About
Bette Maisel, PsyD
My premise
Understand the whole pattern, not only the part that's currently loud.
I am a California-licensed clinical psychologist, professor, psychotherapist, speaker, and published author. My clinical work spans trauma, ADHD and neurodivergence, behavioral medicine, relationships, and family systems. I also write and speak on topics including neurodivergence and screen addiction.
I earned my doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, where I now teach Postmodern Family Therapy. My career has taken me across hospitals, medical clinics, startups, and group private practice, giving me firsthand experience with dramatically different professional cultures—from large healthcare systems to fast-moving environments where people routinely juggle multiple roles and competing demands.
Approach
Relational, contextual, and non-pathologizing.
My therapeutic approach is relational, contextual, and non-pathologizing. I am interested in understanding problems within the environments in which they arise—not simply locating them within an individual—and I draw from postmodern and systemic family therapy, EMDR, CBT, DBT, and IFS.
A full life
Professional identity is only one part of a life.
I know firsthand that professional identity is only one part of a life. As a psychologist, professor, working parent, and person with creative interests and hobbies outside of work, I understand the challenge of making room for multiple parts of yourself rather than optimizing your entire life around your career.
My style is direct, curious, collaborative, and humorous. I am comfortable with complexity, and I don't believe every problem needs to become either a pathology or a productivity problem.
How I workPractice details
California license
PSY 36729
Location
Virtual psychotherapy throughout California.
In-person ecotherapy sessions are available in the Sacramento area.
A first conversation