Embark In-Home

Amanda Marlar, MS, NCC joined the Embark family in 2016 and has been in the behavioral health care field for 10 years. She was formerly with Vive Family Support Program and has a passion for admissions. Amanda is located in Florida and now heads up in-home services as the National Coordinator.

Ayana is a National Board Certified Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor, and a Certified Anger Management Specialist with a Masters Degree in Community Counseling accompanied by a certification in Marriage and Family Therapy from Argosy University. She has over 15 years of experience in the behavioral health field.  Ayana specializes in individual therapy, family therapy, life coaching, and clinical supervision. Her areas of expertise include depression, mood disorders,  behavior disorders, ADHD, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorder, anger management, self-harming behaviors, relationship issues, and parenting skills. Ayana uses a solution-focused, person-centered approach in her practice and has extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,  Functional Family Therapy, Clinical Supervision, and Aggressive Replacement Training. She is passionate about being a change agent and working with individuals and families from all walks of life to drive positive change by liberating the best version of themselves. Ayana enjoys spending time with her children (son and dog), going to the beach, laughing, reading, thrifting, and traveling.

Nadia Bhatti, Regional Director, is Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and have been working in the field for over nine years. I have had the honor of working with a wide range of people experiencing relationship and/or transitional issues, as well as more severe problems including mental health, personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, OCD, grief, Families, organ transplantation, and individuals who struggle with depression, anxiety, relational couples issues, and substance use disorders. I utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Function Family Therapy, and Mind-Body interventions. I believe it’s essential to be open-minded and non-judgmental when someone shares their personal story or experiences with me. Our relationship with our self and others has worth and is useful to explore in therapy. I believe that seeking help is a huge step in the right direction and that therapy should be viewed as personal care and maintenance, not because something is “wrong” with you. My warm and collaborative style is empowering and I help hold the clients accountable for making the changes they wish to see in their lives.

Amanda Nisewaner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked with young adults and adolescents navigating transitions for the past decade. Amanda received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and her masters in Social Work from Boston University. She spent her training years at Children’s Hospital Boston with an emphasis on trauma and working with recently arrived refugees and immigrants. She has experience working in community clinics, hospitals, school settings and the home environment. She takes a holistic and collaborative approach to identifying treatment goals and strives to create a calm and safe space for individuals to express themselves and talk through their experiences. She pulls from a variety of therapeutic modalities and will utilize narrative therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems, nature therapy and enjoys teaching mindfulness to young people. She utilizes a trauma framework when serving her clients and has experience treating mood disorders, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and those struggling to navigate the complex world we live in. She understands the needs and challenges that young people are faced with in today’s society and enjoys exploring the political and cultural climate that impact our well-being. In her spare time, you will find Amanda hiking with her dog in the redwood forest or enjoying the local beaches.  

Sheryl Walden is a Clinical Licensed Social worker with a Master of Social Work from Boston University. Sheryl has experience working with adolescents, adults, couples and families in office, home, hospital, and community-based settings. As a professional and a parent of grown children, Sheryl understands the adolescent years and knows the challenges of parenting. Sheryl has experience helping families balance the tension between a teen’s need for greater independence, a secure home- base and parental adjustments and flexibility toward ongoing changes. Sheryl believes each family is unique but all experience times when therapy can provide added support, increased communication and greater understanding of family dynamics. Sheryl is a fan of Motown, movies and Mexican food. She has been married for 30+ years and a native to California.

Julianne has worked in outpatient, home and community-based, and residential settings. She has experience working with individuals and families presenting with a range of mental health concerns- including eating disorders, co-occurring mental health disorders, and autism-spectrum disorders. Before pursuing mental health counseling, Julianne received her B.S. in Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University. While working as a research assistant in a Counseling Psychology lab, she became especially interested in the interplay amongst one’s family, relationships, and behavioral health. After graduating and working in homes with special needs clients and their families, Julianne went on to earn her Masters in Couple and Family Therapy from Drexel University. She is currently working toward licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). Julianne strives to provide clients with a safe therapeutic environment, utilizing Dialectical Behavior Therapy and a variety of family systems approaches, such as Contextual and Structural Family therapy. Julianne approaches her work with individuals in the context of their relationships, with the ultimate goal of helping them gain self-love and compassion. In her free time, Julianne enjoys being active outdoors, spending time with friends and family, and reading.

