Kristin Larson is a social worker practicing virtually in Washington and Oregon. Kristin graduated from Ball State University in 2009 with a degree in Psychology and Women’s Studies, earning their Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Walden University in 2017. Kristin worked closely with foster youth in Washington state from 2016-2021 as a family therapist and case manager for the Independent Living Skills/Transitional Living Skills (ILS/TLS) group in Cowlitz County. Kristin became a volunteer at A Home Within (AHW) in 2022, opened their private practice in October 2022, and became a co-Clinical Director for the AHW Seattle Chapter in December of 2022.

Kristin has worked in various positions in mental health and has contributed to raising awareness on serious social issues, such as creating a monologue-style play in 2008 titled "Silent No More: Women and Men Tell Stories About Abortion" and assisting on the research and interview teams for the Lower Great Lakes regional Emmy-winning documentary "State of Assault" on the statistics and realities of sexual assault. As part of the ILS group, Kristin also helped foster youth speak out about issues affecting them at the yearly Youth Advocacy Day event in Olympia. Kristin now focuses their work on individual, couples, and family counseling for the LGBTQIA+, non-monogamous, kinky, and neurodivergent.

Patricia Taylor is a licensed clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience in psychotherapy, leadership, and supervision. She holds a PhD in Developmental-Clinical
Psychology from the University of Maine and Psychologist licenses in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia. Patricia’s practice focuses on depression, anxiety, grief, identity exploration, and lifespan development. She provides a safe and supportive space for clients navigating infertility, foster care/adoption, sexual orientation, and gender identity, utilizing evidence-based approaches such as CBT, ACT, and motivational interviewing.

Nicole Wiesman, LCPC, is a family therapist with a deep passion for supporting children, teens, and families as they navigate life's intricacies. Her personal connection to adoption, as an adoptee herself, brings a unique understanding and empathy to her work, particularly in adoption and identity development. She earned her Master's in Counseling Psychology from North Park University, graduating with distinction. She has since established her private practice, PFECT, specializing in couples and family therapy. Nicole enjoys Lego building in her downtime as a creative way to support her mental health and self-care.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Laura relocated to Arizona with her family in 2009. Her educational journey includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Shippensburg University
and a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in School Counseling from Chatham College. She continued her studies at Penn State University for a certificate in Applied Behavioral Analysis.

As the Owner of Cedarhurst Counseling, Laura brings over 25 years of experience in Human Services and Education. At Cedarhurst, Laura has cultivated an environment centered around empathy and curiosity, where clients can feel safe and neutral, and explore their lives at their own pace. Laura’s diverse experience working with various populations has reinforced her belief in the power of empathy and the importance of truly seeing and hearing others. When Laura is not at Cedarhurst, she enjoys spending time with her husband, 4 children, and 2 dogs, watching sports, enjoying the outdoors, reading and travelling.

Laura is passionate about helping her clients improve their relationships and overall well-being. She specializes in trauma therapy and relational counseling, using evidence-based techniques like EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and CBT, as well as a person-centered approach to create a safe and neutral space for healing and growth. This eclectic blend of approaches allows her to tailor therapy to the unique needs of each client.

Kim Sherman is an LCSW with a private practice in the East Bay. She has worked with families and youth over the course of her career, including 28 years in the pediatric subspecialty service at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. Early on, Kim focused on the foster care population with experience in a variety of clinical settings. She is delighted to be Co-Director for the AHW San Francisco/Bay Area Chapter, relishing the opportunity to collaborate with such an inspiring team.

Nes Pinar, LMFT has a counseling degree from California State University of East Bay and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with more than a decade of experience working with children, adolescents, and adults through a variety of treatment modalities around a vast number of issues.

On a more personal note, she is originally from Turkey, has two children, and also has an engineering degree. She is fluent in English and Turkish. She loves reading, swimming, camping, traveling, hanging out with friends, attending concerts and seeing live plays and shows at local venues, going out for dates with her husband, reading or dozing off by the fire, cooking from scratch, doing streaming marathons of variety of TV shows, and snuggling with her dogs (two of her own and additional foster dogs regularly).

Her bicultural background broadens her insight and respect for different values, belief systems, and diversity, which informs her strength-based approach to therapy and social justice work.

Chelsea Rissner, LCSW has spent the last 15 years working as a school social worker and psychotherapist, focusing on connecting families to and advocating for mental health services. She is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work and engages in ongoing clinical training at the Gestalt Institute for Psychotherapy and Training. As a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance North America’s (CPA-NA) Outreach and Advocacy Committee, Chelsea works at the intersection of climate, mental health, advocacy and research. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Studies at Antioch University with the aim of bridging gaps in research through interdisciplinary study.

Chelsea’s clinical experience with teens and young adults brings a specific interest in their psychological well-being as they inherit the planet. To this end, she engages in ongoing work with A Home Within as New York City’s co-Clinical Director and Consultation Group Leader.

Liz Dietrich (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in San Jose, California. She specializes in trauma, sexual issues, and group work. Her work is deeply grounded in attachment and psychodynamic theory developed while at Smith College School for Social Work and later at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley, California.

Rachel Harvey, LMSW, LCSW is a licensed mental health therapist dedicated to helping individuals overcome life’s challenges with confidence and resilience. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from Michigan State University and has since established her own private practice, where she works with clients to develop personalized strategies for mental well-being.

Brittany Webber (she, her, hers) received her doctorate in combined School-Clinical Child Psychology and has extensive training in Parent-Infant Mental Health and Trauma. Brittany works full time in her private practice with infants through high school aged children and their parents. Through her previous work at a non-public school and a city hospital, she is intimately familiar with resources available to families in the New York City area and is experienced in helping families navigate the EI, CPSE & CSE processes. Additionally, she has worked with foster care agencies, ACS, family court, and the special victims unit in support of her clients.

Nina works as a creative arts and sandplay therapist, art facilitator, educator, Reiki practitioner, and certified yoga teacher. She holds degrees from The American University and Adelphi University and post-graduate work at SUNY New Paltz. Doing sandplay and creative art therapy began when Nina developed programs of visual arts, and creative movement for children and adults of all ages and diverse populations either in public school venues or private practice. She enjoys working with children with Autism, special needs, and cancer and other terminal illnesses; teenagers struggling with addiction or in the juvenile justice system; and adults with Alzheimer’s disease and terminal illnesses.

Adanna Eke is a LCSW whose work focuses on trauma recovery, perinatal mental health and the intersection between women’s medical and mental health topics. She’s a graduate of Columbia School of Social Work with an emphasis on Social Enterprise and Administration. In the past, she has worked in child welfare in the South Bronx, in addition to having worked in emergency mental health services at both UCLA and Cedars Sinai hospitals. Her passion for promoting health equity and self determination in all populations are a core value of her’s. Currently, she is a training practitioner at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in their Adult Psychoanalytic Program while working as both a private practice psychotherapist and mental health consultant. She is a founding member of AHW’s Building Practice in Community which launched in 2023 in response to our client’s gratitude for our service delivery model and requests for cultural conconcordant interventions.

Sally Popper is a psychologist whose career focused on treating families with foster or adopted children. She has a background in attachment and trauma research. She is a co-director of the Northampton, MA chapter of A Home Within.

A positive development in your chapter: "We have three supervision groups in Northampton and are working on extending our reach. I think the most positive aspect of our groups is how positive the interactions are among the therapists. I believe we have prevented a number of potential disruptions by providing the support therapists need to handle these complex cases."

We are currently updating this content.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Dr. Haake is a psychologist in private practice in Oakland. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts and trained at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic before working for twenty-six years on the Child and Family Service of the Kaiser Oakland Psychiatry Department. She has volunteered as a therapist with A Home Within since 2012 and is the Clinical Director for the AHW San Francisco/Bay Area Chapter.

Mae Madge Howard is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist. She received her Masters of Social Work Degree from the University of Southern California. She immigrated from the Philippines and faced many adversities from immigration learning firsthand the gaps in government aid and access to services. She understands the complexity of immigration, acculturation, and assimilation. Her social work background ranges from counseling domestic violence survivors, working inpatient with co-occurring adults, and seeing children and their families in an inpatient hospital and outpatient clinic setting with a multitude of social, emotional, medical, and behavioral issues. She saw the gaps in mental health care for foster children and their families and joined A Home Within to help do her part.

Leda Sportolari, LCSW has a private practice near Philadelphia. Leda is past-president of the PA Society for Clinical Social Work and remains on the board. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work. Leda has been affiliated with AHW for about 6 years.

A positive development in your chapter: "We now have 3 consultation groups running!"

I was born in New York but moved to Portland in 1981. I was a teacher before becoming a psychologist and children have always been my focus. I joined A Home Within in 2010, have carried a case for 5 years, and became a Clinical Director in 2015. I love reading, swimming, yoga, music and travel.

A positive development in your chapter: "The Portland chapter is growing, with new therapists joining and consultation groups meeting every month. We are building relationships with OFYC (Oregon Foster Youth Connection) and other local and state-wide agencies."

Krissy Perry is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor with a Master’s in Education in Community Counseling from the University of Oklahoma. She has worked with children and families in a variety of settings over the past 11 years – nonprofit agencies, head start programs, for-profit agencies, and private practice. Krissy started Eastside Play Therapy, a group private practice in north Bellevue, WA where she has a special place in her heart for working with children and their families. Her specialized training includes: Play Therapy, Trauma Play Therapy, Trust Based Relational Intervention®, Theraplay®, and Child Parent Relationship Therapy.

Kirsten Hughes is a family therapist with 15 years of experience working with teens and their families in Eugene, Oregon. Kirsten works in a school based health center focused on serving K-12 students and their families and also in private practice with individuals and couples. Kirsten has expertise with youth development, the impact of the disease of addiction on the family, and suicide prevention and intervention in children, teens, and young adults. Kirsten is excited for the opportunity to join A Home Within.

Karen Zilberstein specializes in working with children and families. She has published numerous journal articles and co-authored a children’s book on psychotherapy. Her newest book, Parenting under pressure: Struggling to raise children in an unequal America, will be released in early 2019.

A positive development in your chapter: "I got an A Home Within therapist!", has become the badge of honor amongst foster and adoptive families looking for services in our area. I wish we could serve more families, but our chapter is at full capacity."

Deanna Linville is the founding and Co-Clinical Director of the Greater Oregon (GO) Chapter. She is also the co-founder and Executive & Clinical Research Director at the Center for Transformative Healing and a research consultant for A Home Within. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Oregon and Washington. Deanna is a clinical member and approved supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) as well as the state of Oregon. She has two decades of experience providing direct mental healthcare, clinical supervision, and teaching both in and out of academic settings.

Deanna is grounded in all her work by her fascination for helping people effectively remove the barriers that impede their capacity to make and sustain healthy changes and growth. She currently holds a Courtesy Research Associate Professor appointment at the University of Oregon’s Center for Equity Promotion as well as provides teaching, consultation, and supervision to student therapists at other universities such as Oregon Institute of Technology Daybreak University.

Daria Dato lives in Dallas. She taught social work at Texas Woman’s University and supervises student practicums in psychology, counseling, and social work. Daria integrates psychoeducational, psychoanalytic, and mindfulness building in clinical practice. With Behavioral Health Connections, she offers assessment and diagnosis services to area emergency departments.

Ayelet R. Barkai, M.D. is a co-director of the Cambridge/Boston Chapter of A Home Within with Ruth Drasin, Ph.D. She has a private practice in adult and child psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A positive development in your chapter: "We have been in the process of recruiting new clinicians and our efforts have been fruitful, with a number of new people signing on!"

Amy Geller is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and family therapist in Bergen County, New Jersey. Amy has a general practice where she has provided psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families since 2011. Prior to that, Amy has extensive experience providing social work services in inpatient and community health settings, of which, hospice care was a particular passion. Amy’s area of clinical interest and expertise has evolved towards working with all members of the adoptee kinship network (adoptees, adoptive families, and birth parents). Initially interested in working with adolescents, it became evident to Amy that a highdegree of her adolescent clients were adoptees and that, despite their diverse backgrounds, there were similarities in their experiences and behaviors. An adoptee herself, Amy became particularly curious about understanding and meeting the needs of adoptees and their families as well as educating the mental health and school communities on the unique needs of this population.

Amy is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Social Work at The Rutgers University School of Social Work where the focus of her scholarship and research is on adoption. As part of her studies, Amy presented a case study outlining strength-based interventions for building attachment between adolescent adoptees and their adoptive mothers. Amy is currently engaged in a qualitative study that examines “The Experience of Adult Adoptees in Psychotherapy”. In addition to her private practice, Amy lectures at Rutgers University School of Social Work and has appeared on several podcasts to speak about adoption related topics.