Recommendations and endorsements

“Christina is an astute clinician and writer. She is an expert in psychology and interacts daily with faculty, staff, and patients. I’ve known Christina for many years and I am increasingly impressed by her academic and personal achievements. She sets the highest standards for herself and provides excellent counseling to the community. She is empathetic, warm, and compassionate in all her interactions. She is actively engaged in current issues and develops ideas to assist in developing behavior intervention plans and setting goals for a multitude of patients. She is nothing short of amazing.” January 3, 2013  Dr. Lloyd Stockey, Primary Care Physician, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA

“When another doctor recommended Dr. Villarreal to me I was told, “She’s good… REALLY good.” And never have truer words been said. A true professional on every level. A highly skilled expert in CBT, pain management, and addiction (as I found out). Under her care I healed a heart break (amongst other things), a bad lower back, and quit smoking. I walked away from every session armed and invigorated with new tools and tangible methods for improving myself that very day. And after years of self-help books and advice from girlfriends, it only took one hour with Christina to begin to see a concrete way to change my ways. And those changes showed positive, immediate results. She taught me specific, applicable techniques for growth that I still apply to this very day. As promised, “She is REALLY good.””  April, 2012  “Susan”, age 43

“Dr. Villarreal is a highly skilled mental health practitioner and bright scholar. Consulting with Dr. Villarreal has been a very rewarding and positive experience for me. Namely, every time I consult with Dr. Villarreal, particularly in the areas of forensic and clinical psychology (i.e., her areas of expertise), I come away with a better perspective feeling more level headed, confident and clear about my work. Also, Dr. Villarreal’s colleagues and clientele have nothing but good things to say about her. Lastly, Dr. Villarreal is very warm, compassionate and committed to her clientele and the community she serves. Dr. Villarreal is definitely one of a kind!!!”   March, 2012  Dr. Frank Davis, licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, Berkeley, CA. 

“Christina is a dedicated and passionate professional with insightful input and excellent responsiveness. I highly recommend her and look forward to further benefitting from her expertise.”  July, 2012  Na’il Benjamin, Deputy City Attorney at City and County of San Francisco, CA 

“Dr. Villarreal is a dedicated and engaging professor and is constantly trying to help her students grow as clinicians.  She is a pleasant and thorough professional.  I enjoyed learning under her and working with her briefly, and I hope we get the chance to work together in the future.  I highly recommend her in any professional capacity!”  April, 2012  Shilpi Dey, doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Argosy University

“Dr. Villarreal has breadth and depth of experience in significant areas of clinical practice. I recommend her work as a diagnostician and psychologist most enthusiastically. Her cross cultural expertise is noteworthy and she is a wonderful speaker and teacher, whose students rave about the way in which she imparts knowledge and support their professional growth.” October 24, 2007  Yvette Flores, Clinical Psychologist & President, Flores Consulting and Psychotherapy, Oakland, CA

“Dr. Villarreal was a great professor and I feel like the class I took with her enhanced my skills as a clinician. The course content was clear and well organized and I felt challenged throughout. I felt like she was able to integrate student feedback into the course, without compromising the material or other students’ needs. She worked hard to help each student not only gain knowledge, but also focused on our professional development. When I had questions that exceeded the scope of the course, she provided me with additional material and was open to further discussion after class. I found her candor and willingness to share her own professional development extremely beneficial and something I wish I had experienced more in graduate school.” November 24, 2008  Chantel Curbo, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist at Bay Area Community Resources, CA

“I had Dr. Villarreal for Health Psychology and Integrative Assessment at Argosy University. She was an excellent professor and shows a real passion for her field and her work. She encouraged classroom discussion and seemed to really care about all of her students.” October 4, 2008  Christine Yang, post-doctoral student in clinical psychology, Argosy University San Francisco Bay Area

“Christina is knowledgeable, well organized, mature and dedicated. She is a pleasure to work with.” September 27, 2008  Zoe Collins, Psy.D., clinical psychologist, Clearwater Counseling and Assessment Services

“Dr. Villarreal was one of my professors in the Psy.D. program at Argosy University, San Francisco Bay Area campus. She taught very comprehensive classes and specialized in the areas of health psychology and assessment. She was very supportive and she helped me to develop areas of interest and expertise. I would highly recommend her as a professor and clinician.” September 18, 2008  Kristie McGowan, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, Kaiser Permanente, Roseville, CA

“Dr. Villarreal was my professor in the PsyD program at Argosy, as she taught Cognitive Assessment. Dr. Villarreal demonstrated professional behavior, an amiable personality, and a willingness to assist students outside of class time. She went above and beyond the set cirriculum, by providing additional information to understand and administer the assessments . As a result of her ability to teach Cognitive Assessment, I feel quite proficient in conducting clinical interviews, and administering the WAIS, the WISC, the WRAT, and the Mental Status Exam. I would highly recommend Dr. Villarreal and would be more than happy to take additional classes from her in the future. She is a great professor.” August 29, 2009  Renea Smith, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist at Ann Martin Center, Oakland, CA

“Dr. Villarreal is extremely organized and utilized relevant learning materials to the fullest in the classroom. She is extremely patient and supportive of the student’s learning process and always available after class for additional questions and help.” August 28, 2008  Lindsey Osterman, doctoral student in clinical psychology, Argosy University San Francisco Bay Area

“Dr. Villarreal combined academic competence with humanistic care. One of the best teachers I had at Argosy University San Francisco Bay Area. Most teachers excel either in theoretical knowledge or professional clinical experience. Dr. Villarreal showed not only deep knowledge of the theories in Psychology, but also how to integrate them with professional clinical care for the patient.” August 28, 2008  Meire Santos, Marriage and Family Therapist, Private Practice, San Francisco Bay Area, CA