Ruth NewtonDr. Ruth Newton, Ph.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY12117) specialized in the use of attachment and affect regulation theories in interventions from birth through adulthood.

Dr. Newton has been a member of Allan Schore‘s Los Angeles Study Group for Affective Neurobiology since 2004 and trains and supervises master’s and doctoral level interns in attachment, affect regulation, and developmental theories and interventions. She designed and taught Theories and Approaches to Emotional Regulation in Childcare Settings for the EC-SEBRIS certificated program for childcare staff through Child & Family Development at San Diego State University. Dr. Newton is the author of The Attachment Connection designed to help parents raise secure, emotionally regulated children and the founder and director of the Newton Center for Affect Regulation. Dr. Newton is the originator and developer of Integrative Regulation Therapy (iRT) and trains licensed and licensed eligible clinicians through NCAR Training Seminars .

Dr. Newton is endorsed as an Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist and a Reflective Practice Facilitator III/Mentor by the California Center for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health meeting competencies described by the California Training Guidelines and Personnel Competencies for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health 2009.

PresentationsPublicationsTraining in Attachment and Affect RegulationProfessional AssociationsLicenses
  • Prenatal Trauma and Depression – The Earliest Intervention. We Didn’t Wait 10th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conferences, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 12, 2019.
  • The Impact of Maternal Depression on a Developing Child: Pregnancy and the First Postpartum Year. Perinatal Care Network Quarterly Meeting, County of San Diego Health & Human Services, San Diego, CA, May 7, 2019.
  • Fireside talk on Attachment, Affect Regulation and Development. Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Developmental Pediatricians, San Diego, CA, February 1, 2019.
  • Speaking for the Baby: How Dyadic Interventions in Infancy Support Secure Attachment. ZERO TO THREE Annual Conference, Hilton Bayside Hotel, San Diego, CA, December 1, 2017.
  • The Primacy of Relational Interactions in Early Childhood Dyadic Assessments. 8th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference: We Can’t Wait, The Art and Science of Healing: Every place. Every time. Every relationship, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 14, 2017.
  • Moving Beyond Behavior: The Interior Worlds of Emotional (Dys)Regulation. The 31st Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment, Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, San Diego, CA, February 1, 2017.
  • Dyadic Therapy: The Passage into Attachment. 7th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference: We Can’t Wait Where Nature and Nurture Meet, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 22, 2016.
  • Maternal Postpartum Depression Screening, Assessment, and Treatment: A Pilot Program. Presenters Ruth P. Newton, Ph.D., and Khawla Suleiman-Qafiti, M.D. 29th Annual Conference Postpartum Support International, Bridging, Bonding, and Beyond: Clinical Expertise and Community Outreach in Perinatal Mental Health, Hilton San Diego Mission Valley, San Diego, CA, June 25, 2016.
  • Integrative Regulation Therapy (iRT). 6th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference – We Can’t Wait, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 17, 2015.
  • Crossing into Parenthood: Pregnancy, Birth, and the Newborn Period. Family Health Services San Diego, The Jacobs Center, San Diego, CA, June 12, 2015.
  • The Role of Parental Unresolved Trauma in Children’s Brain Development, Emotional Security, and Physical Health. Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES): The Rocky Road Developmental Trauma. American Academy of Pediatrics and Family Health Centers of San Diego, AMN Healthcare, San Diego, CA, February 21, 2015.
  • Maternal Depression Pilot (MDP), Screening, Assessment, and Treatment Feasibility and Challenges of Successful Project Implementation. Family Health Centers of San Diego. Presenters Ruth P. Newton, Ph.D., NCAR and Khawla Suleiman-Qafiti, M.D., FHCSD. 2015 Child Health, Education, and Care Summit, Sacramento, CA, February 11, 2015.
  • When Infants Stare: The neurobiology of attachment trauma in infancy. Conference Keynote. 26th Annual ATTACh Conference, Orlando, FL, September 19, 2014.
  • The Elephants in the Room: Understanding the nonverbal worlds of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. First 5/HDS/Family Health Centers San Diego, CA, June, 2014.
  • Neurobiological Snapshots: The implicit world of attachment seen in initial consultations. Grand Rounds, Rady’s Children’s, San Diego, CA, February 14, 2014.
  • Windows into the Adopted Child’s Inner World. San Diego Youth Services and Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Care Education Program, San Diego, CA, January 29, 2014.
