Dr. Marta M. Shinn, Ph,D.

Educational Consulting

Educational Placement Assessments

(IEE)

Speaking

Research &

Training

Testimonials


Educational Consulting

Dr. Shinn is a Clinical Child Psychologist and Educational Psychologist. She helps children, teens, and adults with special needs who require services through their public or private school. As an expert in Educational Psychology, Dr. Shinn supports families in the following ways:

PRESCHOOL & K-12:

  • Guiding parents in understanding the tests/evaluations conducted by their child’s schoolPreparing parents for SST/CST, I.E.P. & 504 Plan meetings

  • Preparing parents for SST/CST, I.E.P. & 504 Plan meetings

  • Conducting Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE)

  • Developing & administering psychological & educational tests to clarify diagnoses & support eligibility decisions (e.g. giftedness, test accommodations, special education)

  • Helping parents decide what educational placements would be appropriate for their child. Preparing formal placement assessment reports.

  • Consulting with parents to orient them to the special education and psychological assessment processes

  • Joining parents at school-based meetings to navigate making decisions in the best interest of their child

COLLEGE & POST-GRADUATE:

  • Developing & administering psychological & educational tests to clarify diagnoses & support eligibility decisions

  • Consulting with students to orient them to the psychological assessment processes

Dr. Shinn listens to each family’s concerns, learns each student’s strengths and challenges, and works to ensure they receive a supportive and fair learning environment.  

Education: Doctorate in Psychology, Masters in School Psychology, Bachelors in Psychology.

License/Registration: Licensed Clinical Psychologist #23107, Nationally Certified School Psychologist # 33466, Licensed Educational Psychologist # 2943

Fees:

  • $275: Hourly for consultations (in-person & virtually)

  • $275: Hourly for diagnostic testing review, administration, & reporting

  • $300: Attendance to meetings at schools or other locations billed at two hours minimum (i.e., $600). Attendance fee does not include travel time or report writing time. Travel time is billed at the same rate, $300 hourly.

  • $350: Hourly for expert witness preparation, written opinions, and testimony at hearings, trials, or other legal proceedings in person or virtually.

Insurance: None accepted

Email: drshinn@variationspsychology.com  

Examples of Educational Counseling

SHOULD I GET MY KID TESTED?

7 STRATEGIES FOR FOSTERING A GROWTH MINDSET IN YOUR CHILD

8 TIPS TO CREATE A MENTALLY HEALTHY CLASSROOM


Training

Dr. Shinn has trained both graduate students and licensed clinicians for more than 10 years. She has guided individuals on paths toward a wide variety of clinical aspirations and has mentored many doctoral students in both clinical practice and dissertation research. Her interns and trainees have gone on to become specialists in:

  • Clinical Child Psychology

  • Forensic Psychology

  • Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

  • School & Educational Psychology

  • Infant Mental Health

  • Psychological Testing

  • Clinical Social Work

  • Marriage & Family Therapy

  • Women’s Issues

  • Men’s Issues

  • Feeding & Eating Disorders

  • Young Adult Issues

  • Child Development

As a UC Davis Trainer, Dr. Shinn’s advanced knowledge of the PCIT method has enabled her to train clinicians at numerous agencies in becoming certified PCIT coaches and in subsequently becoming PCIT trainers themselves.

Dr. Shinn also mentors students as a faculty member at California State University Fullerton in Child and Adolescent Studies as well as her volunteer role as Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine at UC Irvine.

For training or supervision inquiries, please contact by email or phone to discuss your needs and obtain a quote.

Phone Number: (949) 424-5707 

Email: drshinn@variationspsychology.com  

Examples of Research and Training

 
 


Research

Dr. Shinn is an APA published researcher with studies in Family Mealtime Coaching (FMC) and Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Dr. Shinn’s research has been supported by numerous organizations including Harvard University’s Institute of Coaching and The Orange County United Way. She also served as a collaborating investigator in the DSM-5 clinical field trials (pg. 915, DSM-5).

Examples of Research


Speaking

Dr. Shinn is a nationally recognized speaker and has been sharing her knowledge and experience at professional conferences, schools, universities, and other institutions for the past 10 years.  At each speaking engagement, Dr. Shinn informs clinicians, educators, and parents in a wide variety of topics related to child and adolescent development, clinical and educational psychology, behavioral therapies, mental health diagnoses, eating disorder interventions, and learning disabilities.

Dr. Shinn’s previous speaking engagements include:

  • Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

  • American Academy of Pediatrics - Orange County Chapter

  • Duke University – Clinical and Translational Sciences Conference

  • Futures Academy

  • Harvard University – Institute of Coaching’s Leadership & Healthcare Conference

  • OC Family

  • University of California Los Angeles – UC Davis PCIT Conference

  • University of Iowa

  • University of Washington

For speaking inquiries, please contact by email or phone to discuss your needs and obtain a quote.

Phone Number: (949) 424-5707 

Email: drshinn@variationspsychology.com  

Examples of Speaking


Testimonials

  • "After feeling like my son’s “standard 504” wasn’t really doing anything to help him, I did some research and came across Dr. Shinn. I was immediately very impressed! Dr. Shinn is bright, compassionate, and extremely knowledgeable about IEPs and 504s. I felt that she was such a strong support when she attended the meeting at the school. Our school was very impressed with the 504 plan she developed."
    Parent of 6th grader with a 504
  • "For any parent that feels that they need someone on their side, especially in developing or updating your child’s education plan, I highly recommend Dr. Shinn."
    Mother of 13-year- old with Autism
  • "We started the journey of public school educational advocacy several years ago; engaging a number of child psychology and education experts along the way to help us work with the school district to provide appropriate support services for our child. While we received good services from prior experts, our efforts were hampered by a lack of holistic cogency - Dr. Shinn has positively rectified that dynamic and has set us on the path to achieving tangible educational results."
    Parents of intellectually gifted 10-year-old
  • "Dr. Shinn has worked closely with our family to fully understand our child’s educational and psychological needs. She layers on a solid command of special education policy and data-driven psychometry. Her broad school psychology experience enables her to lead and expertly focus discussions during IEP meetings to quickly help the team find data-driven solutions."
    Parents of child with a Specific Learning Disability
  • "Dr. Shinn’s collaborative approach makes it possible to achieve meaningful results with school districts, attorneys, and other educational stakeholders. It is also reassuring that Dr. Shinn is actively engaged in research with recent publications in peer-reviewed journals."
    Father of child with a 504 Plan
  • "The thing we most love about Dr. Shinn is her follow-through, prompt deliverables, and attention to detail. Beyond educational counseling Dr. Shinn is the right partner for our family to help our child thrive through the school-aged years and into adulthood."
    Parents of 4th grader with ADHD