Jessica L. Rosenbaum, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
California Licence #PSY 18806
I have been licensed in California since early 2003. Since that time, I have completed psychological, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological evaluations of children and young adults ranging in age from 4 to 19. I am particularly well adept at differentiating between learning, behavioral, and/or emotional causes for symptoms that children are presenting at home and at school.
My undergraduate degree is from UCLA and I completed both my M.A. and Ph.D. at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Gallaudet is the only university in the world that specializes in teaching and serving deaf and hard of hearing individuals. While I am not deaf or hard of hearing, my training included classes in audiology, lignuistics, and deaf studies, in addition to the typical coursework of a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Also, interfacing with schools and the IEP process was an integrated part of my education. All therapy and assessment coursework was conducted in English and sign language and the impact of providing services in American Sign Language was a component of each course. This unique requirement resulted in a careful review of each assessment measure, including each item, so as to truly understand what information is being gathered and how it impacts the person being evaluated.
My Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Family and Community Enrichment Services, Inc., or FACES, (now Youth and Family Enrichment Services) in San Carlos, allowed me to fine tune my assessment and family therapy skills. I also conducted group therapy sessions for high school students and their parents. These students would otherwise have been suspended for significant violations of school rules. During this fellowship, I also provided therapy services and consultations with administrators at a local elementary school.
I completed my Internship at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA where I was a part of the Psychiatry Department serving both hospitalized children and outpatient families and children with mental health needs. I worked with children who were hospitalized for long stays due to accidents resulting in significant physical injury and a need for long-term rehabilitation. I helped provide support and comfort to families and children in emotional pain, and at times panic, as a result of devastating traumatic events and/or going through extremely painful medical procedures. I also provided extended therapeutic support to very ill children and their families, including those struggling with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Joelle E. Spencer, Ph.D.
Registered Psychological Associate
California Licence #PSY 94027077
Before joining the practice in 2022, Joelle most recently served as the Director of Special Education for the Burlingame School District. While serving as Director of Special Education, she led, coordinated, and supervised preschool through 8th grade special education and mental health staffing and programming for the District. She provided ongoing consultation and communication with staff (i.e. school psychologists, speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, counselors, special education teachers etc.), school site administrators, and parents regarding the goals, methods, measurement and procedures for instruction in special education programs.
In 2015, Joelle graduated with her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with an emphasis in School Psychology from University of the Pacific. She also hold a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music from University of the Pacific.
Her experience in public schools reflects a variety of settings in both the Central Valley and the Bay Area: Stockton, Escalon, Bay Point (West Pittsburg), Burlingame, and San Bruno. Previously, her work as a School Psychologist ranged from providing comprehensive psychological, psychoeducational, and neuropsychological special education assessments, leading IEP team meetings, supervising interns, developing district programs, and collaborating with families, co-workers, neighboring districts, and Non-Public agencies/schools to fit the unique needs of each student.
Mary Beth Bechtel, MA
Licensed Special Educator, Educational Diagnostician
Mary Beth Bechtel is an Educational Diagnostician and licensed teacher with experience educating and evaluating children (grades PK- 12). She earned a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from George Mason University and an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from Hood College. While earning her undergraduate degree, Mary Beth Bechtel completed an internship in the Child Life Services program at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and worked as a Child Life Specialist the summer after graduation.
Mary Beth Bechtel has a long and distinguished career in education. She began her 24-year teaching career in public schools in Maryland and then in Virginia. Mary Beth Bechtel taught in the international schools system for years while posted overseas with her family, always returning to American public schools. After leaving the classroom, she has worked as an educational diagnostician since 2016. Throughout her teaching career, Mary Beth Bechtel was a member of school problem solving and referral teams. As a teacher, she collaborated with colleagues and parents to build relationships and provide the most effective teaching practices to best ensure student success. As an educational diagnostician, she served on problem solving team meetings, consulted with parents and teachers, and when appropriate evaluated students to determine patterns of academic strengths and weaknesses to determine if a student had characteristics of an educational disability. To be most effective, Mary Beth Bechtel helped develop a Response to Intervention program at her school and at the district level when in Virginia. To share her vast teaching experiences, she developed a Learning Support Center to identify and support the needs of students in grades preschool through grade twelve at the American International School in Bamako, Mali. She led professional development for the staff, provided intervention to students, led child study and team meetings, mentored teachers, and held conferences with parents. While living in Saudi Arabia and working for the United States Department of State, Mary Beth Bechtel worked to help establish the Saudi-ARAMCO Autism Center. Additionally, she connected local government officials, business leaders, families, and educational staff with special education experts from the United States to share the latest research to benefit students with unique educational needs.
All her experiences working on school teams, teaching around the world, working closely with families and colleagues, and as a parent, contribute to her ability to conduct quality educational evaluations to support students, parents, teachers, and other educational professionals to help answer referral concerns and diagnose student learning problems.
Mary Beth Bechtel has wide range of professional accomplishments, including the Avis Bohlen Award (American Foreign Service Association), Outstanding Teacher of the Year (Loudoun County Special Education Advisory Council), and the Most Promising Teacher Award (Hood College).