Crystal Dixon, PsyD

Contract Employee

Dr. Crystal Dixon is a contractor with Wellness Therapy of San Diego providing only assessment services. Dr. Dixon does not provide therapy services.

Dr. Dixon is able to accept Magellan and Cigna insurances for assessments as well as cash-pay assessment clients.

Area of Assessment Specialization and Interest

  • ADHD testing with children, teens, and adults

  • Diagnostic testing to determine emotional, psychological, and cognitive strengths and weaknesses

  • Providing in-depth assessments for accurate diagnosing of complex cases 

  • Working with the AAPI (Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders) community

 

More About My Background and Training

I am a licensed clinical psychologist within the state of California, and my specialty is in using validated instruments for comprehensive psychological evaluations. I serve as a diagnostician to help individuals gain clarity and move toward mental wellness. I find that there is freedom in understanding ourselves as a whole, and there is a way to destigmatize the negative connotations society has toward mental health. Receiving a clear diagnosis may not only feel like a relief and weight off one's shoulder, but it also opens doors for obtaining the right treatment from other providers and insurance companies, allowing individuals to set foot on the right path. I am particularly skilled in screening for ADHD, a widely underdiagnosed, frequently misdiagnosed, and misunderstood condition. I have conducted hundreds of evaluations and throughout my experience, I have seen that no two ADHD referrals with similar symptoms are the same. Each client I work with is an exciting opportunity and a privilege that I hold in high regard, so I provide my utmost care in making sure clients feel safe and at ease throughout the testing experience.

My residency training was at Gateways Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric facility where I completed adolescent and adult rotations focused on behavioral health skills training, biopsychosocial assessments, and psychological testing for severe mental disorders. I then completed my postdoctoral training at Savera Psychological Services and La Jolla Psychology Center, private practices where I learned how to work with wellness and complexity that exist in everyday, human experiences. This refined my clinical skills to think more critically about how to assist already high-functioning, successful and enigmatic clients to improve their emotional functioning and reach their personal goals. I also have additional training at Fremont Hospital's outpatient program, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology's counseling clinic, Sovereign Health's residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs serving chemical dependency and eating disorders, and Phoenix House's dual-diagnosis residential program. My master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy taught me how to analyze each case through a person-centered, relational lens, while my doctoral degree in Applied Clinical Psychology sharpened my understanding of psychiatric disorders and the need for reform of our current mental health system. Together, I use my diverse experiences and training to diagnose, educate, and empower my clients until they believe in the power of creating positive change in themselves as much as I do.

During my evaluations, I conduct thorough interviews, select a battery of assessments tailored to the individual, and critically analyze each test data so that I may understand who I'm serving to the best of my ability. I work from an integrative, positive psychology/mindfulness-based/cognitive-behavioral therapy approach, which is a fancy way of saying I believe there is always hope and the possibility of a healthy outcome for anyone motivated to do the work. When provided with the correct diagnosis, recommendations, resources, and treatment plan, individuals have more control of their lives, and I value that to be an integral part of the process.