Emily Ringle is an adjunct instructor with the Alliant Online Campus. A clinician with approximately ten years experience (and going :) ), Emily has worked in community mental health and private practice, working primarily with children ages 5-19 and their families. Emily has training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Collaborative Assessment and Measurement of Suicidality (CAMS) protocols.
Dr. Gonzalez completed her undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Southern CA (USC), University of San Francisco (USF) and Alliant International University California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP). She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in multiple states, with over 15 years of clinical experience working with children, teens, couples and families. Dr. Gonzalez is an EMDR EMDRIA-Certified therapist, EFT-trained couples therapist and has extensive training and practicum in solutions focused brief therapy, brief strategic therapy, DBT and certified in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Dr. Gonzalez is the founder of Solutions Counseling & Family Therapy located in San Juan Capistrano.
My clinical specialties include working with LGBTQ+ adolescence and adults. I also work with individuals and couples on various issues using a person-centered approach to each client. In addition, I work to include neuroscience and modalities such as Internal Family Systems and Intimacy from the Inside Out to help people explore various experiences through therapeutic interventions that are appropriate to the client and their needs.
I am working with colleagues to develop a qualitative study on the lived experiences of transgender individuals who begin dating post-transition. I am also interested in pursuing further research on using Internal Family Illustration as a clinical tool. I am also focused on my dissertation which is investigating the correlation between conformity to masculine norms and anxiety experienced during the first coming out disclosure for cisgender gay men.
Maryam Bonyadian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Los Angeles, CA. She received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Southern California, graduating with summa cum laude honors, and her Master's Degree from Pepperdine University. She has over 11 years of experience in providing therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She also has over 6 years of experience as a Clinical Supervisor and trainer, and over 1-year experience as Adjunct Professor.
A large part of Maryam’s work experience has been in the Community Mental Health sector, providing Trilingual therapy in Armenian, English, and Spanish to lower SES, minority cultures. In her role as Clinical Team Supervisor she has provided support to a multidisciplinary team and more recently to graduate students in Practicum and Residency courses. In addition to teaching, Maryam continues to provide mental health services through Private Practice and contract work.
Maryam also acknowledges the value of culture and family dynamics on an individual. Realizing the importance of cultural factors (i.e. Immigration status, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, etc.), she encourages clients/supervisees/students to take on the role of experts in their lives, while being open to growth and learning.
Dr. Mindith R. Rahmat is a Core Faculty Member of the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MACP) program at Antioch University's Santa Barbara campus and an adjunct faculty member at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Dr. Rahmat's teaching style is inclusive, compassionate, intentional, and joyful. She strives to center online and in-person classroom engagement and the lived realities of learners, co-creating learning conditions by working alongside learners and supporting them in revealing their potential through equitable, affirmative, and accessible learning. Dr. Rahmat teaches through the lens of compassion-focused pedagogy (CFP), a relational approach to learning, fostering well-being, resilience, and flourishing. Dr. Rahmat's educational background includes a master's degree in clinical psychology from Marshall University and a doctoral degree (PsyD) in educational psychology from Alliant International University. Her professional journey is marked by specialized training in trauma-sensitive organizational systems, advanced trauma-sensitive mindfulness, yoga therapy, mindfulness and psychotherapy, and compassion-based psychotherapeutic interventions. She has over twenty-five years of experience as a yoga, mindfulness, and meditation instructor, emphasizing holistic physical and mental well-being approaches. She holds certifications as an advanced trauma-sensitive mindfulness (TSM) teacher, a mindful self-compassion (MSC) teacher, and a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR-T) teacher for teens and young adults. She is an Integrative Yoga Therapy certified yoga teacher. Dr. Rahmat's professional and research interests are deeply rooted in compassion-focused pedagogy, focusing on professional development programs and initiatives designed to promote the well-being of faculty and learners.
Dr. Rahmat’s professional and research interests focus on compassion-based pedagogy, professional development, programs, initiatives, and therapy to promote well-being. Her doctoral research, Compassion-Based Professional Development for Educator Well-Being, focused on developing a school-based professional development program for promoting educator well-being. Dr. Rahmat’s current research agenda includes a mixed methods project implementing a compassion-based professional development program to support educator well-being in a primary school. Among her current research priorities is a project under the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Great Lakes Liberal Arts Alliance, focused on faculty-led experiential research on community well-being in a multi-sectarian community-based mindfulness center. Dr. Rahmat is an Assistant Psychology at Antioch College and an adjunct professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Dr. Rahmat is the founder of a successful health and fitness startup, Breaking Muscle, and has worked as a certified yoga, mindfulness, and meditation instructor for over twenty-five years. She earned her doctorate from Alliant International University and also holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Marshall University. She is currently writing a book about compassion-focused pedagogy for social-emotional learning.
Psychopathology
Individual and Family Life Cycle
Educational Psychology
MFT Assessment
Parent and Child Psychotherapy
Theories in Counseling and Psychotherapy
Introduction to Clinical and Counseling Psychology
Group Therapy
Crisis and Trauma
Theories Lab
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
Mindful Self-Compassion
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy
Developmental Psychology
Personality Theory
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Learning and Behavior
Cognitive Psychology
General Psychology
Social Psychology
"Shelly", as Dr. Middleton is known by to her friends and family, is a Sacramento native and an Alliant University alumni herself. Dr. Middleton recieved her PsyD in Marital and Family Therapy from Alliant and has been teaching here as an adjunct Professor since she graduated. She also currently works as the department Supervisor and therapist at Northern Valley Indian Health.
Dr. Middleton has experience working in various settings including private practice, community-based mental health, group homes, schools, and specializes in working with couples, women's issues, family-of-origin issues, first-generation/bi-cultural issues, boundaries, trauma, and codependency. Her preferred modalities include CBT, EMDR, Object-Relations, and Internal Family Systems.
