Shelley Hamilton

Shelley Hamilton is a social worker and the manager of the Center for Child Protection at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. The center's mission is to care for maltreated children and families and to decrease the prevalence, recurrence and escalation of child maltreatment and family violence within an environment of respect and sensitivity.

Two years after joining UCSF Benioff Oakland in 1995 as a medical social worker, Hamilton transitioned to the Center for Child Protection, where she provided comprehensive psychotherapy services. In 2001, she began her tenure as the department's manager, overseeing administrative and clinical services while still providing psychotherapy services to children and families. She is certified in numerous therapeutic approaches to childhood trauma, including trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, child and family traumatic stress intervention, trauma-informed play therapy, dialectical behavior therapy and parent-child interactive therapy. Her approach to care acknowledges, respects and integrates her clients' cultural values, beliefs and practices.

Hamilton earned her master's degree in social work at the University of Southern California.

In a career spanning 30 years, Hamilton is most proud of expanding and enhancing treatment for childhood trauma to disenfranchised communities. She has served as a longtime field instructor for master's degree programs in social work and is a frequent presenter on topics pertaining to child maltreatment. She actively serves on numerous national, state and county professional boards and advisory committees and is a past president of the California chapter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. She has received the Golden State Warriors' Unsung Heroes Award and the city of Oakland's Women of Greatness Award. In her spare time, she enjoys fitness activities and travel.