I walked into a 730 evaluation at a complete disadvantage, but Dr. Doyne was able to see through the false accusations and obvious coaching. I do wish he had been less lenient with my ex regarding the dishonesty, but I *hesitantly* can see why he reached the recommendations he did. Overall, I appreciate his fairness and professionalism. read more

I have an almost 40 year old daughter who I have not seen since she was 15. I never broke a law, in fact I had a background in Law Enforcement and my x wife had a restraining order placed against her for violence committed against my daughter. It was messy. A ruling my a commissioner put me in his office for conjoint therapy after eating $3000.00 and not having one session with my daughter I was able to have him removed but it was a real task. He never produced any report to the court just wanting more time without explanation even an explanation offered to be sealed. Calling his man Dr. to me seems odd he is not an MD. Ask him about Zoe the Katz a part of his CV history he may not be so proud of that. I would avoid him at all costs, its been years since I had even seen his name but for some reason something about him showed up. I pray you have success in raising your children in a peaceful environment I was not able to fight the parental alienation that took place. Stephen Doyne "Piled High and Deep" was no help, he just took the money. read more

Dr. Doyne was professional, empathetic, and impartial in handling our custody case. He applied decades of expertise to help us achieve real solutions. Dr. Doyne's involvement in our case led to significant changes that are greatly benefiting our son, and will continue to do so for years to come. Dr. Doyne's Office Manager was also extremely helpful through the whole process. Christine was attentive and caring, which made all the difference during this stressful time. Highly recommend! read more

Judge Pamela Parker relied heavily on Dr. Doyne's testimony to help me win my very important custody case in which my ex wife was trying to take my autistic 4 year old son to canada. I had video proof of my daily work for over 2 years teaching my son every letter of the alphabet and teaching him to talk and play and interact with people. The truth had to be told in court and Dr. Doyne was instrumental in getting the truth on the record. We won the move away and I won custody and saved my son's life. Thank you Dr. Doyne!!! Because of this my son continues to learn and thrive and he is now reading, doing math, talking, singing and playing music well above his peer levels. read more

On December 27, 2022, I posted the summary of my dissatisfaction with the performance of Dr. Doyne as a mediator in my child custody case. On December 29, 2022, Dr. Doyne wrote a letter to me and threatened that if I didn't remove my post he would sue me. I am not able to afford to defend a lawsuit so I've removed the post. read more

I'm saddened to see how many ageist reviews have been left for Dr. Doyne. As an older person myself, I can assure you Dr. Doyne is not senile. On the contrary, he was kind, respectful, and fair. My grandbaby has been the happiest she's been since our custody plan was enacted. She sees her mother as much as she would like, but we only have this relationship because of Dr. Doyne. May god bless him all his life. read more

Dr. Doyne is simply the best in his field. He will never give up on advocating for the safety and well being of children, and families. He has a tremendous amount of experience, and brings exceptionally advanced expertise to the most difficult, sensitive, often high risk situations. I am not only amazed by his accuracy of assessment of the extreme challenges, often brought into court, but his level of his compassion and willingness help, is unmatched. My thoughts and prayers go to the children and families who will need to travel this journey. I highly recommend Dr. Doyne as an impartial, empathic professional whose help will make a positive difference in those he works with. read more

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! This guy is an absolute joke! He's nearly 80 years old, and not a "young 80" either. His thought process is not intact anymore and seems confused with what you are saying. He is very forgetful and needs to be retold the same stories or bits of info over and over. At the beginning of the endless interview sessions he demanded, he did not remember who I was or any details of the case. I had to start from scratch every time. The report he produced was incredibly inaccurate, including the basics like names, ages, etc. By the time he was finished with his evaluation, to the tune of $18,650 !, my ex wife and I agreed alongside the judge to throw out his entire report due to all the inaccuracies and generic recommendations. It is my honest and firm belief that this man is a crook, has been for many many years, and is now too old to be of any usefulness in court recommendation custody cases. He needs to retire and stop abusing San Diego county families in their time of weakness, stress, and heartache. Enough is enough. Your crime spree is over- you've stolen more than enough! read more

