planning; presentations at case conference meetings; co-leader of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy groups; and regular attendance at lecture colloquia,

 

COUNSELOR                                                                           September 1987-June 1998

Los Angeles Unified School District

Project HEAVY

Los Angeles, CA

Supervisor: Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.

Individual counseling with children who were labeled "at-risk" for entering gangs; counseling with the children's families to evaluate risk factors; and monitoring and assessing changes in children's behavior after counseling.

 

ASSISTANT COUNSELOR                                                   April 1985-October 1985

Vocational Alternatives

Sherman Oaks, CA

Responsibilities included: assessment of individuals who became handicapped on the job; locating appropriate vocational placements; and developing clients' coping skills to foster re-integration in the working community.

 

PEER COUNSELOR                                                            December 1983-1984

Loman Street School

North Hollywood, CA

Los Angeles Unified School District program whose goal was to mainstream physically handicapped adolescents with their peers in academic and social settings.

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

ASSESSMENT CLERK SUPERVISOR                             September 1998-2000

Saint Francis Children's Center

Lynwood, CA

Responsibilities included: individual and group supervision in administrating, scoring, interpretation and write-ups of assessment batteries including the WISC-III, RATC, Rorschach, ADHD ratings scales, McCarthy, Woodcock Johnson Achievement Test, Wide Range Achievement Test - Revised, WPPSI-R, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.

 

TEACHER'S ASSISTANT                                                   September 1994-May 1995

Psychological Testing and Assessment Lab

California School of Professional Psychology

Los Angeles, CA

Supervisor: Judy Kussin, Ph.D.

Responsibilities included:  developing and creating lesson plans; teaching doctoral students how to score, interpret and write-up reports using MMPI, WAIS-0R, WISC-III, Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Test, TAT, RATC, Projective Drawings and Rorschach Inkblot Tests; and giving feedback regarding students' performance on their testing reports and their clinical clerkship sites.

 

TEACHER'S ASSISTANT                                                   June 1993-June 1995

Little Village Nursery School

West Los Angeles, CA

Supervisor: Harriet Senelick, M.A.

Teacher's Assistant in a preschool classroom with children ranging in age from 2-5 years.  Responsibilities included:  developing and implementing lesson plans, teaching social skills, and encouraging children to develop their creativity.

 

TEACHER'S ASSISTANT                                                    October 1991-June 1993

West Valley Jewish Community Center

West Hills, CA

Supervisor: Hanna Livne

Preschool teacher's assistant in a classroom with children ranging in age from 3-4 years.  Responsibilities included:  developing and implementing lesson plans; teaching social skills and encouraging children to develop their creativity with an emphasis on religious and cultural values.

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

• Connections Training Workshop, PUSD and CHS Headstart, 4/00
• Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism, IDA Conference, 4/01
• Home Visit Training: Developing Treatment Plans for Foster Children, IDA Conference, 4/01
• Multi-disciplinary Play Based Assessment Training, Tony Atwood, 4/01
• Autism Society Conference, 4/01
• Floortime Training, Pasadena Day Associates, Diane Cullinane, 5/01
• Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting, Pepperdine University, 11/10/01
• Autism Society Conference, 4/02
• Early Detection & Intervention Strategies in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Help Group, 11/22/02
• Cerebral Dominance: The Left, Right and Middle Brain, Institute for Natural Resources, 1/8/03
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Training, WPS, 4/03
• A Diagnostic & Assessment Workshop in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Help Group, 7/23/03
• Help Group Summit 2003 - Autism and Related Disorders, 10/17/03-2019

 

 

PRESENTATIONS AT PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

 

Levy, B., & Snider, B. (April, 1995).  Search and Reunion Expectations. 

Lecture Presented at the American Adoption Congress, Las Vegas, NV

 

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

 

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE TESTING CLERK                     September 1993 - June 1994

San Fernando Community Mental Health Clinic

Van Nuys, CA

Supervisor: Jayne Sax, Ph.D.

Clinical Intake interviews and assessment of personality and intelligence of chronically mentally ill adults in a day treatment program.  Specific tests utilized included: WAIS-R, MMPI, Bender, TAT House-Tree-Person, Kinetic Family Drawing, and Sentence Completion Test.

