Diagnostic, Therapeutic, and Educational Services in a Collaborative Environment
85 Old Kings Highway North, Darien, Connecticut 06820 P:(203)202-7654 F:(203)202-7655
Our Staff
GINNY AYRES
Virginia Ayres earned her undergraduate degree at Dickinson College, and her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education. Before acquiring her Mental Health Counseling degree, Ginny worked over 12 years on Wall Street in Taxable Fixed Income Sales. Ginny is the mother of four teenage children and has done a wide range of volunteer work, from Treasurer and Director on the Board of a local Nursery School, to room mother and reading volunteer at her
children's schools.
Currently she works with adolescents, young adults, women, and couples, both individually and in group therapy. Many of the adolescents and young adults have learning differences, are victims of emotional or physical abuse, or have experienced other forms of psychosocial trauma. Ginny has also worked with young adults coping with clique and/or gang related pressures. Her approach to therapy is collaborative and eclectic. She practices Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Aggression Replacement Training, and other evidence-based treatments dealing with substance abuse, anger management, dual diagnosis treatment, anxiety, and abuse. She also incorporates mindfulness and other select practices from Imago Therapy into her treatment approach.
JILL BARRON
Jill Barron, M.D., is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist who completed her adult and child psychiatry training at the Department of Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and at the Yale Child Study Center at the Yale University School of Medicine, respectively. She has been a physician in Connecticut for six years and has worked with children and families with a wide range of psychiatric illnesses.
She has extensive experience in the psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment of child and adolescent behavioral illnesses. She developed and teaches an Introduction to Psychotherapy Seminar at the Yale University School of Medicine. There she exposes medical students to the various forms of psychotherapy that currently exist, and focuses on the critical importance of self-reflection in Medicine. She completed training as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale University where she examined health care delivery systems and policies. She is currently president-elect of the Connecticut Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Barron has served as a consultant for UNICEF in the Post-Soviet Republic of Georgia where she provided guidance on screening for developmental disabilities and was instrumental in passage of a council on early childhood development by Parliament. Dr Barron is Director of the bilingual program at the Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center in Norwalk. She additionally acts as a consultant to the Fire Department of the City of New York. She provides direct clinical services to rescue workers who survived the collapse on September 11th 2001.
PAUL R. BERNSTEIN, O.D.
PAUL R. BERNSTEIN, O.D. is a developmental optometrist (also referred to as a behavioral optometrist) who is Board Certified in Developmental Optometry and Vision Therapy. Dr. Bernstein has been in private practice for the past twenty-two years. He taught both clinical and laboratory courses at SUNY – State College of Optometry until 1995, when he directed all of his energy to full-time private practice. Currently, Dr. Bernstein is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at both SUNY – State College of Optometry and Southern College of Optometry. He supervises fourth year optometry students who rotate through his office gaining patient care experience.
In 2000, Dr. Bernstein (or Dr. Paul as he is known in the office) founded the Bernstein Center for Visual Performance in White Plains, New York in order to emphasize the importance that Comprehensive Visual Exams and Vision Therapy have in the development of effective reading, writing, and learning experiences. His passion is helping people perform to their fullest innate potential in school, sports, business, and life in general through improved visual function. The Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of oculomotor, accommodative, and binocular vision problems as well as strabismus, amblyopia, visual perceptual deficits, visual motor planning issues, visual rehabilitation and sports vision enhancement. We also prescribe traditional optometric treatments (glasses, contact lenses, vision aids) as they relate to the remediation of the aforementioned visual deficits.
Dr. Paul splits his time between the his office in the Southfield Center for Development in Darien, Connecticut and the Bernstein Center for Visual Performance in White Plains, New York.
Dr. Paul has lectured to numerous parent and professional groups on the role vision plays in learning and motor development.
Dr. Paul received his undergraduate degree from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and his professional degree from SUNY – State College of Optometry in 1987.
CHRISTOPHER M. BOGART, PH.D
CHRISTOPHER M. BOGART, PH.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked in both the private and public sectors for the past twenty years. Dr. Bogart has served as a staff psychologist at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and as the Director of Psychology at the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg, New York. While serving as director, Dr. Bogart organized and administered an American Psychological Association approved externship training program for clinical psychology and social work graduate students. He supervised staff psychologists on children’s and adolescent inpatient units and he devised a hospital-wide behavior modification program for the children.