My advice to anyone considering a custody evaluation is don't bother. My experience with Dr. Doyne was one of the most unfortunate I've ever had in my life. Part of an evaluators job is to go over evidence. I don't believe he ever looked at mine. He just parroted what my ex verbally told him. An ex who spends their life manufacturing lies. I might add Dr. Doyne then spewed these lies to the judge with no proof to back them up. My advice to any man is you are fighting a losing battle as all these so called professionals are designed to help women only. They will rape you of every cent you have ever saved. Don't waste your money. Dr. Doyne, my advice to you is if you really care about children as you say you do then please retire immediately. You got snowed. read more

Went through 14 FULL days custody trial from HELL. Court ordered custody and psych evals. After THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of $$$ and way too many hours with doyne, his report and recommendations were found to be absolutely INcredible and thrown out of court. LET ME REPEAT & EMPHASIZE IT WAS THROWN OUT OF COURT. The judge had a high brow the entire time it was under discussion, it was an embarrassment.....doyne clearly purposely left out and misrepresented many VERY IMPORTANT details, giving me 0% consideration. He came to TOTALLY unfounded conclusions based on lie after lie after lie from the other party (who held a prominent powerful position at the time)... doyne made absurd assertions about me and presented an obvious bias for the other party. His report was to the extreme (I mean EXTREME) in favor of the other party. It was the perfect example of how the system favors people within the system, in my case, the other party was a SWAT deputy. At first, doyne seemed nice. He seemed (pretended) to listen. He even began to confide in me details of a family situation HE was experiencing. (In my line of work, I am very familiar with the situation he was going through). And then about halfway through 10 sessions, his energy and attitude suddenly turned quite dark and negative. He began coming at me with an accusatory tone. I started to dread the sessions. When we received doynes report, I was CRUSHED. I thought I was going to lose my kids. I still, to this day, wonder what influenced his twilight zone bizarro world report and recommendations. I have some ideas. After all is said and done, after years of trials and hearings and stress due to bullying and abuses by the other party involved, that other party no longer holds that prominent position. I did not lose my children, and everything I went through is on record. Today all is well and I have my hardcore beautiful, talented, and compassionate attorney to thank for helping me prevail, and for navigating through and cleaning the mess doyne created. read more

I don't know what these other so-called reviewers are talking about. They obviously have something to hide. I have worked with Dr. Doyne since 2012. After being in a very abusive marriage for almost 9 years, and having a son, I needed to protect him. The Court system knew I needed to protect him. Dr. Doyne did everything in his powers to help us. Unfortunately the other party couldn't/wouldn't do what the Court AND Dr. Doyne had asked and recommended. Dr. Doyne never gave up though. He continued to work with us in order to find a safe solution for my son to see his father. After trying numerous options, including supervised that was eventually court-ordered, It's sad to say that 2 and a half years later, the only way to protect my son was with supervised visitation at a secured facility. Dr. Doyne tried and tried and tried for 2 plus years to get my ex to "get help," and gave him "tools" to help himself and options so that he could have "normal" visits with our son and have him overnight. He kept giving him chance after chance to get himself sorted out. However, he just couldn't do it. Dr. Doyne's expertise and experience helped me in so many ways. Dr. Doyne has been in touch with me numerous times since our sessions ended, to check in and see how my son is doing. Why? Because he truly cares. And to those who think he's all about the money, Dr. Doyne didn't HAVE to call us. He didn't charge us. He truly cares. I would recommend Dr. Doyne to ANYONE who was in need of his services. He is a true gem. read more

Dr. Doyne is compassionate and understanding. He does not preach and takes the time to listen and give his honest and ethical evaluation in a very difficult situation. I truly wish ALL psychologists had an ounce of his wisdom. He speaks in laymen's terms and never reduces to employing psychobabble. Thank you, Dr. Doyne for your valuable and caring insight! I highly recommend Dr. Doyne for he shines above the rest. read more

Dr. Doyne is a very sophisticated and empathetic psychologist who will prioritize the child, even when it enrages the high conflict parent. His knowledge and experience are amongst the very best in SD. read more

