Dr. Heller has worked with children, adolescents, and families since 1996. She traveled to England in 1997 to study Psychology at Sheffield University where she completed an intensive year of coursework in developmental psychology and research. She returned to San Francisco to work with homeless teens at a youth crisis shelter, which offered support and resources to these youth and their families.
Dr. Heller graduated from San Francisco State University in 1999 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and entered graduate school at the California School of Professional Psychology. That fall, Dr. Heller began work at Head Start with at-risk children ages 2-6 years and their families. She completed developmental assessments and interviewed parents in an effort to identify families’ needs and to refer them to the proper resources.
In 2000 Dr. Heller began work as a therapist at Walden House, an adult residential substance abuse treatment center, where she worked with recovering adults struggling with mental illness. The following year, Dr. Heller worked with severely emotionally disturbed adolescents in school-based day treatment. Additionally, she was a therapist at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic for children, adolescents, and their families.
Dr. Heller was awarded her Masters Degree in Psychology in 2002 from the California School of Professional Psychology. After relocating to Los Angeles, she began work as a therapist at the Kayne-Eras Center, a non-public school in Culver City, CA, where she met with children and families for therapy, supported these families through the IEP process, and collaborated with teachers in the classroom to help kids succeed. The following year, Dr. Heller worked with homeless adolescents at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the Division of Adolescent Medicine High Risk Youth Program. Simultaneously, she worked as a therapist for Star View, where she provided community-based therapeutic services to at-risk children and families in their homes and schools.
Dr. Heller was awarded her Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology in 2004 from the California School of Professional Psychology. She was soon after accepted into the Child and Adolescent Post-Doctorate Fellowship Program at Casa Pacifica, a multimodal agency where she worked primarily on the adolescent boys unit, providing individual, family, and group therapy to high-risk adolescents and multi-stressed families.
Dr. Heller has been in Private Practice since September 2005. Additionally, she is a Clinical Supervisor at Star View where she supervises unlicensed clinicians who provide community-based therapeutic services to children and families.
A former well-respected nanny with more than 10 years experience, Dr. Heller also consults for families and their nannies as The Nanny Doctor. For more information on these services, please visit www.thenannydoctor.com.
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
Dr. Heller is a member of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles County Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, and The Los Angeles Attachment Theory Study Group.
For more detailed information, you can view Dr. Heller’s complete Curriculum Vitae