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Dr. Marta M. Shinn, Ph.D.

Specializations: Educational Consulting, Training 

Dr. Shinn is a specialist in child and educational psychology.

In her educational advocacy work she helps families who have children with special needs and require services through their school district. Dr. Shinn prepares parents for I.E.P.  & 504 Plan meetings, supports them in understanding the tests/evaluations conducted by the school, and helps parents decide what educational placements would benefit their child. Dr. Shinn is an expert advocate with a broad knowledge in child development and education. She consults with parents at our practice to orient them to the special education and psychological assessment process, and also joins parents at school-based meetings to advocate and represent the interests of their child.

Dr. Shinn is also a clinical psychologist and a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) trainer for UC Davis. If you are a clinician or represent a clinic seeking PCIT training, Dr. Shinn can help. She has 10+ years experience using PCIT to improve parent-child relationships, and has trained several agencies in bringing PCIT into their practice. Dr. Shinn’s experience includes training cohorts of clinicians as well as mentoring trainers in how to train therapists within and outside of their agencies.

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

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

Educational Consulting Fees: 

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

  • $300: consultation & advocacy services provided at schools or other locations billed at two hours minimum.

Training & Conference Speaking Fees: Please contact by email or phone to discuss your needs and obtain a quote.

Insurance: Use your own health insurance plan and benefits.  We are an out-of-network provider and our patients submit reimbursement claims through Better

Phone Number: (949) 424-5707

Email: drshinn@variationspsychology.com

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 advocate 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 school advocacy 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 advocacy 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 advocacy 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 school advocacy, 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