welcome to abbey!
precision pediatric psychology

children's mental health & wellbeing
assessment & trauma-focused pediatric treatment
supporting responsive, relationship-based parenting & care
without condition

831.275.8260

abbey monterey
2100 garden road, Bldg A, Rm 104. monterey, ca 93940

​abbey saratoga
​12850 saratoga ave., saratoga, ca 95070

Independent Child & Adult Private Pay Expert Services:
Psychological Assessment & Treatment, Report; Expert Testimony
Private Pay (Insurance Reimbursed, Victim of Crime CA/VAP Provider)
Reunification/Reconnection Fam Court T herapy, Independent Parenting Class Provider


promoting relationship-based, responsive, family relationships
empathic parenting and caregiving rather than declarative parenting.
enhancing safety and stabilization as children grow.
we promote coping, and constancy through continued responsive,
reflective, empathic caregiving/parenting -

encouraging/supporting processes of Attachment, Reflective, Responsive caregiving 
and parenting, and enhanced adult mentalizing capacities - Parents understanding 
thoughts, feelings, intentions, beliefs, and those of children and youth in their care.

step by step recovery from early adversity and repeated trauma
occurs by faithfully supporting all aspects of the healing journey -
viewing healing is a process that occurs while providing Constancy. 

as child/family psychologists, we work patiently, relationally, contextually,
and transactionally. . . providing respect and constancy. 

acknowledging that family members exist together 
but also in their individual contexts -- not only continually
affecting each other - butalso all changing individually as persons
as they move forward together.in time, they are influenced
by events which include gains and also losses
which may affect all family members in different ways.

as examples: events leading to separation/divorce, loss or death of a pet or friend,
changing schools, losses of supportive family and other relationships
that are incredibly deeply meaningful and formative - may often appear more significant
in the lives of children, teens, than adults may ever imagine, as younger family members
​may verbalize their feelings far less obviously than those who are older.

*
as experienced psychologist scholars, professors, global humanitarians,
supervisors, clinicians, asylum evaluators, US and global program developers,
we engage in clinical and forensic ​activities: consultation, specialized interviewing,
child/adult psychological assessment, and accurate, transformative
trauma- and assessment-informed (personalized) precision treatment
in our neighborhoods and globally, our influence spreads
through the experiences of those we have taught, trained, and supervised.

precision psychological treatment
 "the right treatment for the right person at the right time"
(Obama 2006)

​we promote collaborative conceptualization and decision-sharing with children who are experiencing severe stress, trauma & distress when conducting research and providing treatment, 
and maintain a focus on recovery as we work toward
truly healing trauma & repeated trauma; 
strongly supporting relationship-focused, empathic and shared, informed parenting/caregiving.

we offer research grounded personalized carer & parent support and coaching,
direct consultation to family law personnel and to conflicted and separating/separated parents
and to all those educators, professionals and paraprofessionals who interface with our children,
emphasizing what we know from Ancient Wisdom Traditions and the most recent trauma research
(Nielson, 2017): 

What matters most in the life of a child is the quality of the parent
(or constant caregiver) - child relationship” -- not determining who is the good or bad parent per Family Court.

this more accurate recent research finally corrects longstanding inaccuracies
and consequent misrepresentations that have fueled decades of custody/co-parenting research
responsible for  major destructive beliefs and consequent erroneous harmful
​family court child family policies and procedures which became popular/common place in the 1980s
and forward. (Nielson, 2017).

These inaccurate beliefs, grounded in erroneous research findings, have resulted in
widespread harmful practices in the conducting of parent-child custody
decisions,  are evidenced in a number of non-helpful, even harmful reunification/reconnection
​therapies,
as well as widespread, erroneous but widely perpetuation of custody evaluation
attitudes which have resulted in one-sided, faulty decisions finalized, unfortunately, on truly
non-evidence- supported, blatantly erroneous premises.

as scholar clinicians, we are available for forensic work and testimony regarding custody cases,
assisting colleagues and attorneys, judges, to understand how these aberrations in decision-making
came to be accepted and widely practiced, providing relevant research-based
consultation, clinical, academic, and forensic support.