Outside of the world of teaching and counseling, Dr. Middleton likes to spend her time with her husband and her big family. Dr. Middleton is very much into fitness and spends much of her time running, lifting weights, and boxing. She also enjoys playing the drums, watching reality TV and Marvel movies, going out with her girlfriends, and traveling.
Dr. Jason N. Linder, Psy.D., LMFT is a licensed bilingual (Spanish-speaking) therapist specializing in relationship, trauma, addiction-related, and mindfulness therapies. He is passionate about diversity, social justice, and serving underserved, multi-stressed, and disenfranchised communities. Dr. Linder also enjoys working with therapists, creators, entrepreneurs, and people who stutter. He completed his Doctor of Psychology degree at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, his Master's in International Counseling in Mexico City at Alliant International University, and his Bachelor's in Spanish and Psychology (double major) at UC Davis. Dr. Linder is certified in the evidence-based therapy EMDR by the EMDR International Association, and trains EMDR therapists as an EMDRIA-approved Consultant and accredited EMDR-HAP facilitator. He is also close to completing his certification in EFT couple therapy. His doctoral research focused on integrating EMDR and EFT with couples. Dr. Linder has studied Psychology in Latin America and loves mindfulness meditation. Dr. Linder owns a private practice in Scripps, San Diego. Dr. Linder was recently published in the peer-reviewed APA journal Couple & Family Psychology, the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT), and the Journal of International Systemic Therapy (JIST), as well as Psychotherapy.net, Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, and Sage Research Methods Cases. Dr. Linder has also presented at professional and academic conferences. Lastly, Dr. Linder is experienced in addiction intervention services and immigration, transgender, and trauma evaluations.
EMDR therapy, therapy in Spanish, trauma, attachment, mindfulness, self of the therapist, resilience, post-traumatic growth, emotionally focused therapy, addictions
Dr. Gonzalez has been practicing for the last 10 years. Currently, Dr. Gonzalez runs her own group practice where she supervises associate therapists. Dr. Gonzalez is an AAMFT Approved supervisor. She received her Masters in MFT from Syracuse University and Doctorate in MFT from Alliant International University.
Dr. Nicole Waters is a Mental Health Specialist, has spent the last 7 years providing mental health services to school aged youth in Northern California School Districts. Nicole specializes in supporting school aged youth suffering from mental health barriers that impact their ability to gain access to their foundational educational experience. Nicole has begun taking her experience from the K-12 education system to the Graduate school level system, teaching classes for up-and-coming MFTs as an Adjunct Professor at Alliant International University, Sacramento Campus. As a person who values the idea that all children have a fundamental right to their education, regardless of the barriers they may face, working with the special education team at the school districts is very rewarding. Getting a chance to share that experience with incoming professionals of the MFT field is emerging as one of her favorite career experiences.
Jessica Holzer, received her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Alliant International University in 2012. Now a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S), she specializes in Attachment Based Therapies with children, adolescents, and their families with a Solution Focused lens. Her clinical interests include play therapy, strengthening parent-child relationships, supporting parents/caregivers in understanding their own parenting and attachment needs, and supervision and mentorship of Trainees and Associate Marriage and Family Therapists.
Currently, Jessica works on the San Diego Campus as the Clinical Training Coordinator, supporting practicum students in their clinical placements and as an Adjunct Faculty for both the San Diego Campus and the Online Program. Additionally, Jessica owns her clinical practice, Connected Care Family Counseling, where she maintains an active caseload, teaches at other universities, and volunteers her time supporting families and children who are experiencing pediatric cancer diagnoses.
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and earned my doctorate in couples and family therapy in 2015 from Alliant International University. I have been teaching at Alliant since 2017 and enjoy being part of the clinical development process for beginning therapists! I am currently the clinical director at Stronger Together Community Services (STCS), I oversee all of the therapy programs and supervise a team of therapists. STCS is currently a practicum site for the San Diego on ground CFT program at Alliant as well as the online programs in California. I specialize in working with those in relationships, including couples and families. With regard to my clinical focus, I practice from evidence based models: EFT, AEDP, and EMDR, all of which are trauma informed and attachment focused. Essentially what this means for my clients is that we work collaboratively to determine treatment goals, I use interventions that address the underlying feelings and trauma that may be contributing to current distress, we find adaptive ways to express emotions and find relief in experiencing one’s full self and then build security in the bonds with important others around them.
Dr. Donnette Deigh is an Assistant Professor in Alliant International University’s Online Masters of Arts in Clinical Counseling program. In addition to being a counselor educator, Dr. Deigh is a National Board Certified Counselor, Employee Assistance Program Coordinator, and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Maryland. Donnette has been dedicated to helping underserved populations increase their quality of life through teaching, research and service.
Dr. Deigh has training as education, clinical mental health and rehabilitation counselor. She has facilitated group workshops, group counseling sessions, trained masters’ level clinicians in their professional and personal development. Using her transformative leadership skills, she provides encouraging diverse, unique, and respectful perspectives in all shared environment of learning. Her areas of specialization includes anxiety, adjustment difficulties/ life transitions, job dissatisfaction/career counseling, and depression. Dr. Deigh has presented and remained active in counseling related organizations at the local, state, national and international level. Dr. Deigh’s scholarship interests include social justice and advocacy, multiculturalism, wellness of counselors of color, cross-racial supervision/mentorship and academic achievement.
She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Bowie State University and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling with a concentration in Substance Abuse and Psychiatric Disabilities along with a graduate certificate in Counseling and Life Transitions focusing on Counseling Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Individuals from The George Washington University. Dr. Deigh obtained her PhD from Liberty University’s Counselor Education and Supervision program.