Our family has been incredibly fortunate to have worked with Dr. Doyne for the past 5 1/2 years, through two different custody disputes (same child). He came highly recommended by a respected friend, and I couldn't be more grateful that he came into our lives. Dr. Doyne provides exceptional guidance and has helped me stay focused on what's best for my child. He takes the time to educate me on what my rights are as a mother, and his support has helped me navigate some very fragile and highly-sensitive matters. His support of our family has been invaluable, and has included him teaming with my attorney to offer his perspective on some of our custody obstacles. He is fully committed to his role of advocating for my child, and he has gone above and beyond to make himself available to me as needs arise. In two incredibly stressful custody disputes, talking with him always brings me peace, reassurance, and comfort. I have felt very fortunate to have had him in our corner. I can't recommend him highly enough. read more

I wish I could give negative Stars! It was court ordered that We began seeing Dr. Doyne in 2010. I was optomistic thinking He would be a help for me and my two young boys. Dr. Doyne has cost me in every possible way. He has made every single part of the custody issues more difficult, Tens of thousands have been spent. I can say from my experience Dr. Doyne in no way wants to fix problems, He merely wants to keep bringing you in for those 90 minute sessions. he has created problems that never even existed in the past. I would use ANY other mediator than Dr. Stephen Doyne, If this post helps even one family avoid this man's unethical tactics it was worth writing it. read more

It seems Yelp did not like my last review of Stephen Doyne. So I'll try again. My experience was extremely negative. Not only was the time spent wasted, there were many billing mistakes found when the invoices were inspected closely. When made aware of the mistakes the good "Doctor" became an adversary. If you are there for the "good of the children" you are not in the right place. Pick a different professional and be a lot better off in the end. There, I hope that meets Yelp's guidelines. read more

I am deeply saddened to see the negative reviews regarding Dr. Doyne. In situations like this, you are bound to get negative feedback by one party. He is caring, empathetic, and honest. You can tell from the moment you meet him that he is truly there for his patients. I can't think of any other office that runs as seamlessly as Dr. Doyne's. The wait time is minimal, even non-existent. Kids are excited to see him and are just as happy when they walk out. His assistant, Cait, really makes you feel at ease and has always been available with any questions I have had. read more

My family saw dr Doyne for over a 2 year period. He helped my kids feel understood and comfortable at a very difficult time in their lives. Additionally, he helped my ex and I to realize ways in which we were harming our kids during the divorce process. His expertise was invaluable and kept my attorney from trying to manage custody issues that he wasn't qualified to handle. I did not experience any fee gouging with Dr Doyne, I sure did with the other characters in the famously flawed family court system read more

I will write more later, but suffice it to say, Dr. Doyne helped me immensely, and I can say without his help, I would have lost what's most important to me - my daughter. He is truly the best. I had a very high-confict divorce and ensuing custody battle, which Dr. Doyne helped me navigate perfectly. His advice about how to proceed and how to handle myself, was ALWAYS spot-on. His ability to understand how people with personality disorders act during divorce and custody battles helped me to avoid traps my ex-wife tried to lay for me. He is truly a super-star mediator and mediator consultant. If you need help prepping for a successful custody mediation and/or help with dealing with a difficult ex, one would be wise to use his services. I did and it has made ALL the difference. Thanks Steve! -Jason read more

Here's how I would describe Dr. Doyne who has been my therapist in a high conflict divorce for a year. He is ACCESSIBLE, wise, funny, consistent, caring and is a straight shooter. He's been around a lot of blocks and he is worth every penny. When you want quality, he's the man. And I would imagine the personality types that would feel otherwise. I recommend him! read more

Dr. Doyne protects children. He is thoughtful and precise with his recommendations. Thank goodness Dr. Doyne takes time to consider the important issues surrounding a child before he makes a recommendation. Our judge preferred Dr. Doyne's reports to others. He's calm and incredibly wise. read more

Doyne was incredibly helpful to my children and I in a very stressful time. He was able to understand quickly the complexity of the situation and the personalities of all involved. He was able to gain the trust of my children who had been deeply hurt. I felt he was very fair and made the best possible recommendation of our situation. I felt very confident in him and his evaluation and recommendation. Even after all this time I will still call him to seek out his professional advice and he still remembers us and our struggles so well. He was able to help me see different ways of looking at the problems and how to best deal with all the conflict and be the best mother I can to my children. I highly recommend Dr. Doyne and feel fortunate that my children and I had him to navigate a very challenging and emotional situation. read more