Humanitarian & Refugee Psychology

we have decades of experience as clinicians, professors,
supervisors, developers of assessment and treatment programs for vulnerable children and families,, conducting asylum assessments and treatment, torture evaluation, screening
and treatment of recent refugee adjustment, assessing post-conflict effects in migrating children, adolescents, and families, and combined clinical & forensic
assessment and treatment experience with individuals  from more than 70 countries.

Dr. Livingston has never lost a case testifying in Immigration Court.

We have worked consistently in CA Family, Dependency, Juvenile,  Mitigation etc.,
Courts in a number of counties over decades from our shared Private Practice.

We offer relational, precision (personalized) services to those
most vulnerable, providing integrative, psychological
assessment-informed, & trauma-informed treatment
for maximum breadth & accuracy.

we research, listen, collaborate, continually research, advise,
mentor; craft the most personalized services possible with
likeminded others.

our scope is local, country-wide/US, and compassionately global
​& humanitarian. ​
​
see our thoughtfully created nonprofit for forcibly displaced war/
armed- conflict affected children fleeing at politically unstable country borders 
at the always project,

always be listening global initiative 
​alwaysbelisteningglobal.com

rapidly growing numbers of, forcibly displaced, war-affected wandering children & youth
​are referred to as the world’s ”traveling children" by the UN
​and increasingly include numerous US street children. 

Logo above created for our global project, always be listening global, by renowned artist Caroline Magerl, Australia,
"listening to the bird of compassion" (as symbolized in East Africa).
The illustration is now used In both our private practice and global nonprofit:
always be listening global and abbey psychological services, 
as they share the commitment is to the provision of services that help reduce disparities
​in child mental health:
rapid, affordable, safe access to quality services,
​available to all without condition.

​

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extending a warm welcome!! 
to children, youth & families; older adolescents/youth in silicon valley, monterey, etc.,  -- educators, social workers, physicians; attorneys, child advocates, court personnel, in the monterey bay area, Saratoga and surrounding area, & the central California coast!
please call with questions!
​or email drmarileerueb@gmail.com or jamesdlivingstonphd@yahoo.com; ​
supporting children, siblings & friends, parents & carers, teachers, relatives, all who help children cope!

james "jay" livingston, ph.d., m.a.
lic. clinical psychologist, ca lic# 5940
assessing/treating clinical psychologist; global humanitarian
founding assessment director, abbey
founding assessment director, always be listening global initiative

​professor, p/t faculty, former, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, clinical & assessment faculty
​Assessment FELLOW, SOCIETY FOR PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT International
adult, teen precision clinical & forensic services
refugee psychology: assess, treat; consult, teach & train
Rapid, safe access for Clients
PSYCHOLOGY CLINICAL AND FORENSIC CASE REVIEW AND CONSULTATION
ATTORNEY CONSULTATION BY APPOINTMENT

marilee ruebsamen, ph.d., m.s., m.a.
   founding director, abbeym
lic clinical psychologist, ca lic# psy ca 15068
mama, nana, child trauma clinical/forensic psychologist,
global humanitarian 
promoting rapid safe access to quality precision mental health
​services and wellbeing for children/families,
reducing disparities in US & global health, mental health
assessing/treating clinical psychologist; global humanitarian
founding dir., precision clinical & forensic services @ abbey in US
child, adult, parenting, assessment/treatment 
reunification/reconnection therapy
relationship-based parenting
​founding executive director, always be listening global initiative
thoughtful nonprofit 501 (c)(3) for forcibly displaced
​war-affected children in twelve countries
assoc. professor, p/t faculty, former, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology

Invested in  locating seeds and sources of hope & promoting lasting,
relationship-based parenting
and grandparenting, 
promoting intergenerational hopefulness in families and groups.

       children are often brought in to resolve troubling issues, - and often brought much later than they should have been, given hesitancy about what therapy, diagnosis, treatment, might consist of, and sometimes, because of excessive worry and feelings of failure or guilt on the part of parents.
kids may be suffering from various worrisome conditions, or, more often, combined effects of current and past mixed or cumulative conditions. or reacting to situations to which they have been exposed: and that were never resolve, or sometimes neglect, abuse,

we see children exposed to interpersonal or community violence,
high, chronic, unresolved interparental conflict and violence,
discrimination, gender-based or gender-creative-related threat,
harrassment, bullying; injury. 