  • The Implicit World of Early Childhood. American Academy of Pediatrics, Marina Village, San Diego, CA, December 13, 2013.
  • Attunement: The reason why clinicians need Reflective Practice and Self-Care. Infant Development Association SD/Imperial Counties, San Diego, CA, October 11, 2013.
  • Maternal Depression and its Impact on Child Development. HDS/Family Health Centers of San Diego, San Diego, CA, June and July, 2013.
  • The Neurobiology of Attachment Trauma. Meeting of the Minds, Sheraton Hotel, San Diego, CA, November 7, 2012.
  • Attachment in the Making: Regulation in Infancy. We Can’t Wait Conference. Early Childhood Mental Health, Town & Country Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 28, 2012.
  • Working with Attunement: The Need for Self Care. Family Health Centers of San Diego, Healthy Development Services, MDT Meeting, San Diego, CA, May 16, 2012.
  • Secure Attachment as the Foundation of Emotional Well-Being. PBS This Emotional Life Webinar hosted by Lu Hanessian, Panelists Daniel Siegel, Ruth Newton, Ed Tronick, and Susan Johnson, June 9, 2011.
  • Attachment and Autism: A diagnostic complexity in the very young child. Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, San Diego, CA, October 26, 2010.
  • Attachment and its Role in Affect Regulation: We Can’t Wait. Recognition and Treatment of Mental Health Problems in Children 0-5. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, September 25, 2010.
  • Secure Attachment Matters. Infant Development Association of California, Early Intervention: Practices that Make a Difference Conference, The Riverside Convention Center, Riverside, CA, April 23, 2010.
  • The Attachment Connection. San Diego/Imperial Valley Chapter, Infant Development Association of California, December 11, 2009.
  • Socioemotional Development and Regulation: Building the Right House. Early Intervention Training Institute at the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, November 20, 2009.
  • Trauma-Informed Care: The paradigm shift to Right Brain Interventions. Presentation made with Keith Burke, B.A., Meeting of the Minds, Marriott Hotel, San Diego, CA, October 21, 2009.
  • Attachment Matters II.  San Diego, CA, Contemporary Self Psychology Group, May 2, 2009.
  • Attachment Across the Lifespan: Bridging Theory and Practice.  Keynote Speaker, 8th Annual Conference, California Council on Family Relations, March 20, 2009.
  • Secure Attachment Matters. San Diego, CA,Contemporary Self Psychology Group, November 1, 2008.
  • Development Derailed: The Trauma of Chaos in Early Childhood. Panel on Regulation Theory and Relational Trauma, From Attachment to Regulation Theory, Allan and Judith Schore moderators, Adult Attachment in Clinical Context, UCLA Extension and Lifespan Learning Institute, March 7-9, 2008.
  • Dyadic Therapy for Homeless Children. San Diego, CA, Rady’s Children’s Hospital/Chadwick Center, 21st Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment, January 25, 2007.
  • Affect Dysregulation in Childhood. Allan Schore’s panel Regulation Theory and Development Neurobiology, San Francisco, CA, California Psychological Association Convention, March 23-26, 2006.
  • Disorganized Attachment. San Diego, CA, Children’s Hospital/Chadwick Center, 20th Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment, January 27, 2006.
  • Homeless Children Age Birth to 5 and Their Families: Notes from the Field. San Diego, CA, Pre-Conference Institute on Attachment sponsored by UCSD and Children’s Hospital, 20th Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment, January 23, 2006.
  • Perspectives on Attachment: From a Secure Base to Mental Representations. San Diego Self Psychology Study Group and the San Diego Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology, presented with Sherry Hartwell, M.S. and Jill Weckerly, Ph.D., March, 2003.
  • The Psychology of Pregnancy. UCSD Reproductive Medicine Course 236 Maternal & Placental Physiology, Andy Hull, M.D. Professor, November, 2002.
  • Newton, R. P. (2021). Scaffolding the brain: Key Areas of Evaluation in Infant Parent Psychotherapy, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, DOI: 10.1080/15289168.2021.1995690
  • Newton, R. P. (2020). Scaffolding the brain: Infant parent psychotherapy during the primary biological entrainment period. Journal of Infant, Child, & Adolescent Psychotherapy, 19(1), 56-70.
  • Newton, R. P. (2017). Scaffolding the brain: A neurobiological approach to observation, assessment and intervention. Parts A & B. Integrative Regulation Therapy (iRT).
