Our Story
Carlsbad Assessment Center for Children was founded by Dr. Sarah MacArthur with a mission of assisting families to have a better understanding of their child and figuring out the best way to support the family and the child.
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At our core, is a passion and love for working with children from the community and all over San Diego and especially the neurodivergent community.
We believe each child has something they are good at and interested in, which can be so meaningful in life. We include this philosophy into each evaluation and use a child-centered approach to help the child or adolescent understand themselves and their “brain” better.
Sarah MacArthur, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
PSY25218
Child and Adolescent Assessment Specialist​
Dr. MacArthur is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in assessment/psychological testing of children and adolescents with a passion for providing comprehensive assessments using a strength-based and therapeutic approach.
Having an accurate understanding of any underlying challenges, diagnoses, and factors while highlighting talents, strengths, and interests can be very powerful in moving forward with helping a child thrive.
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Dr. MacArthur is a specialist in autism evaluations. She has been providing developmental evaluations to assess for autism for the San Diego Regional Center since 2013, where she has focused on assisting families in having clarity on a possible diagnosis and how each child's specific neurodiverse traits may impact their world.
While being the Wellness Manager for a residential treatment program where supportive services to therapy were implemented (i.e., yoga, cooking classes, martial arts, gardening, dance, etc.), Dr. MacArthur saw how the combination of therapy with these alternative services to children with severe emotional, behavioral, and traumatic challenges was huge in improving self-esteem, confidence, and reducing symptoms.
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Dr. MacArthur has experience providing mental health therapy and services to children and adolescents from a variety of clinical settings, including residential treatment, outpatient settings, and in the school environment. Trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and served as a member of the Trauma Research Institute. ​
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Research interests have included the examination of the relationship between trauma and health in children and adolescents. Her doctoral dissertation used biofeedback to research the relationship between trauma and heart rate variability in youth.
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In addition to clinical experience, Dr. MacArthur was an adjunct professor at South University for 10 years where teaching courses on Psychological Assessment, Mood Disorders, Statistics, Medical Sociology, Childhood Disorders, Abnormal Psychology, Child Development, and Anxiety Disorders.
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When Dr. MacArthur is not working, she is spending time with her husband and three children. She fell in love with Carlsbad years ago and loves spending time with her family at the beach, hiking, and trying to keep up with the busy schedule of kid activities in Carlsbad.