Dr. Bogart has provided numerous classes, lectures and training programs on various topics such as parent education, psychological testing, and stress management. Dr. Bogart has also conducted research studies in various areas including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Social Skills Training, and depression in children.
Christopher currently devotes his full-time energies to seeing clients as part of the Southfield Center for Development in Darien, Connecticut. In that setting, Dr. Bogart works with children, adolescents and parents, conducting
comprehensive psychoeducational and AD/HD evaluations as well as therapy services. He also provides management consultations to local schools and corporations, and provides supervision to doctoral graduate students in psychology. Finally, he was recently appointed as the School Psychologist at the New Canaan Country School.
Christopher received his undergraduate training at Georgetown University and received his doctoral degree from The American University in 1986. He has also completed coursework at the Family Institute of Westchester and the American Hypnosis Training Academy.
MIKE BROUSE
Mike Brouse, office administrator for the Southfield Center for Development, offers over 20 years of management experience to the day-to-day operations of the facility. His customer service background and keen sense of client satisfaction allows Mike to ensure that everyone involved with the Southfield Center receives clear, efficient, comfortable and accommodating service.
Mike earned an Associate’s Degree in Business Management at North Texas State University. He continued business studies at El Centro College in Dallas, Texas.
Before the Southfield Center, Mike worked as the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Human Resources at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Mike looks forward to bringing his management expertise to both clients and fellow employees at the Southfield Center.
JEFF DETESO
Jeffrey DeTeso, Ed.M. is a Certified School Psychologist. He received his Ed.M. degree from Columbia University, Teachers College where he is now completing his Ph.D. degree. He received his B.A. from Williams College. As part of his doctoral program he is conducting research for his dissertation that examines the student-teacher relationship and its impact on reading comprehension. Jeffrey will use his research outcomes to better educate, prepare, and train teachers on the importance of their day-to-day interactions with students.
Jeffrey is currently employed by the Greenwich CT Public School District as a School Psychologist for Greenwich High School. Included in his responsibilities are psycho-educational evaluations (cognitive, achievement, memory, attention, executive functioning, adaptive functioning, visual-motor integration, social-emotional, and behavioral), counseling (students and parents), consultations (teachers and other relevant staff), developing, implementing, and monitoring Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs), student observations, developing and monitoring Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and developing, monitoring, and evaluating appropriate Response to Intervention (RTI) plans. Having worked privately for the past few years, he brings his expertise to the Southfield Center where he will provide psycho-educational evaluations as well as therapy / counseling for children and their families. Jeffrey has been trained in, and practices, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). He has guest lectured at Long Island University’s school psychology and counseling (LIU) graduate programs where the focus of his classes has been CBT and REBT. In addition, for the past five years Jeffrey has been teaching Columbia University Teachers College Ph.D. candidates how to administer, score, and interpret the Rorschach, a social-emotional projective test.
Prior to getting his School Psychology Certificate, Jeffrey worked for nine years as an elementary teacher at the Greenwich Country Day School (GCDS). He taught Lower School children ages Nursery through the Third grade.
Jeffrey brings a vast amount of educational experience to the Southfield Center having worked with children ranging in ages from 3 to 21. He has extensively worked with children experiencing learning disabilities, ADHD, executive functioning (EF) difficulties, mood disorders (Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar), behavioral dysregulation, self-injurious (SI) behaviors, developmental disorders, cognitive disorders, speech and language disabilities, intellectual impairment, and neurological impairment.
JAY DOBOS
Dr. Dobos is board certified in both general pediatrics and developmental / behavioral pediatrics. Dr. Dobos brings to the Southfield Center his expertise in assessment and treatment in the medical and psychosocial aspects of children’s and adolescents’ development and behavioral problems.
As a developmental / behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Dobos can evaluate, counsel and provide treatment for your children with difficulties such as regulatory disorders such as sleep, discipline, complicated toilet training issues, enuresis (bedwetting) and encopresis (soiling) and developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, spinal bifida, spectrum disorders, delayed development speech and language, motor skills and thinking ability, behavioral and developmental problems communicating the full range of pediatrics chronic illnesses and disabling conditions.
Dr. Dobos works closely with families at the Southfield Center with the other professionals at the Center. He is also involved in school communications and advocates when necessary.