Ryan Weinstock is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago. From an early age he developed a love for the outdoors and a passion for playing sports. He is an avid distance runner and was captain of the Cross Country team at his alma mater, Kenyon College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in sociology. Ryan has nearly 10 years of experience working with at-risk adolescents and young adults in a variety of settings. He uses outside the box thinking to conceptualize creative, often experiential strategies to connect with youth. He is a firm believer in meeting clients where they are at in their therapeutic process. It is this client-centered approach along with a knack for active listening that has allowed him to make a strong connection with so many young people. In his free time, Ryan enjoys volunteering, hiking, and kicking around the soccer ball. When he is not off exploring the trails Chicagoland has to offer, he is spending quality time with his girlfriend Rachel, with whom he has plans with to someday amass a family of dogs together.

Marisol Bucio is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. She obtained her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adler University. Marisol is a bilingual therapist (Spanish) and has experience working with a culturally diverse population. She has worked in different settings such as not-for-profit organizations and community agencies where she assisted in reunifying families. Marisol believes that every individual can benefit from therapy and works to create a safe, trusting, non-threatening environment for each client. Marisol specializes in helping children, adolescents, and adults with work-life balance and transitions, depression, stress, anxiety, self-esteem, grief/loss, trauma, and self-harm. Using a collaborative and integrative approach with clients, Marisol utilizes cognitive-behavioral, client-centered, and Adlerian therapy to meet the unique needs and desires of each client. During her free time she enjoys traveling, eating at new restaurants, and watching Netflix.

A New York State Mental Health Counselor, David Diaz has worked with many populations and specializes in working with adolescents and young adults with co-occurring disorders and exploration of client’s gender identity and sexual orientation (LGBTQ). David uses evidenced-based practices to pave a path in providing therapy towards achieving client-oriented goals. Modalities include, but are not limited to, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Gestalt Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care (Seeking Safety), Feminist Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Multicultural Therapy, and Art Therapy. David has assisted clients in overcoming sexual abuse/intimate partner violence through the use of the Power and Control Model and other evidenced-based practices. David focuses on guiding the client in identifying their needs, strengths and goals while in therapy in order to work towards the positive outcome they desire and enable the change from within. David enjoys swimming, soccer, and reading.

Chad Gunville is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Substance Use Disorder Certified Counselor who has a Masters degree in Holistic Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He has worked in the mental health field for over 10 years in a variety of settings serving youth and families all throughout the Bay Area. He has done work in youth agencies, group homes, outpatient settings, and private practice. Chad uses a strength based, solution focused, and humanistic approach to help families feel comfortable and find the strength to make changes. He is a firm believer in looking at the whole picture and being an active and supportive player in the lives of the people he serves. Chad is very passionate about this line of work and knew from a young age that he wanted to help people. He’s very aware and has a great ability to see things from different perspectives. His kind-hearted and compassionate nature makes him an easy person to talk and open up with. Chad has an emphasis on his degree in Buddhist psychology and has completed intensive workshops in expressive arts therapy, eco-therapy, and motivational interviewing. He’s a firm believer in the saying, “Nothing happens TO you, it happens FOR you” and he has a great ability at helping instill hope in the families he’s supporting. In his spare time you can find Chad playing all kinds of sports, exploring nature, writing rhymes, practicing numerology, or hanging out with friends and family. He also loves being with his dog which is 3/4 golden retriever and 1/4 shih tzu-pug.

Harry Gordon is Mental Health Clinician with a Master of Science Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Capella University. Harry also holds a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Counseling Theory in Couple and Family Systems. Harry has a zest for helping young adolescents as evidenced by his work as a school teacher, coach and mentor. He has numerous years of experience with the children and adolescent population as he founded a youth summer camp for inner city at risk boys, coached basketball and baseball at Atlanta area recreation centers, started a Men of Distinction program at community schools. Harry believes that a systemic family approach will help troubled youth be engaging the entire family. Harry believes that young men need to understand who they are as men, what they can achieve, how to understand and control: their emotions, low self-esteem, drugs, gender identity issues and self-harm. He believes that young ladies need to understand their self-worth, the pitfalls of teen pregnancy, having positive relationships, gender identity and self-harm. In his spare time Harry spends time with family and friends, exercises and travels.