  • Schore, A. N., & Newton, R. P. (2013). Using modern attachment theory to guide clinical assessments of early attachment relationships.  In J. Bettmann & D. D. Friedman (Eds.),  Attachment-based clinical social work with children and adolescents, pp. 61-98. NY: Springer.
  • Newton, R. P. (Oct/Nov, 2011). Complex developmental trauma.  San Diego Psychological Association Newsletter, 26(5).
  • Newton, R.P. 2008. The Attachment Connection. Parenting a Secure and Confident Child Using the Science of Attachment Theory. Oakland, Ca: New Harbinger Publications.
  • Newton, R.P. 2008. Dyadic therapy for homeless parents and children. In Play Therapy for Very Young Children, Charles Schaefer, Judy McCormick, Phronsie Kelly-Zion, and Akiko Ohnogi, (Eds.). Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield.
  • Newton, R.P., C. Wolter, A. Covarrubias, L. Robbins, C. Mullan, K. Baier, and T. Ware. (unpublished manuscript). Homeless families with young children age birth to 5: The relationship between clinical impressions of attachment security and cognitive development.
  • Lee, S., D.H. Pretorius, S. Asfoor, A.D. Hull, R.P. Newton, K. Hollenbach, and T.R. Nelson. 2007. Prenatal three-dimensional ultrasound: Perception of Sonographers, sonologists and undergraduate students. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 30:77-80.
  • Pretorius, D.H., H.A. Hearon, K.A. Hollenbach, E.K. Ji, S. Gattu, N.M. Nelson, T.M. Nelson, J. Chibuk, A.D. Hull, R.P. Newton, and T.R. Nelson. 2007. Parental artistic drawings of the fetus before and after 3-/4-dimensional ultrasonography. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 26:301-308.
  • Newton, R.P. 2006. Speaking out of both sides of the mouth: The unnoticed road to childhood disorganization. Psychologist-Psychoanalyst, 26(2), 17-21.
  • Pretorius, D.H., S. Gattu, E.K. Ji, K. Hollenbach, R. Newton, A. Hull, S. Carmona, D. D’Agostini, and T.R. Nelson. 2006. Preexamination and postexamination assessment of parental-fetal bonding in patients undergoing 3-/4-dimensional obstetric ultrasonography. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 25:1411-1421.
  • Ji, E.K., D.H. Pretorius, R. Newton, K. Uyans, A.D. Hull, K. Hollenbach, and T.R. Nelson. (2005). Effects of ultrasound on maternal-fetal bonding: A comparison of two and three-dimensional imaging. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol, 25, 473-477.
  • Tam, L.W., R.P. Newton, M. Dern, and B.L. Parry. 2002. Screening women for postpartum depression at well baby visits: Resistance encountered and recommendations. Archives of Women’s Mental Health 5, 79-82.
  • On-going study group with Allan Schore, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, August 2004 to August 2014.
  • Exploring the Origins of Today’s Humans. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, February 21, 2020.
  • The Impact of Tool Use & Technology on the Evolution of the Human Mind. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, October 12, 2018.
  • 9th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference, We Can’t Wait! Embracing Our Diversity: Intervening Early in Every Community, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA,
    September 13, 2018.
  • 3rd Annual Critical Issues in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Conference. Hidden in Plain sight: Adolescent Brain & Identify Development. Town & Country Hotel, San Diego, CA, March 24, 2018.
  • The Art and Science of Healing: Every place. Every time. Every relationship. The 8th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference – We Can’t Wait! Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego,
    CA, September 14, 2017.
  • Awareness of Death and Personal Mortality. Implications for Anthropogeny. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, March 3, 2017.
  • 7th Annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference: We Can’t Wait Where Nature and Nurture Meet, Crowne Plaza Hotel, San Diego, CA, September 22-23, 2016.
  • Ancient DNA and Human Evolution. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, April 29, 2016.
  • Critical Issues in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, American Psychiatric Association, AMN Healthcare, San Diego CA, March
    12, 2016.
  • The Cultural Lens in Psychotherapy. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, CA, March 4-6, 2016.
  • Origins of Genus Homo. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, February 5, 2016.
  • 2015 Simms/Mann Institute Think Tank, Why Early Matters, 0-3 Brain Architecture. Santa Monica, CA, November 3, 2015.
  • We Can’t Wait. Early Childhood Mental Health Conference. San Diego, CA, September 17, 2015.
  • Human-Climate Interactions and Evolution: Past and Future. CARTA Symposium, Salk Institute/UCSD, San Diego, CA, May 15, 2015.