Dr. Dobos attended the University of Connecticut at Storrs and he received his BS degree in Pharmacy in 1986. He received his MD degree from the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Farmington. Dr. Dobos completed his pediatric residency training at New York Medical College/Westchester County Medical Center and he also served as Pediatric Chief Resident.
He completed his fellowship training in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Yale-New Haven. Dr. Dobos is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is Board Certified in General Pediatrics and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
ABBY GREENSPUN, MA, RD, CDN
Abby is a Registered Dietitian with more than 15 years experience helping adults and children prevent disease, improve their health and lose weight through good nutrition. After earning a B.A. in Political Science from Clark University she became interested in wellness and helping others. She decided to return to school to study nutrition and received a M.S. in Nutrition from Hunter College in New York City.
Abby’s nutrition career began in New York City as a Clinical and Ambulatory Care Nutritionist at Hospital For Special Surgery. She was later the nutritionist for the ALS Center at Beth Israel Medical Center, and she also provided nutrition counseling for members of New York Sports Club. While in NYC, Abby also maintained a private practice, providing nutrition counseling for children and adults concerning a wide range of medical conditions including weight management, digestive disorders, diabetes, heart disease and rheumatic diseases.
After September 11, 2001, Abby moved to Connecticut with her husband Scott and two sons, Aaron and Jesse. She is currently in private practice, seeing a wide variety of clients, but specializing in medical nutrition therapy and weight management. Abby gives presentations on various nutrition related topics and has consulted on numerous nutrition books. As a result of her passion for improving the health of children, she served four years as a member of the Food Service Advisory Committee for the Westport School district. This group has been instrumental in making vast improvements to the nutritional quality of the foods served in the school cafeterias and vending machines.
AISSA INSKEEP
Aissa Inskeep, M.A., CCC-SLP is a certified speech-language pathologist with over 10 years of experience diagnosing and treating children with a variety of speech and language delays and disorders. She has worked in both the public and private sectors with a focus on collaboration and a team approach. She received her undergraduate degree at Duke University and earned her Master’s degree in Communication Disorders at the University of Connecticut.
Aissa creates a fun and encouraging therapy environment that translates into measurable progress in therapy goals. She works hard to think out of the box and incorporate the latest methods and techniques to best serve her clients. Aissa has expertise in early language intervention, articulation and phonological disorders, receptive and expressive language delays, auditory and language processing disorders, oral motor and speech disorders, apraxia of speech, language-based learning disabilities, fluency disorders, augmentative communication, social pragmatic skills and cognitive linguistic functioning.
Aissa is fluent in Spanish and French, proficient in American Sign Language and is PROMPT trained.
DAVID KUCHER, M.A.
David Kucher, M.A., has worked as a teacher and learning coach in the New Jersey / New York / Connecticut schools for the past ten years. With degrees in teaching and writing, as well as advanced certifications in executive function tutoring, ADHD coaching, and exercise, David offers a unique set of skills to clients in need of organization.
Whether working with one specific need (such as help in organizing homework) or more global endeavors (such as improving overall academic activity), David establishes clearly defined goals, then uses the following to achieve these goals:
- Identify Individual Learning Styles
- Forecast Work / Plan Work with Calendars
- Organization
- Time Management
- Follow Through
- Habit
- Perseverance
- Individuality
- Focus on Strengths / Working with Challenges
- Responsibility
Always using day-to-day homework assignments from school, David focuses attention on the following areas:
- Organization Skills
- Note Taking Strategies and Skills
- Test Taking Strategies and Skills
- Study Skills
- Breaking Down Large Assignments Into Smaller, Manageable Segments (and tying these segments to a calendar)
- Organizing Your Backpack
- Paper Writing (short and long paper)
- Previewing Textbooks
- Previewing Fiction Books
LAURA JEFFRIES
Laura comes to the Southfield Center with over 20 years experience in the field of education. She is a CT State Certified School Psychologist, with an MS degree earned at the University of Bridgeport, and sixth year studies completed at Fairfield University. Currently, she provides services to the Darien school system at the elementary level.
Laura has worked at all grade levels including post secondary, and within both the public and private sector. Laura brings her expertise in special education identification and placement, and counseling support to the clients of Southfield Center. Working with parents and students, Laura provides families with the knowledge to move forward in the oftentimes complex world of learning and achieving.