Dr. Doyne has been absolutely amazing for the two years my son has seen him. It is not an exaggeration to say that without Dr. Doyne, my son would not have been able to get through a very diffucult time in his life. Dr. Doyne has been an advocate for my son, has built a strong trust with my son (at a time when he wasn't sure if he could trust anyone) and has been nothing short of phenomenal as a professional and as a caring, helpful man. If I could give more than five stars, I would! Thank you Dr. Doyne! read more

It is so hard for me to understand the horrible reviews some people are writing about Dr. Doyne. However, I am happy to see that there are so many deserved positive reviews. Dr. Doyne is wonderful, caring, honest, fair and compassionate. He has gone above and beyond for our family and for many other people. The quality I love most about Dr. Doyne is his honesty. He will always tell you the truth even if you don't want to hear it because he knows that his clients need the truth to heal and move forward with their lives. Maybe that is why other reviewers have said negative things about him on Yelp. The truth is hard to hear, but it is the only way to make real changes in life. I am incredibly grateful that Dr. Doyne became a part of our lives when we needed him the most! read more

Before I provide my review of Dr. Doyne, let's take a look at why a couple disgruntled people would have a motive to write negative reviews for a doctor specializing in Court ordered custody psych evaluations. People who are happy with a positive or even a neutral report generally walk away happy. They typically don't come to review sites like Yelp to positively rave about their experience. And if they do, like you see here, then that is an incredible statement of respect. On the other hand...If you are someone who has been Court ordered to receive a such an evaluation and are unhappy with the report, you may need to look at yourself rather than blaming and flaming the evaluator. You can make up all sorts of things in your head for why the evaluator "done you wrong" and typing in CAPITAL LETTERS doesn't make you any more right and the evaluator wrong. There is an old saying, "Holding onto resentments is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." So feel free to read those disgruntled reviewers here, but keep in perspective, they did not get the custody eval they had hoped for and thus...can't handle the truth. It becomes "payback" time for them where they use every ounce of their writing skills to "get even". Be thankful that you were not the one married to them. So, onto Dr. Doyne, one of the most respected psych evaluators in San Diego County. He earned that reputation directly due to his objectivity, his ethics, and his unwillingness to be bought off by unscrupulous attorneys. Custody court evaluations are among the hardest tasks that one can face in the profession of psychology. Dr. Doyne handles his cases with grace, insight, and professionalism. If you hear otherwise, consider the source. read more

My son's Pediatrician recommended Dr. Doyne as a child therapist. I decided to engage in individual therapy with Dr. Doyne when I was unable to obtain consent from the father. He has helped me to gain an understanding of my situation and myself. Useful tips towards parenting and resources are readily given. Collaboration with other professionals, as well as, understanding the legal and court processes are a bonus. When I needed to come back after a long hiatus Dr. Doyne was there to become part of my team again. Thank you. read more

These allegations against Dr. Doyne are unsubstantiated and vicious. Without hesitation, I stand behind Dr. Doyne as one of the most effective, fully aware and highly experienced child advocates in the San Diego court system. I have two girls who were age 4 and 7 at the time of my divorce. Dr. Doyne was assigned as the custody evaluator in the case. His grace and wisdom not only made the process comfortable for my girls, but also for me. They bonded with Dr. Doyne, in fact looked forward to the visits. I highly recommend Dr. Doyne for any family that goes through high conflict or any divorce where children are concerned. After careful evaluation, he created a custodial plan that was child centric and provided a sense of predictability and calm for my girls. It is shameful what has been written about him. It's an obvious attempt at character assassination which appears to have been fueled by an irate parent who didn't get what he/she wanted. From the start, Dr. Doyne put my girls interest first and as a result, 6 years later, they are thriving, healthy and hardly feel the impact of the divorce. I will always be thankful that Dr. Doyne was our custody evaluator. read more