Esme Shaller, PhD

Esme Shaller is a psychologist who specializes in treating adolescents in situations of acute stress or multiple stresses. She has worked with patients in various settings, including those in the hospital, in residential care and at an alternative high school. In the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, she serves as clinical director of the UCSF Wavefront Program's Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic. In addition to cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapy, her expertise includes structural family therapy and theories of psychotherapy integration.

Shaller is passionate about teaching and disseminating research-supported treatments for complex psychological problems, particularly in adolescents. She devotes a large percentage of her time to teaching and training, both within UCSF's residency and fellowship programs and nationally. She has received several awards for teaching excellence.

Shaller earned a doctorate in clinical psychology at Stony Brook University. Subsequently, she completed a psychology internship at Northwell Health's Zucker Hillside Hospital, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent clinical psychology at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology with highest honors at the University of California, Berkeley.