Jennifer Walker is a licensed clinical social worker with a master of social work degree from Savannah state university. She has a unique passion for empowering, inspiring, and motivating others to achieve their dreams. Life experience, education, and determination ultimately inspired her to become a “Change agent”. Over the past twenty years, Jennifer has served children, families, and communities as a certified school social worker, executive board member for the school social worker association of Georgia, national presenter for the national drop out prevention center, non-profit board chair for feed the city, field liaison for fort valley state university, success coach, mentor, CEO for jk marketing, and community clinician for mental health agencies. Jennifer uses a strengths-based, client-centered, and humanistic approach to assist teens and families to reach therapeutic goals while using CBT techniques. Jennifer enjoys working with children and families facing transitions and conflict. She strives to make a difference in the world with her “Out of the box” style. Ms. Walker’s goal is to be genuine yet a realistic catalyst that will empower youth to regain their confidence and move past the obstacles in their lives.

DeShawn Artis is an Associate Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master of Arts Degree in Community Counseling, along with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from Argosy University, Atlanta Campus. DeShawn has a strong desire to work with families and help them become “unstuck” by observing interactions, or “transactions” within the family that seem to support or encourage problems within the family system. DeShawn has over 10 years of experience in working with individuals, couples, families and group work. His experience varies from community-based work to substance abuse and residential treatment centers, as well as inpatient psychiatric hospitals. In working with families, one of the treatment modalities that DeShawn finds useful is the Structural Family Therapy approach or SFT. In practice, concepts such as boundaries, alliances, and interactions among family members are highlighted and new ways of interacting within the family are encouraged, as the therapist, in a metaphoric sense “becomes a member of the family.” While working with individuals, DeShawn finds Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy helpful. In REBT, DeShawn understands that while problems seem to create tension in our lives, it is not the problem that maintains the dysfunction, but rather the way we think about the problem, that serves to continually perturb our daily lives. Uncovering such irrational thinking patterns is most liberating! DeShawn has many things he is passionate about when it comes to therapy. He finds joy in working with LGBTQ youth, looking at preventative, treatment and therapy for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, incorporating spirituality into the counseling process, working to address individual, family and community trauma and a host of other concerns, as they relate to mental health. In DeShawn’s spare time you can catch him at poetry spots, swanky bookstores in East Atlanta, trying out new restaurants, participating in community advocacy, or simply trying to browse for the next best show on Netflix.

William “Will” Hughes holds a Master of Science in Counseling Degree with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health from Prescott College. He is currently working towards his LGPC licensure in the state of Maryland. Will specializes in mindfulness-based counseling techniques and psychoeducation for young adults experiencing challenges commonly associated with the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: attention-seeking; substance use; guilt; avoidance; depression; executive functioning; ect. Empowering teens and young adults with scientific knowledge of why they feel, behave and react in ways that don’t serve them and offering skills to help them maintain vigilant awareness of their symptoms and choices of response is his focus. He believes strongly in experiential and adventure-based learning, often taking clients into nature, where they may experience their immediate mental reactions to subtle stimuli. Will’s other passion is counseling adults through difficult career and life-stage transitions, utilizing the Pro Discovery assessment tool as a foundation. Clients experiencing feelings of identity loss, diminishing self-worth, hopelessness and catastrophic thinking respond well to the authentic personal reflection and Positive Psychology perspective Pro Discovery provides them. He is Founder and Director of the Family Legacy Project (on-going), an adaptation of this instrument for application with multi-generations of families seeking unity, purpose, identity and flourishing. Will is a Cancer survivor, adventure travel enthusiast, professional-level Chef and avid skier.

Olin Pirkle is a licensed master social worker with an MSW from the University of Georgia. Olin also holds an ED. S degree in professional school counseling and has over 5 years of professional experience working with families and youth in a variety of settings. Olin uses an eclectic approach often combining the practical solution focus of brief therapy techniques with cognitive behavior therapy techniques allowing for tailored fit treatments for clients of varying individual needs. Olin is committed to helping clients create fundamental changes that are ever lasting while teaching clients to be self-sufficient by utilizing developed strengths, the environment and personal resources to solve major problems life inevitably brings. Olin has extensive training and professional experience with the application of brief therapy methods including Solution Focus Brief Therapy (SFBT) and Reality Therapy. Olin also has professional training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) as well as specialized training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT). Olin is also inspired by the Existential Therapists, and he encourages clients to search for deeper meaning in their lives.

