Mary Anne Morelli Haskell, DO

An ounce of prevention…
My family is so glad that we found Dr. Mary Anne. I think cranial osteopathy for a young baby is one of the best investments a family can make, and San Diegans are fortunate that Dr. Mary Anne’s rates are very reasonable. She is kind and compassionate and I appreciate that she is making this wonderful treatment modality and the other great care she provides to little ones available to those who want to optimize the health of their child (ren).
I struggled with a host of health problems for most of my life including colic as a baby, asthma, severe allergies, and frequent viral illnesses and ear infections. I am sad to say that my ailments continued throughout medical school, residency and beyond (despite my being an MD). On my search to become well, I learned that many of my ailments were probably directly or indirectly caused by birth traumas that went unnoticed and untreated (my birth was considered a normal hospital birth, with epidural, stirrups, valsalva pushing, etc), along with the over-​use of antibiotics. If the birth traumas had been addressed and most of the antibiotics avoided back then by a doctor like Dr. Mary Anne, I probably would have enjoyed much better health for all those years.
Now I have a daughter and I don’t want to see her suffer needlessly like I did. I still remember the excruciating pain of ear infections and the terror of asthma attacks and I would hate to have to helplessly watch her dealing with such pain or struggling to breathe. I am happy to make a series of osteopathic treatments with Dr. Mary Anne (so far we have had 3 and she recommends 2 more) and then bi-​annual follow-​ups a priority, along with breastfeeding, vitamin D and avoiding as many dietary and environmental toxins as possible.
Not only has Dr. Mary Anne provided preventative medicine, but I brought our daughter when she was sick and she did a thorough exam, a full osteopathic treatment and gave safe, sensible recommendations for homeopathy and nutritional supplements for both baby and mom along with much needed reassurance that literally saved us trip to the ER in the middle of the night.
More info: we see her at SPOT kids in La Jolla which is a bright, friendly and clean location. Whenever I’ve called or emailed her office, her receptionist Stephanie has been wonderful. We have an HSA and they are crediting half the cost of the treatments towards our annual deductible.

My son and I have both been treated by Dr. Mary Anne after being exposed to mold. I was nearly bedridden for a month and my son missed a month of school before we were told to try her, and within days of her treatment and advice we saw improvements. After a month we were practically back to normal! I also don’t know what the other parents experienced but our visits were calming and she was very personable, even when treating me, an adult, though she is primarily a pediatrician.

I am SO GRATEFUL to have met Dr. Mary Anne. I started taking our kids (son 6 years old now and daughter is 2.5 years) to see her last year when she came highly recommended by Biodynamic Wellness clinic in Solana Beach to help treat our daughter when she started getting febrile seizures after her 12 month check up. Prior to that, we only saw traditional MDs/​pediatricians. She has a really warm, nurturing and calming presence and only treated our daughter like 3 times and since then, I’ve taken our kids to see her for annual check ups and whenever they have a big fall to the head or health issue that their pediatrician does not have much to offer in advice or support of their recovery. She also did 2 – 3 treatments for our son to help tune up his immune system after he developed an allergy to pet hair. I believe that our dietary/​nutrition changes and Dr. Mary Anne’s treatments helped both our kids regain their health (daughter no longer has egg allergy or febrile seizures and our son’s pet allergy seems to have gone away or improved immensely). But the biggest testimonial to me that Dr. Mary Anne’s treatment works is when I referred my best friend, who lives in NY but came to San Diego to visit us this past summer, to take her toddler daughter to see her. It was about a year after her daughter had a big fall to the head and there was swelling (after 3 days in hospital waiting for CAT scan) at the time. No surgery or medical intervention could be done at the time and even though her docs said she was ‘fine’ and overall seemed very healthy, my friend noticed changes in her daughter’s personality and temperament and couldn’t help but wonder if they had anything to do with her brain swelling. After the first consultation, Dr. Mary Anne recommended 3 – 4 treatments while they were still in town (1 month) and it was INCREDIBLE to witness the transformation in her daughter’s personality over the 4 week period — it was like she came ALIVE! My best friend is highly educated and is very perceptive, especially when it comes to her children’s health and well being, so for her to share with me how much positive change she saw in her daughter (it was heartwarming to hear her tell me, «my baby is back!») and knowing that the biggest difference was Dr. Mary Anne sealed my belief in Dr. Mary Anne’s work. She is as important to us as our kids’ pediatricians but I think more so when it comes to overall health maintenance and supporting health issues that traditional MDs don’t know how to address (other than with drugs, antibiotics or surgery which we try to use as a last resort).

