Alexandra Matthews, Ph.D. (Psy16219)

I am a psychologist in private practice in Marin.  I provide a variety of psychotherapy and consultation services.  I am an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, where I provide teaching and supervision for Child and Adult Psychiatry residents.

I have a B.A. from Brown University, where I double majored in Psychology and Semiotics. 

I have a Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota .  In my doctoral work, I gained a thorough understanding of child development, lifespan development, and how normal development can go awry.  For my doctoral dissertation, I studied brain development in preterm infants.

After completing my Ph.D., I taught at the University of Minnesota for a short time.  However, I realized that I would never feel completely satisfied with a life in academia, so I made the decision to become a clinical psychologist.  I completed a Doctoral Respecialization Program at the California School of Professional Psychology (now part of Alliant International University ) 

I have worked in a variety of settings, including the public schools in Richmond, California; San Francisco County community mental health; Kaiser Permanente Department of Child Psychiatry; the V.A. hospital; and the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy.

I have been in private practice in Marin County since 2001.  I am a founding member of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Associates of Marin (CBTAM) .

Many of my child clients come to me because they are bullied.  Through extensive research, I found that there are no effective individual treatments for the victims of bullying, or for bullies.  However, there are effective, school-based programs that can reduce bullying by 30-70%.  I was honored to be given the opportunity to become an Olweus Bully Prevention Program trainer.  A high proportion of childhood anxiety, depression, and medical illness is due to bully victimization. By implementing the Olweus Program in our schools, we could reduce childhood anxiety, depression, medical complaints, and chronic illness exacerbations!

I grew up in San Francisco and Mill Valley. After completing my graduate work at the University of Minnesota, my husband and I spent a year back packing around the world.  I now live in Marin with my husband of 22 years and our three children.