Your Cart
Ann Steiner, Ph.D., LMFT, CGP*, FAGPA* earned her Ph.D. from the California Professional School of Psychology, Berkeley, did her pre and post-doctoral Fellowship at the Department of Psychiatry, SF, is licensed as a Marriage and Family Child Counselor (LM17115) and maintains a private practice in Lafayette, CA, where she works with adults, couples and groups. She served for 14 years as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco Medical School, is on the Faculty of The Psychotherapy Institute, and is a Board Member and Fellow* of the American Group Psychotherapy Society. Dr. Steiner is a keynote speaker and presenter for professional and consumer organizations. She presents programs for national and international societies, such as the American Group Psychotherapy Association, the California Psychological Association, and the International Human Learning Resources Network. You can read her full biography here: Ann Steiner, Ph.D., LMFT, CGP, FAGPA. Please see her website at www.PsychotherapyTools.com.
Summer Stephan, Esq., San Diego Co. District Attorney
District Attorney Summer Stephan has devoted her life to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and giving a voice to those who need help most – especially crime victims, women, children, and families.
With unmatched legal experience and a fearless focus on fairness and equality under the law, Summer Stephan protects victims of abuse and fraud, brings wrongdoers to justice, and has launched innovative programs to reduce recidivism and stop the revolving door of incarceration.
Upon taking office in 2018, Summer transformed the San Diego District Attorney’s office with cutting edge crime fighting techniques, responsible reforms, police accountability and a new, comprehensive approach to keeping all our communities safe.
Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D., and Overcoming Barriers’ Founder has been in private practice in Palo Alto for 20 years, specializing in Forensic Family psychology. He is a pioneer in the field of Parenting Coordination, which he helped develop in Santa Clara County more than 20 years ago, and has led the development of Parenting Coordination across the U.S. He is one of the most experienced Parenting Coordinators (called Special Master in California) in the country. Matt has written articles, presented and done trainings at numerous national and international venues on topics such as high-conflict divorce, Parenting Coordination, child alienation and mental health consultation in family law cases. He has served on the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Task Force on Parenting Coordination and the American Psychological and American Bar Association multi-year working group on legal psychological interventions with children and families. Currently he is serving on the Association of Family and Conciliation Court’s Board of Directors for both the international parent organization and California Chapter. Dr. Sullivan won the 2012 Joseph Drown award from the California Association of Family and Conciliation Courts for “Outstanding services to children.
I have practiced law since 1975 and have limited my practice to the area of Family Law since approximately 1980. My practice is concentrated on complex family law matters usually involving issues relating to property valuation and division, characterization of property as community or separate property and support. If custody becomes a major issue, I will bring in co-counsel to handle the custody portion of the case while I handle the other portions. My general philosophy of family law litigation is that almost all cases are capable of settlement and should be settled. I am successful in settling cases approximately 95% of the time. However, if a case cannot be settled, then it should be vigorously litigated. I have tried scores of cases lasting from one day to several months. In recent years, most of my trials have lasted a week or more.
Christy Wise, Ph.D. is a faculty member of The Steve Frankel Group, with over 20 years of experience as a court appointed California Evidence Code Section 730 Custody Evaluator. Since retiring as a licensed clinician and evaluator, she has spent her time teaching the ins and outs of what she’s learned, so other clinicians can benefit from her learning experiences as a custody evaluator. Since 1998, Dr. Wise has been a Certified Core Adjunct Faculty Professor/Student Advisor at National University, in San Diego, where she teaches psychology and human behavior courses. Dr. Wise designed this course for licensed California mental health professionals, but it’s not intended to exclude mental health professionals interested in the subject matter who are licensed in other jurisdictions.
Richard Zimmer, Ph.D. has been in practice for 22 years. In addition to disaster work and as the RPA representative to the California Disaster Network, he works with individuals, couples, families, children and adults on the spectrum, ADD/ADHD, people with disabilities, gay and transgender children and adults, children and adults with medical issues, and children and adults where cultural issues are prominent. He is also an anthropologist. He retired from teaching at the Hutchins School, Sonoma State University, and continues to teach in the Eisner Institute for Professional Studies, a graduate online psychology program.