ANDREW LUSTBADER, MD
Andrew S. Lustbader, MD, FAAP is a triple-board certified physician in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, General Psychiatry, and Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Lustbader trained at the Yale University School of Medicine for all three disciplines after graduating from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He has been a practicing physician in Connecticut since 1991. Dr. Lustbader is an Assistant Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine. He also serves on the clinical faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital. As one of the Directors of the Psychopharmacology Clinic at the Yale Child Study Center, he supervises a multidisciplinary team of child and adolescent psychiatrists, pediatricians and nurse practitioners in training, in the science and practice of comprehensive evaluation, and non-pharmacological and pharmacological forms of mental health treatment.
He is the Medical Director of the Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Clinic assists children with mental health needs with prevention programs, emergency assessments, and pre/post hospital intensive programs, as well as many other forms of therapy – without regard for financial need.
Over the last few years, he has started two multidisciplinary COR groups (Collaborative Office Rounds with pediatricians and mental health providers) in lower Fairfield County. He supervises four psychiatric nurse practitioners who are located within four local pediatric practices. He has given many seminars to mental health, school-based, and primary care providers, as well as community-based organizations regarding: psychopharmacology, psychiatric evaluation and treatment, treatment of physical and psychiatric chronic illnesses (including anxiety and trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD), parenting and divorce issues, and suicide prevention. In addition, he provides executive coaching for the leaders of major corporations, and serves on the executive board of a local, value-based, private high school.
He has received a national award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in honor of his collaborative efforts to increase children’s access to quality mental health care. He is currently Chairman of the Joint Leadership Committee of the Connecticut American Academy of Pediatrics and the Connecticut American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; a committee comprised of leaders from Connecticut of both pediatric and child and adolescent psychiatry groups. The committee is dedicated to improving the quality of health care for children in Connecticut – with a special emphasis on alleviating the crises in children’s mental health care.
LAURIE B. MARKUS
Laurie B. Markus is a special education advocate who works with parents and families in securing educational rights for their children with disabilities. She helps educate families with varied information and tools they need to play an active role in their quest to have their child’s needs productively met. She strives to maintain an atmosphere of team effort with the school system by clear and respectful communication, while vigilantly advocating for the child’s individualized plan of special education.
In addition to her personal experience navigating the special education system, and her direct work with schools and parents, Laurie has completed varied coursework related to special education advocacy. She has also been extensively trained by the Center's practitioners on proven advocacy strategies and effective programming for children with disabilities.
Laurie is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, the Council of Exceptional Children, Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation, and the Fairfield Special Education Parent Teacher Association. She also serves on the Communication Strategic Planning Committee for the Fairfield Public School District.
Laurie graduated with a BA from Brandeis University, and has a JD from Emory University School of Law. Prior to joining the Southfield Center and entering the field of advocacy, Laurie has worked as an attorney in various areas of the law including criminal prosecution, bankruptcy and litigation. She resides with her husband, son and daughter in Fairfield, Connecticut.
ANN MCCARTHY
As Managing Director of The Southfield Center, Ann McCarthy is responsible for strategic and business planning efforts. She holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University, and worked for over a decade in marketing and public relations prior to entering the field of special education advocacy. Ann is the founder of Advocacy for Kids, which became the advocacy arm of The Southfield Center in October 2009.
Ann has provided advocacy services to over 175 Connecticut families, across a wide range of issues. She empowers parents with the information and tools they need to have productive and positive conversations with their child’s school. Through detailed file reviews, participation at school meetings, and strategic planning, Ann teaches parents to work with the school system in a non-adversarial way to get their child’s individual needs met. Her end goal is to get parents to a place where they are comfortable advocating for their child on their own.
Ann comments that: "I have been gratified by the overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding my work, not only from the parents I serve but also from school teams. Special education teachers have begun referring me to their friends and school staff members have expressed their appreciation for my input and know-how. If the schools are happy to see me coming, I am in a much better position to effectively serve the families who hire me."
In addition to her direct work with schools and parents, Ann has completed hundreds of hours of training related to special education advocacy. She has given presentations to a number of groups regarding effective advocacy strategies, including SPED*NET Wilton and Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities.
Ann is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, the Council of Exceptional Children, the Connecticut Association for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities, the Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress, and the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
She resides in Fairfield, Connecticut, with her husband and two children.
MARYJEAN MACDONALD, PSY.D.