Kurt Vaillancourt is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and certification as a Clinical Supervisor. His experience includes multiple roles including Case Manager, Senior Program/Clinical Director, Clinical Coordinator, Admission and Marketing, Program Development, and Individual, Family, Couples, Children, Adolescent and Group Psychotherapist. Kurt recently relocated to the Bay Area from Los Angeles where he was born and raised. He has worked in numerous hospitals/medical center settings including Cedars-Sinai, Century City, and Kaiser Permanente just to name a few. In a professional role he is often described by his clients as supportive, ethical, passionate, and energetic. Kurt’s colleagues describe him as empathic, reliable, humorous and consistent within the therapeutic realm. Kurt Vaillancourt, also known as Dr. Kurt, hosted a live Internet streaming show and podcast that could be heard on iTunes and the Stitcher App where The Dr. Kurt Show was nominated for a Stitcher Award in 2012. Dr. Kurt was able to successfully provide his listeners with both heart felt stories as well as the light-hearted moments bringing a smile to his audience. Although Kurt is not necessarily in the spotlight these days he likes to make guest appearances on local radio and television shows, however, he tends to focus his attention on his clients — You and your family!

Courtney Macon-Arnold is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a Master of Science Degree in both Counseling and Psychology from Troy University. With over 16 years of experience with adolescent, adult and family counseling, Courtney has as developed a strong belief in restorative healing and positive change. She believes that every client is special and uses an integrative approach to therapy – blending elements from different concepts and tailoring treatment to meet each individual’s specific needs. Courtney has had therapeutic experience in a variety of settings – including mental health, substance use, life coaching and private practice, and is trained in several therapeutic approaches, including: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); Cognitive (CBT and Dialectical (DBT) Behavioral Therapy; Motivational Interviewing; and Short – term Dynamic Therapy treatment modalities.

Rebecca Criddle is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a master’s degree from Brigham Young University and bachelor’s degree in Human Development from University of Utah. Her passion is to help her clients grow and develop to overcome challenges in their lives and is truly invested in helping her clients best create positive outcomes and healing. As an experienced family therapist, she has worked in a variety of mental health settings with client’s working to overcome trauma, attachment and relational difficulties, depression, substance abuse, addiction, suicidal ideation, processing/developmental delays, and anxiety. Rebecca uses a strengths-based perspective and works to create a warm supportive environment where the process of change can be supported. She has worked with teens and young adults navigating difficult challenges and believes that change occurs best in the context of the family system, while encouraging the process of personal development and differentiation. Rebecca has spent time developing advanced study of DBT and EFT and has advanced training in family and relational therapy. Rebecca loves exploring, meeting new people, and traveling with her husband and two daughters. She also loves learning, reading, gardening, interior design, and is currently trying to learn to make homemade bread.

Sophie is a licensed professional counselor and a school counselor with a MA from Lewis University. She has eight years of professional experience working with families and youth in a variety of settings. Sophie uses an eclectic approach often combining the practical solution focus of brief therapy techniques, client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities allowing for tailored treatments for clients of varying individual needs. Sophie has a keen ability to listen and truly understand her clients. As a counselor, she desires that each individual feels that they are being heard, not only through their struggles and adjustments, but also through their successes and self-awareness. Sophie is committed to helping her clients create fundamental changes that are lasting while teaching them to be self-sufficient by using developed strengths and personal resources to solve major problems that life brings. Sophie has a unique passion for motivating, inspiring and empowering others to achieve their dreams as she walks with her clients on their journey of discovering their strengths and potential. She understands that each person has a unique story and sees the beauty in helping clients through their transitions. Life experience, education and a passion for others inspired her mission to help others. Her passion and innate ability to understand the challenges of youth and families empower clients to regain confidence and successfully work through obstacles in their lives. In her free time, Sophie enjoys running, hiking, golfing, traveling with her family and enjoying many genres of live music.

Nicole Wint is a Licensed Master’s Social Worker (LMSW). Nicole Wint holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the University of the Caribbean and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Simmons University. For the past thirteen (13) years, Nicole has worked extensively with teenagers and young adults across Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and the United States which undoubtedly has attributed to vast improvement in cultural competence and diversification of knowledge in her area of expertise. Nicole has a passion for working with youth and while working in Turks and Caicos singlehandedly commenced and maintained campaigns on ending bullying and child sexual abuse. Projects are maintained to date by the Turks and Caicos government. Nicole is consistently developing competence in use of techniques including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness and Play Therapy as part of best therapeutic practices. Nicole is experienced in areas of communication, working with culturally diverse groups, public speaking and leadership skills. Nicole has strong ethical values, great compassion for people and believe that the family is the backbone of the society. Nicole is competent in her ability to work independently and with a team. In her spare time, Nicole likes to read, cook, travel and watch movies with her family.