  • Play, Creativity, Mindfulness & Neuroscience in Psychotherapy, UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, CA, March 7-8, 2015.
  • Play, Creativity, Mindfulness & Neuroscience in Psychotherapy, UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, CA, March 7-8, 2015.
  • Affect Regulation & Healing of the Self, UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, CA, March 14-16, 2014.
  • We Can’t Wait. Early Childhood Mental Health Conference. San Diego, CA, September 27 & 28, 2013.
  • How People Change: Relationships & Neuroplasticity in Psychotherapy. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 9-10, 2013.
  • Toward a New Psychology of Interpersonal relationships. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 10-11, 2012.
  • Arietta Slade, Ph.D., Mind the Baby: A Mentalization Approach to Attachment Trauma. San Diego, CA, March 19, 2011.
  • Healing Moments in Trauma Treatment. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 12-13, 2011.
  • Human Nature and Early Expeirence: Addressing the “Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness,” University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, October 10-12, 2010.
  • The Wholeness of Mind, Brain, Body, and Human Relatedness. Expanding Affect Tolerance in the Therapeutic relationship. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 6-7, 2010.
  • Current Approaches to the Treatment of Trauma: The Shift from Cognition to Affect Regulation. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 7-8, 2009.
  • Neuroanatomical Dissection: Human Brain and Spinal Cord, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, July 17-19, 2008.
  • Adult Attachment in Clinical Context. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 7-9, 2008.
  • Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D., New Frontiers in Trauma Treatment. Institute for the Advancement of Human Behavior, San Diego, October 18-19, 2007.
  • Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., Child Trauma. Prevention and Early Intervention: The Effects of Trauma on Children, Youth, and Young Adults. County of San Diego Children’s System of Care Training Academy, San Diego, May 30, 2007.
  • The Healing Power of Emotion: Integrating Relationships, Body, and Mind – A Dialogue between Scientists and Clinicians. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, March 10-11, 2007.
  • Adult Attachment Institute taught by Mary Main and Erik Hesse. UCLA Extension and the Lifespan Learning Institute, Los Angeles, August 14-25, 2006.
  • The Embodied Mind: Integration of the Body, Brain, and Mind in Clinical Practice. UCLA extension and Lifespan Learning Institute, 5th Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA, March 4-5, 2006.
  • Assessment of Attachment in Adults, UCSD Attachment Institute, Sonia Gojman de Millan, Ph.D., San Diego, CA., July 2005.
  • Biennial Meeting, Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, Georgia, April 7-10, 2005.
  • How Psychodynamic Psychotherapies Change the Mind and the Brain, University of California, Los Angeles, March 12-13, 2005.
  • D-Attachment Workshop, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Alan Sroufe, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Carlson, Ph.D., June 28- July 2, 2004.
  • T. Berry Brazelton, National Seminar Series, “Building Healthy Families,” San Diego, June 8, 2004.
  • Traumatic Attachments and Borderline Personality Disorders: Implications for Clinical Treatment, University of California, Los Angeles, March 27-28, 2004.
  • The Parent/Child Early Relational Assessment. Roseanne Clark, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin @ Madison, personal invitation to train at St. Vincent de Paul Village, November 13-14, 2003.
  • The Anatomy of Intimacy: Attachment, Differentiation and the Biochemistry of Love, University of California, Irvine, November 8-9, 2003.
  • ABC-Attachment Workshop, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Alan Sroufe, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Carlson, Ph.D., June 23-27, 2003.
  • Attachment & Intersubjectivity in the Healing Relationship, David Wallin, Marin Psychotherapy Institute, San Diego, CA, May 2003.
  • New Developments in Attachment Theory: Applications to Clinical Practice, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, March 2003.
  • Attachment Theory & Affective Neuroscience in Clinical Action, Diana Fosha, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, November 2002.
  • The Attachment Training Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Nancy Kaplan, Ph.D. and Sonia Gojman, Ph.D., August 5-16, 2002.
  • Attachment: From Early Childhood through the Lifespan; UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, March 2002.
  • American Psychological Association, Member
  • American Association of Marriage Family Therapist (AAMFT), Member
  • Earliest Relationships Network, Member
  • New York Academy of Sciences, Member 1989-1994
  • San Diego Postpartum Alliance, Member
  • San Diego Psychological Association (SDPA), Member
  • Society for Research in Child Development, Member
  • California Licensed Clinical Psychologist PSY 12117
  • California Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist MJ021720