Philosophy of Care

I feel privileged to serve my child and family clients by promoting wellness, healing, and growth. I aim to provide high-quality services by delivering strengths-based, developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed clinical care. I am inspired by the infants, children, adolescents, and caregivers that I meet in my practice. It is truly rewarding to see how resilient my clients are by bravely overcoming life’s challenges, including breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma, to reach their full potential. Everyone is deserving of quality care and our team is here to help empower you to improve your mental health, one step at a time.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Carlina Ramirez Wheeler is a bilingual (English/Spanish) multiracial/multicultural Assistant Clinical Professor with specialized training and experience working with high-risk and systems-involved youth ages 0-21. She is committed to increasing access to quality mental health care for youth and their families within primary care and community mental health settings. Within the UC Davis Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (CCAP) Training Programs, she serves as the Training Director for the APA-accredited Doctoral Internship Program and the APPIC-member Postdoctoral Psychology Program.

As a licensed and credentialed Health Service Psychologist (HSP), Dr. Wheeler provides a range of direct clinical services primarily at the Sacramento County Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (CAPS) Clinic. She has received supervised training in a range of evidence-based practices specific to infants, children, and adolescents exposed to traumatic and adverse childhood experiences (e.g., Functional Family Therapy, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy [CBT], Trauma-Focused CBT, Parent-Child Care, Incredible Years, Aggression Replacement Training, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). She has dedicated her career to bringing these services to children and families from underserved, low-income, and diverse communities.

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Wheeler's clinical, teaching, and research interests include: diversity-related issues and acculturative/minority stress; risk and resilience factors; developmental psychopathology; trauma, adversity, and maltreatment; attachment and family systems theory and approaches; strength-based, comprehensive psychological assessment; pediatric integrated behavioral health; population-based health; and prevention/early intervention program development and outcomes research.

In addition, she currently serves as the instructor for the UC Davis Psychiatry Residency Program’s Introduction to Psychological Assessment Seminar and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program’s Family Therapy Seminar and advanced rotation.

Division

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry