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Current Positions:
In addition to my private practice, I currently work as the Psychological Treatment Co-Director and Outreach Director at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA in a program called the Center for Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS). We provide preventative mental health services for adolescents and young adults who are exhibiting symptoms that suggest they are at high risk for developing thought disorders, such as Schizophrenia. We intervene early with these young people in the hopes of preventing the illness and/ or improving prognosis. Our program provides extensive clinical and neuropsychological testing and adjunctive treatment services including family education, case management, crisis management, school advocacy, and therapy groups for both patients and their parents. In addition to co-directing the treatment program, I also lead our outreach efforts and provide weekly talks in the community to a variety of audiences including psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers, nurses, parents and teenagers at various sites (mental health clinics, hospitals, conferences, graduate and medical schools, high schools) regarding this cutting edge research and treatment. My work at UCLA also involves close supervision of doctoral students in training to become clinical psychologists.
I also serve on the Board of Directors at Step Up on Second, a nationally recognized community mental health organization located in Santa Monica. Step Up's mission is to develop opportunities to reintegrate individuals with severe and persistent mental illness into the community, provide long- term support through housing, educational, social and work experiences, and to increase public understanding and acceptance of mental illness.