Hi, I’m
Dr. Tibbits!
Psychologist located in-person in Carlsbad, California. Virtual services statewide in California.
Meet Dr. Nicole Tibbits, PsyD (She/Her)
Dr. Nicole Tibbits is a licensed psychologist in California (PSY35256) and Arizona (PSY005950) who specializes in supporting autistic, ADHD, gifted, and twice-exceptional children and adolescents. She also works with young people experiencing anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Dr. Nicole provides neurodivergent-affirming, strengths-based care designed to help children and families understand how each child’s unique brain shapes the way they experience and respond to the world. She believes that developing this understanding can reduce shame, encourage self-acceptance, and give children and their caregivers practical tools for creating environments in which they can thrive.
Services Offered
Dr. Nicole is licensed in California and Arizona. She offers in-person services at Child Psychology Center’s Carlsbad office and teletherapy throughout California.
Dr. Nicole’s work is tailored to each client’s strengths, needs, and environment, with the goal of helping children and families develop greater understanding, confidence, and practical skills.
Therapeutic Approach
Dr. Nicole believes every child has a unique way of successfully navigating their world. By understanding how a child’s individual strengths, needs, and environment interact, therapy can create meaningful opportunities for growth.
Because children develop within a family system, Dr. Nicole considers supporting parents and caregivers an essential part of her work. She partners with families to better understand their child, recognize existing strengths, and develop practical strategies that fit the child’s everyday life.
Psychoeducation is central to Dr. Nicole’s approach. She is passionate about helping children and families understand how their brains work, reduce feelings of shame, build self-advocacy skills, and respond to challenges with greater compassion. She integrates sensory processing and regulation strategies with evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), motivational interviewing, and UCLA PEERS.
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Dr. Nicole earned her Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from Midwestern University in 2023, where she also earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 2021. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with a minor in Communication, from the University of San Diego in 2019.
Her graduate training emphasized neurodevelopmental assessment and treatment, with particular attention to gifted and twice-exceptional children, including gifted children who also have ADHD or autism.
Dr. Nicole completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Western Youth Services, a community mental health organization serving children and families affected by developmental trauma, autism, and ADHD. She later served as a supervising psychologist, providing neurodevelopmental assessments and therapy while also supporting clinical training.
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Dr. Nicole has completed specialized training in:
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
UCLA PEERS
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) treatment
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT)
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Sensory processing and regulation
Holistic and integrative health approaches
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Dr. Nicole is committed to continuing education and regularly reviews current research, attends professional conferences and training workshops, and participates in peer consultation. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology (AAPdN).
Credentials and Professional Background
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Nicole specializes in supporting children and adolescents with:
Autism, including high-masking and late-identified presentations
Giftedness and twice exceptionality
She provides neurodivergent-affirming care that helps young people and their families better understand their individual strengths, needs, and ways of experiencing the world.
Research & Publications
Dr. Nicole’s research has explored language development in children with hearing loss, bilingual vocabulary development, support for parents of autistic children, and the effects of race and ethnicity on academic bias and school discipline.
Selected Research
English and Spanish Expressive Vocabulary
Published in Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (2023)
Academic Performance and Disciplinary Actions Across Racial and Ethnic Groups
Presented at the Western Psychological Association Conference (2021)
Parenting Children With Autism Together
Presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Conference (2021)
Estimating English and Spanish Vocabulary in Bilingual Children
Presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Conference (2021)
What Inspired Her Journey
Dr. Nicole has always loved helping others and learning what makes each person unique. Her passion for child development grew while working in preschools and child development centers. She pursued clinical psychology because she wanted to share her knowledge of development with children and families and help reduce barriers to accessing information and care.
Her favorite part of the work is teaming up with clients and families to make lasting, positive changes—plus the fun that comes with working with kids! She feels grateful that children and parents are willing to share their lives with her and allow her to walk alongside them.
Outside the Office
Outside the office, Dr. Nicole enjoys baking, reading, walking on the beach, traveling, trying new restaurants, and gathering with friends and family for game nights.
Her ideal day might involve relaxing on the beach or curling up under a blanket with a good book and her tuxedo cat, Zuki. She also loves exploring new places and sharing new experiences with the people closest to her.