MaryJean MacDonald, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist with over sixteen years experience working with adults, families and children in hospitals, outpatient clinic, schools, and private practice. She conducts in depth psychological testing, parent training, and individual therapy for children, adolescents, and adults. MaryJean specializes in anxiety disorders and has worked as a staff psychologist at the Anxiety Treatment Group in Somers NY where she received specialized training in that area. MaryJean graduated Yeshiva University with her doctorate in clinical psychology in 1992. As a staff psychologist at Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center she worked on the mobile crisis team. MaryJean has also worked at Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center where she helped pioneer a short-term intensive outpatient treatment program for elementary age students designed to integrate mental health and school services. MaryJean has also consulted and assisted in the design and implementation of intensive mental health services in school districts throughout New York State. Other areas of specialty include developmental disabilities, grief and bereavement, and management of a chronic illness. Treatment approaches used are most consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness, as well as dialectical behavior therapy.
SAM RIZZIO, MAT, BBA
Sam is a highly-skilled mathematics tutor who works with a wide range of learners. He is New York State certified in mathematics and special education (grades 5 – 12), and currently works as a special education teacher. Sa received his M.A.T. in Mathematics Education from Manhattanville College and a BBA in Finance from the University of Houston.
ALISA SLATIN ROHDIE, MA, BCBA
Alisa has specialized in the education and treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders for the past 15 years. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a masters of arts from New York University in Applied Psychology. She received undergraduate training in speech-language pathology and a degree in Communication Disorders from Southern Connecticut State University. Alisa was the co-founder and co-director of the Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention in Northern New Jersey where she directed and supervised comprehensive learning programs based on scientifically-validated procedures in both school and home environments. She serves on the Executive Board of the New York Center for Autism Charter School and is a member of Connecticut Association for Applied Behavior Analysts. Most recently, she has dedicated her practice to assisting families in identifying and securing safe and effective educational and treatment programs. Alisa is particularly motivated to support families of newly diagnosed children to navigate the complex web of treatments, therapies and interventions to ensure assembling a program that best meets their individual child’s needs.
RENE STEFFANN, MA
Rene Steffann, M.A., is a certified secondary school social studies teacher in both Connecticut and California. She is an experienced learning coach focused on executive functions skills. Rene works with middle school and high school students to improve their potential in academic and life skills by introducing learning strategies which improve organization, confidence, expectations, and content comprehension.
BILL STOWELL
Bill Stowell-Alonso is an Executive Functions Coach at the Southfield Center for Development, and also works on a private basis, as a Life Skills Coach for children and adults with special needs. He has a Master's Degree in Special Education from Fairfield University, and works in a variety of settings with persons who have special gifts or talents, and/ or any disability. As an Executive Functions/ ADHD Coach though, Bill coaches people of all ages using an individualized, evidence-based set of approaches which lead to rapid development and goal attainment for those he works with.
Executive Function skill development strengthens right/ left brain hemispheric neural pathway connections, and current research indicates that new neural pathway growth occurs when these frontal lobe functions are used in a consistent and repetitive manner. Some of the major skills Bill integrates into each session, are activities which build upon a persons strengths and directly focuses on refining one's executive functions skills. Some of the general strategies and skills learned are self-control, self-assessment, and self-regulation, alongside organizational, planning ahead, study skills, decision making and time management skills practice.
Paper writing, including how to organize thoughts on paper, and writing a fluid, successful supported paper, are all part of Coach Bill's repertoire also. Each session is carried out within the context of that week's academic work.
Bill has worked as a public school Special Education teacher in Boston, Hawaii, and Greenwich, and volunteers in the community as a basketball coach for children with special needs, and with community organizations servicing people with special needs. He speaks fluent Spanish.
PAMELA TINOCO, MA, LMFT
Pamela Tinoco, LMFT is a licensed Marital and Family therapist practicing for the past thirteen years helping children, adolescents, adults, and families. While earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut, she worked at Four Winds Hospital in Westchester NY in their dual-diagnosis adolescent unit. While there she specialized in group and family therapy, and later extended her work with the elderly and assisting families through loss. She has a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marital and Family therapy from Pepperdine University. During her stay in California, she worked with first-offender adolescents, families affected by substance abuse, a school based family resource center for children aged 1- 12, and sheltered teens in crisis due to domestic violence, child abuse, serious communication problems and family conflict. Her work emphasized family preservation and diversion of at-risk youths from the juvenile justice system.
