About Dr. Naber
Neuropsychologist
California Psychologist PSY15668
Dr. Christine Naber holds a Masters and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She completed her internship at the Southwest Consortium in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque Veteran's Administration, University of New Mexico, Indian Health Services, and Charter Heights Hospital) with a focus on neuropsychology and cross cultural psychology. She also obtained post doctoral training in neuropsychology and rehabilitation at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and Northcoast Health Care Centers in Santa Rosa, CA.
In addition to her private practice, Dr. Naber works as a neuropsychologist in the Department of Neuropsychology at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa. Her private practice specializes in adult and geriatric neuropsychology, as well as criminal and civil forensic neuropsychological evaluations. She has worked as a plaintiff and/or defense expert in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Amador, San Francisco, and Marin County courts, as well as served as a court appointed expert in multiple criminal cases in the County of Sonoma.
Dr. Naber loves to travel, especially to any sites with ancient ruins. Highlights of her travels have included Belize, Guatemala, England, Colombia, and thru the Panama Canal. Her family enjoys canoeing the Russian River and hiking. The current family favorite hiking spot is Cinder Cone in Lassen National Park. She also enjoys performing in regional theatre, singing, and watching baseball. Go Cubs!
Clinical Approach
Brain-behavior relationships are the foundation of neuropsychology. As such, a neuropsychologist receives training in brain anatomy, brain function, and brain injury/disease, as well as emotional and psychological functioning. Neuropsychologists also have specialized training in administering and interpreting specific tests that look at cognition, such as attention, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, visual-spatial functions, language, sensory perception, motor abilities, academic skills, and emotional functioning. While brain MRIs and CT scans provide information about brain structure, neuropsychological testing assesses changes in abilities that are often too subtle for medical diagnostics to detect (e.g., personality changes and patterns in cognition). In addition, some neuropsychologists, such as Dr. Naber, receive additional training in rehabilitation. This training allows Dr. Naber to not only diagnose brain disease but to offer strategies to compensate for neuropsychological deficits and improve one's day-to-day life.
Community Outreach
In the aftermath of the 2017 Sonoma, Napa, and Lake County fires, Dr. Naber was instrumental in helping to develop a first-in-the-nation mental health collaborative in support of communities with critical mental health needs after disaster.
The Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County combined resources with multiple mental health organizations to provide disaster training to mental health providers, as well as no-cost mental health treatment for communities desperately needing post-fire assistance. In addition to direct outreach, they launched a bilingual resource website at www.mysonomastrong.com and the Sonoma Rises app.
Future goals for the collective include research on community impact in partnership with Stanford and the Palo Alto VA and consultation with other communities wanting to replicate the model that helped build resilience and promote well being post-wildfire.
Affiliations
-
Redwood Psychological Association,
-
2022 Local Advocacy Network (LAN) Representative
-
2021 LAN Representative
-
2020 LAN Representative
-
2019 Past President
-
2018 President
-
2017 Vice President
-
-
American Psychological Association:
-
California Psychological Association
-
Kaiser Northern California Regional Neuropsychology Committee
-
Hispanic Neuropsychological Society
Research
Dr. Naber grounds her work in the constantly evolving body of research and resulting therapeutic breakthroughs that affect her patients.
She has published clinical research papers on the cognitive impacts and treatment options in patients dealing with vestibular disorders and migraines, as well as rare conditions, such as Bing-Neel Syndrome.
She has presented at seminars on topics such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy and mindfulness, forensic neuropsychology, and PTSD in communities affected by natural disasters.
Selected bibliography available upon request.