children and youth may become emotionally derailed by
disruptive transitions, being victims of crime,
explicitly exposed or victimized to violent crime outside or within
their homes
(homicide, suicide, abduction, robbery) struggling as a result of
recent refugee experiences,
multiple losses, including losses of pets and friends, death/bereavement, severe or frequent,
chronic illness or injury, bullying.
medical crises, early childhood adversity (ACES), etc., are long known to be potent negative effects on the normal development of children when unacknowledged and worked through with adult assistance, sometime professional assistance.

we treat children/youth overwhelmed by feelings of
non-belonging and expendability 
(sometimes expressing suicidality
(thoughts & behaviors), at times, a result of poor fit in
reconstituted family units after remarriage)
by giving prompt, regular/predictble, safe, accessible, affordable,  
developmentally appropriate, genuine, quality,
infectious and caring connectedness in a therapeutic relationship -

in some cases, therapy may be the first time, a very first opportunity,
for a young person to step by step engage in a trusted adult relationship
on their own terms, at their own pace.


we are committed to helping
"sort it out"
 and then, diminishing the effects of distressing history, loss, trauma, uprootedness,
feelings of expendability, non-belongingness, trust destroyed, pervasive sadness;
distorted thinking/ damaged Internal Representations
about one's Self, Others, Relationships, the wide World, and the Future.

we are here to promote the effects of
enduring connection:
safety, stability, support, constancy and trust
hopefulness; and plant seeds of joy
in the lives of children/youth, families and carers
without disparity in quality, cost, availability
or delivery/continuity of services.
without the overwhelming complications,
including financial insecurity,
which typically impede ​access to child mental health services.


offering
offering safe, rapid, affordable, clear access to continuous,
quality, psychological assessment, treatment,  psychoeducation,
dependable ancillary services and aftercare,
& carefully curated referrals.
invested in helping both/all parents and carers maintain and
strengthen their relationships with their children.


addressing trauma's beginnings and trauma's aftermath
with personalized resources for parents, ​& affected others -

which begins by listening deeply to the child, adolescent,
and family/carer's various Stories
(for children, often expressed in play, drama, or art).
we are compiling and accurately assessing
the nature and effects of what has occurred
with children directly victimized or children 'exposed'
to a pervasive atmosphere of direct abuse
of a parent
or the  victimization of others, such as a classmate,
a sibling, and we listen, also,
to the renditions of others "affected".

we educate step by step, as we begin accurate,
age-appropriate, precision (personalized, evidence-based)
multi-modal, multi-method psychological assessment.

we build relationships with children and families/schools,
agencies, etc.
ensuring safety across all contexts, and working together
with parents toward
stabilization and constancy in all their environments.

in the words of our friend, dr. gretchen schmeltzer, Ph.D.
we  promote
​coping, constancy, and recovery
supporting all aspects of the healing journey -
across the entire ARC - the entire course - of healing.
through all the stages - of recovery.  as it is a Journey

​
*we use psychological assessment to accurately inform
precision (personalized, evidence-based treatment
(per Obama, 2009,  precision means "the right treatment
for the right person at the right time!)

* we offer relationship-based healing therapy
for traumatized, isolating,  disruptive,
sometimes "spacey"-appearing, anxious,
sad/depressive, acting out or acting in,
hurting children/adolescents

* encouraging parents & caregivers
by supporting increased empathy, (mentalization),
promoting relationship-based
mindful, reflective, parenting, psycho-education,
and -
promoting personalized inner growth through
engaged spirituality: personal & group mindful Practice
​and engaged group spiritual humanitarian response/action
.

abbey also provides
comprehensive
precision general psychological
mental health services for
pediatric, adult, elder,
refugee/asylum seeking individuals,
veterans, etc.
we provide interpreter services in Spanish

clinical and forensic
competent, compassionate consultation,
assessment, second opinion reviews,
treatment; & court testimony
*reunification, reconnection therapy
refugee psychology
*asylum evaluations
support throughout individual
and family transitions
carefully curated referrals
&  follow-up

abbey
psychologists are licensed in CA and work
globally as humanitarians,
directing a nonprofit for forcibly displaced,
war/armed-conflict-affected children
fleeing with other children ]
at unstable border regions of
twelve countries through
always be listening global initiative,
see alwaysbelisteningglobal.com 

thank you for visiting our websites!
pleased to schedule time to listen and answer questions!

​Dr. Marilee and Dr. Jay