Dr. Monica Shahbaznia Alvarez, PhD

Dr. Monica Shahbaznia Alvarez is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University in San Francisco in 2002. Her diverse training in clinical psychotherapy spans families, couples, individual adults, children, and adolescents, with a primary focus on family and child psychotherapy.Over the course of 17 years, Dr. Monica's interests expanded to include assessment and advocacy for learning differences, child abuse prevention, and pediatric quality of life. She specialized in Pediatric Psychology and undertook an internship at the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Oakland (CHO) in 2000, followed by a fellowship at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).As a Pediatric Psychologist, Dr. Monica provides psychotherapy to children facing challenges related to medical diagnoses, involving not only the patient but also their families. She co-created a multi-family obesity treatment …program and designed a self-monitoring tool for medical non-compliance.Dr. Monica has presented at annual conferences for the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP). During her fellowship at CHLA, she contributed to the 'School Age Clinic,' offering psychological guidance to children with learning differences and teaching medical residents.Dr. Monica's passion for helping children overcome learning differences and attention disorders stems from her personal experiences with her own brothers, who had Dyslexia. She believes in incorporating compassion and respect into physicianship and served as an instructor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.She offers psychotherapy to families, children, teens, adults, and couples, along with support groups for parents and social skills for children. Additionally, Dr. Monica delivers lectures at professional conferences, hospital grand rounds, schools, and parent associations, covering topics such as personality disorders, peer rejection, depression, and ADHD in children.Her specialties include Attention Problems (AD/HD), Learning Differences (Dyslexia), Behavior Problems, Pediatric Medical Issues, Depression, Anxiety, Academic/Career Counseling, Divorced/Separated and Step/Blended Families, Personal Growth, Relationship Problems, and Cultural Issues. Dr. Monica is fluent in both English and Spanish.Dr. Monica Shahbaznia Alvarez has also made notable appearances on television and radio, contributing her expertise to discussions on psychology and child-related topics.SEND TEXT FOR AN APPOINTMENT: (310) 728-0928