 

RESEARCH ASSISTANT                                                   September 1990-June 1991

University of California Los Angeles

Supervisor: Robin Apple, Ph.D.

Assisted with the research study on the correlations between depression and anxiety with specific eating disorder symptomatology.  Responsibilities included: clinical interviews; administration, scoring and interpretation of the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hamilton Anxiety inventory, and an eating behavior inventory; and conducting statistical analyses using the SYSTAT computer package.

 

RESEARCH ASSISTANT                                                   November 1990-May 1991

University of California Los Angeles

Supervisor: Kennetih Zaucha, Ph.D.

Assisted with an ongoing research study on the effects of childhood head trauma on subsequent performance in school.  Responsibilities included: clinical interviews and input of data using the SYSTAT computer package.

 

RESEARCH ASSISTANT                                                 January 1989-May 1989

California State University, Northridge

Supervisor: Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.

Assisted with a large-scale investigation of the efficacy of undergraduate education in preparing students for subsequent graduate training and academic programs.  Responsibilities included: formation of research design; background review of the literature; development of questionnaires; data collection; writing portions of the introduction, results, and discussion sections of the final report.

 

CONTINUING EDUCATION CONFERENCES AND TRAININGS 

 

• Early Detection and Early Intervention Strategies in Autism Spectrum Disorders (Nov, 2002)
• Cerebral Dominance: The Left, Right and Middle Brain (Jan, 2003)
• Neurodevelopmental Advance Best Practices in Autism, Aspergers Syndrom, Learning Disorders, and ADHD (Oct, 2003)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) (April, 2003)
• A Diagnostic and Assessment Workshop in Autism Spectrum Disorders (July, 2013)
• Professional Ethics and Psychotherapy Stereotypes in Movies (Feb, 2004)
• America The Violence: Spousal/Partner Abuse (April, 2004)
• Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals (Feb, 2004)
• Domestic Violence: Assessment and Treatment Issues (March, 2004) 
• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (April, 2006)
• Spousal and Partner Abuse (April, 2006)
• Advances in Best Practices in Autism, Learning Disorders and ADHD (Sep, 2006)
• California Law and Ethics for Psychologists (Oct, 2006)
• Aging and Long Term Care (Oct, 2006)
• Aspergers Disorder and Autism: Update in Understanding (Dec, 2006)
• Aspergers Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder and High Functioning Autism (Nov, 2006)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Current Research, Treatment and Outcomes (Oct, 2007)
• Chemical Dependency: Assessment and Treatment (Oct, 2007)
• Depression and Sleep Apnea (Nov, 2007)
• Autism Symposium: UCLA (Dec, 2007)
• Raising Drug Free Kids (Feb, 2008)
• Play Therapy and Beyond: Treatment Techniques (Mar, 2008)
• Chemical Dependency: Assessment and Treatment (Aug, 2009)
• Raising Drug Free Kids (Aug, 2009)
• Spousal and Partner Abuse (Aug, 2008)
• Chemical Dependency: Assessment and Treatment (Aug, 2009)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders: Research Update and Evidence-Based Treatment Models (Dec, 2009)
• Executive Dysfunction: The Disorganized, Defiant, and Chaotic Child/Adolescent (May, 2010)
• The DSM-5: Dx for Psychological and Emotional Disorders In Children and Adolescents (August, 2013)
• Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving and Thriving with the Self-Absorbed (Dec, 2013)

• Brief Counseling for Marijuana Dependence: Comprehensive Manual (May, 2014) 

• Helping Young Children Flourish (May, 2014)

• California Laws and Ethics for Psychologists (May, 2014)

• The Advanced LA Conference (May and July, 2014) 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

Marie K. Poulsen, Ph.D.

Center for Child Development and Developmental Disorders

University Affiliated Program

USC School of Medicine

Children Hospital Los Angeles

P.O. Box 54700 - Mailbox #53

Los Angeles, CA 90054

(213) 669-2300

 

Alyson Beecher

Program Specialist for Infant Preschool Services

Pasadena Unified School District

565 No. Rosemead

Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 351-1897