Dr. Kristen Wheldon

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Dr. Wheldon began her mental health career while working with children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. She went on to further her experience within the community while serving as a school counselor with a private organization and a catholic school. Her forensic experience began within the Orange County jail system. Thereafter, she was hired with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, served as a Staff Psychologist, and was soon promoted to a Senior Psychologist Specialist. In those positions, she provided direct services to the inmate-patient population, worked alongside law enforcement officers, served as a Suicide Prevention Proctor Mentor, provided institutional trainings to both sworn and civilian employees, and was responsible for helping to develop policies and procedures within her institution. 

 

Dr. Kristen Wheldon is community minded. She served as a volunteer and clinical supervisor at the Community Counseling Center of San Luis Obispo while also maintaining a small private practice offering individual and group services. 

 

Dr. Wheldon has a passion for education. She was a University Lecturer for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has served as an instructor for both Saddleback and Irvine Valley Colleges. She taught in areas of introductory, abnormal, and biological psychology. Within the prison system, she was a In Service Trainer for the custody and civilian staff in areas of suicide prevention and de-escalation techniques.

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She is the President & Founder of the Fire Service Psychology Association which is dedicated to bridging the gap between professional psychology and the fire service through providing APA approved continuing education courses to mental health providers, behavioral health trainings to departments, and collaborating on research to better understand the needs of firefighters and their families. 

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She has worked for the Los Angeles Fire Department as their Director of Behavioral Health. In that role, she provided direct psychological services to firefighters and their families, managed and supervised the peer support team, provided trainings on behavioral health topics, and supervised two doctoral students who were conducting their training hours within the department. She as served at the National Fire Academy reviewing their Health and Safety Curriculum to ensure it captured the psychological needs of the fire service. She helped develop the newest version of the Executive Fire Officer Program's organizational development curriculum and introduced the concept of psychological safety. She has been a contracted instructor of the EFO program delivering premier fire service education to fire service leaders around the country. 

 

Dr. Wheldon is dedicated the communities that she serves and is excited to offer direct psychological services to individuals, couples, and families. She has a passion for working with individuals in high performance occupations and those dedicated to becoming the best version of themselves.