Upon her return to CT, she was Director of Darien Family and Youth Options providing prevention, intervention, and treatment for children, adolescents, and families. She implemented peer counseling and school outreach programs at the local high school, in addition she spent time in the local middle school providing presentations on life skills and substance abuse. Working with children has always been her passion, and she later had the opportunity to work in her hometown of Greenwich, CT for the American Red Cross as their Director of Youth Services. Here she led a comprehensive department, serving 2,500 youth annually.
Most recently, Pamela has dedicated her time to her practice/center and community presentations on issues or bullying, parenting, and stress management. She specializes in the areas anxiety, depression, family systems, identifying developmental markers, and grief/loss. In her work, she believes in family involvement and working collaboratively with all resources available to the child, adult or family.
HEATHER WHITE
Heather Schrempf-White, founder and president of Brain Builders Tutoring, is a nationally known teacher-trainer and presenter. She conducts seminars across the country both for Brain Builders and in conjunction with the Multi-Sensory Training Institute (MTI). In addition to conducting teacher trainings, Heather has given a range of presentations at schools and conferences. These include: Phonological Awareness – Understanding Phonics in Context, Plain English for Parents – Talking about Learning Issues and Disabled Children, Seeing Stars®Preview – Integrating Visual Imagery into Phonemic Awareness Training, When Phonemic Awareness Isn’t Enough – Identifying and Remediating Storage and Retrieval Issues, and Methods of Teaching Reading. Heather has a permanent New York teaching credential, a special education credential and a Master’s Degree in Education with specializations in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders. She has taught in Pennsylvania, California, and New York. Heather is trained in numerous methodologies including Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes™, Orton Gillingham (including Preventing Academic Failure and Wilson Reading), Processing and Cognitive Enhancement(PACE), RAVE-O, and William Glasser’s Control Theory and Responsibility Training. In all of her tutoring she strives to integrate a range of assistive technology. She is the author of the
Beyond Words Writing Program. Heather is a cornerstone of Brain Builders and brings to the team a level of excitement and motivation that touches everyone she meets.
JEFFREY G. WHITE, LCSW
Jeffrey White is a licensed clinical social worker having earned his Master’s degree in social work from Fordham University. He completed advanced training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. He has further training in cognitive-behavioral treatments from the Educational Institute of Westchester Jewish Community Services.
Jeffrey seeks to create a therapeutic space based on trust and collaboration. His clinical approach is integrative and customized depending on the treatment situation. He employs multiple theoretical understandings that foster various ways to work within the therapeutic process. His holistic style incorporates relaxation skills that are psychologically and behaviorally rooted in Western contemplative and Eastern meditative practices.
Jeffrey provides short-term cognitive-behavioral treatment as well as long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy to adults, adolescents, and children in both individual and group modalities. He incorporates work with other professionals including psychiatrists, teachers, and physicians into the treatment as needed. He has extensive experience in helping people overcome problems such as anxiety, depression, and difficulties adjusting to major life events. His treatment of adolescents and children incorporates work with parents and other family members. Jeffrey also specializes in facilitating groups for addressing relationship problems, low self-esteem, and various emotional difficulties to help people live more fulfilled lives.
LAUREN ZALIS
Lauren Zalis, M.A., OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist in school districts, private and public charter schools, early intervention, and private clinics. In private practice she worked with Skills on the Hill and Lynne Israel and Associates in Washington, D.C. and most recently with Little Hands Pediatric Therapy Services, which she founded in 2007. Ms. Zalis received her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, and her graduate studies culminated in the completion of a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy at New York University.
As a SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests) certified therapist, Ms. Zalis provides intervention for infants, preschool and school age children with a variety of diagnoses. In addition, she is certified in Therapeutic Listening and has extensive training in Sensory Integration, Handwriting Without Tears, and The Alert Program. Within the sensory gym environment, she is experienced in providing therapy using the dynamic medium of play to achieve individualized goals in the areas of sensory processing, gross and fine motor development, social interaction, self-care, and self-regulation.
Ms. Zalis strongly encourages the collaborative efforts approach to therapy services, integrating the active roles that parents, teachers and caregivers play in a child’s development.
85 Old Kings Highway North, Darien, Connecticut 06820; PHONE: (203)202-7654; FAX: (203)202-7655;
E-Mail: info@southfieldcenter.com