Children today navigate a complex landscape of academic, social, and emotional challenges.
With 15 years of experience, I have cultivated a deep understanding of these needs, beginning my journey in Austria where I earned my Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Salzburg. After providing clinical psychological services to children and adolescents in different settings in Austria, I transitioned to the United States and completed a specialist program in School Psychology at Texas State University-San Marcos, where I gained invaluable experience working within the university’s autism clinic.
Since relocating to California in 2014 and obtaining my school psychology credential, I have built a professional background that includes serving a charter school district, working within a therapeutic program for students with behavioral and emotional needs, and co-founding a non-public agency that provides psychological and behavioral assessments and consultation.
A significant and specialized service I provide is bilingual German/English psychoeducational assessments and consultation across California. This service leverages my native German proficiency and clinical psychology training from Austria to provide culturally and linguistically sensitive support to diverse families and school systems.
I am also deeply committed to professional development and collaboration within the school psychology community. For the past five years, I have frequently shared my knowledge at state and national conferences, presenting on topics such as autism in girls, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), peer collaboration, user-friendly report writing, and effective teletherapy practices.
A Collaborative, Strength-Based Approach
I believe that the assessment process is a partnership. I deliver reports that are thorough, strength-based, and user-friendly. A key goal of my practice is to build trust and genuinely collaborate with families to develop recommendations that are practical, meaningful, and directly applicable to the child’s success in their educational setting.
My combined training in educational psychology, school neuropsychology, and behavior analysis allows for a unique, integrated understanding of cognitive, academic, and behavioral challenges. This ensures that interventions are both neurodevelopmentally informed and behaviorally robust.
Today, through my private practice, Kolibri Educational Psychology, I am dedicated to supporting families and schools in Santa Cruz and throughout California.
- Specialist in School Psychology (SSP)
- Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) #3750
- Board Certified School Neuropsychologist (ABSNP)
- Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Psychology (PPS)
- Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP)
- Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
