About

I’m Dr. Dianne Sterling, a licensed clinical psychologist in Cardiff, California. My background includes intensive internship and fellowship training in the Harvard and Boston University Medical School systems while attending Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (now William James College) for my doctorate in clinical psychology. For ten years, I was also a mindfulness consultant to Scripps Center for Executive Health in La Jolla. I have also been lead therapist for psychedelic clinical trials with Compass Pathways and provide ketamine assisted psychotherapy including preparation and integration at Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute.

My initial training in the psychodynamic traditions expanded to include meditation and mindfulness practices as well as holistic approaches to mind/body health, which has profoundly influenced how I practice psychotherapy.

I have pursued specialized and extensive training in meditation and mindfulness practices with master teachers, including Thich Nhat Hahn, Jack Kornfield, Pema Chodron, Sharon Salzberg, Lama Surya Das, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Lama Tsultrim and HH Dalai Lama as well as training in psychedelic therapy including preparation, facilitation and integration.

I trained in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and attended multiple conferences in Buddhism and Psychology, Mindfulness and Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dan Seigel and Jack Kornfield, along with many others. I also pursued training in Energy Psychology, Reiki (I, II, III, Master), and Ayurveda and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) with Kristen Neff and Chris Germer. Besides teacher training in Ashtanga yoga, I pursued training in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, ultimately developing a 6-week course in Mindfulness Yoga for Trauma as well as presented on the neurobiology of trauma for OG Yoga teacher training. My trauma training has included multiple conferences and trainings with Bessel Van der Kolk, Judy Herman, Stephen Porges and Peter Levine. 

My perspective has been honed over three decades of training and experience with a broad spectrum of psychotherapeutic and holistic modalities, and my scope of practice has moved beyond conventional therapy to encompass a uniquely integrative mind/body approach. I continue to explore emerging therapies and draw from a variety of sources to incorporate what will be most helpful to each individual.

In the last several years I joined a research team at Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute for 4 phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials using psilocybin for treating depression and was trained as a psilocybin therapist with Compass Pathways in an FDA approved program. I also provide specialized psychotherapy for Ketamine treatments at Kadima. I am excited about the potential of psychedelics to treat a myriad of psychological conditions and become a new wave in the arsenal of treatment modalities.