I have never written a review on Unilocal but felt compelled to after my second visit to this office. The first visit I found Dr Haskell — although good with my child– to be disrespectful, condescending and rude toward me.
I felt like she was trying to «blame» me for my child’s digestive issues, while I was in her office seeking help when our Pediatrician and Pediatric GI hadn’t been able to find a solution after numerous tests.
I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt on my first visit, but our followup apt proved to be an even worse experience. If you are looking for a partnership between the Dr and parent, this is NOT your office. Dr Haskell seems to want to blame the parent for everything and not give you any positive feedback or advice.
I will not go back. My main concern was for a first time parent with a newborn who would unknowingly walk into this office — Dr Haskill will berate you and make you feel like you are doing everything wrong. As with other reviews, she will scare you into trying to follow her advice (she told me if I don’t fix my daughters enlarged tonsils she will end up with an elongated face) — among other things.
Since insurance doesn’t cover her treatments, it can be a lot of money out of pocket for someone who doesn’t have a good bedside manner and seems to want to make you feel like you are the worst parent out there. There are other options for alternative treatments and I would encourage anyone to seek them before giving this office any of your time or money.

Didnt even get as far as going to the office. The receptionist Vicky was beyond rude and unwelcoming. You need a new receptionist ASAP. Its only 8:38 AM and you have morons like this greeting people.

Disappointed in my experience here with Dr. Mary Anne.
First issue: We brought our healthy son here as an infant, and it seemed Dr. Mary Anne kept looking for things to be «wrong» with him. She had several «concerns» but focused mainly on his just developing skill of crawling. His was a crab crawl and she scared us into thinking he would have trouble reading in early childhood. (It’s true — there is research that points to children needing to have plenty of cross-​limb movement practice to «wire» the brain properly for learning. HOWEVER …) He is now a healthy toddler with a normal crawl and excellent balance and climbing skills WITHOUT the help of Dr. MaryAnne. He is a little sponge who loves books and storytelling, and there is no reason whatsoever to suspect my boy will have learning troubles at all. Her alarmist attitude toward new parents over this crawling issue is, to me, irresponsible on her part. She had us so nervous over it, and encouraged us to book weekly appointments immediately to «work» on this critical issue. Shame!
Second issue: On the 3^rd and final session we attended, Dr. Mary Anne offered my son toys to play with to «distract» him from the treatment and allow him to lay still while she worked. No problem. I picked out a simple toy because, as a family, we choose not to use battery operated toys with flashing lights or loud noises. My son was quite happy playing with the simple toy for over 15 minutes. However, Dr. Mary Anne felt like he might get bored with it, so she pre-​emptively took it away from him and replaced it with a flashing, blinking, noise-​making toy, shaking it in front of his face to get his attention. All without even asking! My son was startled, began to cry, and wanted to get up and come to me. I tried to tell her he was already content and that we don’t use those toys, but she chose instead to cut the session short. She basically just got irritated and said we were done. She still charged us the full price, though!
Last issue: When asked about insurance reimbursement, she was vague. I told her our insurance carrier and she said «I don’t know. You have to call your carrier.» Ok, so I took the time to call, waited on hold, got the correct person, asked the question … you know, the whole drill! Finally, the insurance rep said «What’s the office’s number?» I gave them Dr. Mary Anne’s office number and he put me on hold to call. Five minutes later, he came back and said he had spoken to Dr. Mary Anne and she said she doesn’t work with our insurance! So why didn’t she just tell me?!
I can not recommend Dr. MaryAnne for children. I found her attitude toward my son disrespectful, and her attitude toward my parental choices as judgmental. Save your money (the visit is over $ 100 and she doesn’t «do» insurance) and spend it elsewhere. I would recommend finding a great cranio-​sacral specialist instead of coming here.

If you don’t agree with mainstream medicine (and insurance) and would like actual health care, this is the place!
Dr. Mary Anne spent about two hours in her initial appointment with me. I felt she was very thorough and I love knowing more about myself than my weight/​height/​BP/​temp. She is so good and if you are having a health issue that any other doctor can’t diagnose or treat properly: allergies, sinus problems, eczema, etc., I’d recommend coming here.
Dr. Mary Anne is listed as a pediatrician but she treats adults as well.

Dr. Mary Anne is a refreshing change from the «gotta get you out cattle call» you might experience with the average doctor. That is something doesn’t happen with Dr. Mary Anne. She is friendly, attentive, caring and extremely knowledgeable.
The lobby is designed for the comfort of children. Your kid can have fun spinning in a covered egg or making you something to eat, while you read any number of informative books on the shelf.
Our friends followed her from another practice. As such we do the same. It is quite a drive, but worth it. She has gone above and beyond by making appointments for us when it is not really convenient. How many doctors do you know that will make arrangements for you on a Saturday?
You might be surprised to find the cold or flu like symptoms you are experiencing are actually allergy related. I am thrilled to post that for the first time since I was 11, I have not had that hacking cough from November through March. In fact, I have not been sick at all. Thanks, for making the allergen discoveries!
Magical things happen when you are on the table. Dr. Mary Anne spends well over an hour with you. She is thorough. Now I am free to breath hack free. Yes, Dr. Mary Anne Morelli-​Haskell is a fantastic osteopath!