Shoshana Shea, Ph.D.
Dr. Shoshana Shea is a licensed clinical psychologist who works collaboratively with her clients to help them engage with the wisdom from within to move with purpose and meaning in their lives. She sees a wide range of clients from diverse backgrounds, age ranges, and with various clinical issues. Her focus is on helping people create more life balance, facilitate self-growth, and enhance self-esteem. She has over 25 years of combined experience at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the Veteran’s Administration hospital, in research, as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD, and in private practice. She specializes in treating stress, anxiety, depression, weight, eating, body image, grief, trauma, high functioning autism, and substance use disorders, and in helping people through challenges related to relationship, academic, work, parenting, and life transitions.
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
After receiving her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Dr. Shea's research focused on risk and protective factors related to alcohol involvement and alcohol use disorders in various cultural groups. She continued this work in graduate school and went on to complete her Ph.D. from the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. She has multiple publications and has received numerous awards, including pre- and post-doctoral awards for outstanding research from the Research Society on Alcoholism and a National Research Service Award (grant) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to complete her doctoral dissertation. Her education and research background have very much informed her clinical work, and she makes every effort to remain up to date to provide state of the art treatment.
CLINICAL BACKGROUND, TRAINING, AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
While at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSD Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Shea ran the intensive outpatient groups in the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program and supervised San Diego State University (SDSU)/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program students in Clinical Psychology.
While at the VA, she developed a mindfulness-based treatment program, based on principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced “act” as one word), to provide state of the art treatment to individuals with addictions. Her course is still being used today and has brought a great deal of relief and healing to many veterans.
Her training and experience have also included work in the VA San Diego Healthcare System's Anxiety and Mood Disorders Clinic, the Family Mental Health Program, the Substance Abuse Mental Illness Program (“The dual diagnosis program”), and SDSU's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders and Psychology Clinics.
She also served as Chair for the Women’s Committee for the San Diego Psychological Association (SDPA) for two years, and organized a symposium on infertility and a symposium on post-traumatic stress disorder for the SDPA conferences. In addition to membership to the SDPA, Dr. Shea belongs to the American Psychological Association and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (The learning and research community for ACT).