Dr. Villarreal’s Biography

Dr. Villarreal maintains a private psychotherapy and forensic assessment practice in Oakland, California. This includes psychological treatment for adults, adolescents and families dealing with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, relationship or interpersonal difficulties, exploring sexuality/sexual problems, job related stress conditions, coping with medical illnesses and/or chronic pain, social isolation, bereavement, and phase of life transitions such as parenthood, divorce, or changes in careers.  Dr. Villarreal uses evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques, and has expertise in treating culturally diverse populations.  Dr. Villarreal’s forensic practice includes providing assessment services for the Department of Public Health/City and County of San Francisco, as well as assessment referrals from private attorneys.  She has also held teaching positions at Argosy University (San Francisco Bay Campus) where she instructs and supervises doctoral students in Cognitive and Personality Assessment, and Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology.

Dr. Villarreal’s training includes years of intensive research-based and clinically rigorous experiences at leading healthcare institutions such as UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital (a nationally renowned teaching hospital and leading psychology internship program), Kaiser Permanente Hospital (Behavioral Medicine Department), the Health Psychology training program at San Francisco Veteran’s Hospital, and Laguna Honda Hospital’s Pain Education Program. Dr. Villarreal is also qualified to provide pre-surgical psychological evaluations such as preparation for Bariatric/Gastric Bypass surgery or organ transplants.

Dr. Villarreal was awarded her undergraduate degree in Psychology (B.A.) from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and holds a Master’s Degree (M.A.) from the University of San Francisco where she studied Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. She earned a doctorate ( Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology from The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University, with a specialization in Health and Multicultural Psychology. She has conducted research through the Center for HIV and AIDS Prevention (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and has published research in the area of sexual risk behavior among Latinos.