MA

My name is Alisa Title, and I am the Clinical Training Coordinator of the MACC program at CSPP. I have included a little history of my background and experience:

• Bachelor of Arts, Major: Psychology with a Minor in Business from the University of San Francisco.
• Master’s in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University.
• Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, Children, Youth & Families Track from California School of Professional Psychology (Alliant International University).
• Over 15 years of experience with the YMCA of San Francisco growing and managing a Medi-Cal school & community-based mental health program that focused on delivering mental health services to a diverse, low-income community in San Francisco, with a primary focus on at-risk youth and families.
• Supervised first-year students at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA for a few years.
• Adjunct Professor for the Couples and Family Therapy Master's Program, Teaching the Theories and Techniques Lecture & Lab Course, DSM 5 Seminar, Preparing for Community Practice and Couples Counseling courses at Alliant International University for four years.
• Primary and Co-Instructor for PSYC 101 - Principles of Psychology, PSYC 120 - Abnormal Psychology, SOSC 102 - Principles of Sociology, HUSS225 Introduction to Counseling and Case Management, and an Instructor and Co-Instructor for INFT 124 at Bryant & Stratton College Online.
• Adjunct Professor for Leadership, Consultation, and Inter-Professional Collaboration, Clinical Interviewing, Human Sexuality Community Psychology, and Community Mental Health courses, previously Interim Co-Director of Training in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Placement Coordinator at the University of San Francisco. 
• Clinical Training Coordinator for the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling for the California School of Professional Psychology - Alliant International University.

Samantha S. Guber earned her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Counselor Education and Supervision. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the States of New Jersey, Georgia, and South Carolina. In addition, she is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Certified Social Worker in the State of New Jersey and holds the Approved Clinical Supervisor national credential from CCE. She has been working in the behavioral health field for over 30 years with a focus on the criminal justice system, addictions, and co-occurring disorders. Her experience in the field ranges the treatment continuum, from the psychiatric emergency room to outpatient treatment. Samantha’s experience also includes crisis intervention as a first responder and she was involved with the Office of Emergency Management during 9/11.

Courses frequently taught include Psychopharmacology, Psychopathology, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Group Counseling Theories and Techniques, and Multicultural Counseling Skills.

Dr. Renee Shand-Lubbers is an Assistant Professor in the Online MA in Clinical Counseling Program at the California School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Shand-Lubbers earned her Ph.D. in Counseling from Montclair State University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in New Jersey and a nationally board-certified counselor (NCC). With master’s degrees in education and counseling, Dr. Shand-Lubbers has worked with student and client populations as both a K-12 educator and clinical mental health counselor. In addition to her work as a counselor educator, she also practices as an outpatient mental health clinician at a community-based agency. Dr. Shand-Lubbers is passionate about professional counseling as a force for social change; she focuses her teaching, research, and scholarship on antiracist White racial identity development and multicultural counseling training. Dr. Shand-Lubbers remains active within the American Counseling Association (ACA) and subdivisions including the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) and Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ) and enjoys regularly presenting at state, regional, and national conferences. Away from the office, Dr. Shand-Lubbers enjoys being outdoors especially long walks on the beach and exploring hiking trails in the NY/NJ/PA region, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. 

Dr. Monica Whitlock has a Ph.D. in Sociology and Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California.  She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California and Washington.  Dr. Whitlock has worked in higher education for the past 30 years, as an educator, a researcher, an administrator, and a clinician.  Most recently, Dr. Whitlock provided consultation through Washington State University to school districts and social service agencies to develop trauma-informed systems of care, and to increase educator capacity to manage the changing needs in the workplace.  She built a university counseling center and developed a university-wide suicide prevention and response plan to create a system of support for students experiencing mental health crises.  Her clinical work has focused on emerging adulthood, couples therapy using Emotion Focused Therapy, and working with families with adult children.

Early in her career, she was a member of the faculty in the criminology and criminal justice program at Arizona State University.  During these years, she managed several federally-funded grants designed to identify risk and protective factors among youth at risk of joining neighborhood street gangs.  She received a grant from the US Department of Education to examine individual, family, school and neighborhood factors associated with resistance to gang joining.

Dr. Elizabeth Watters is a licensed marriage and family therapist who graduated with their doctoral degree in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Iowa. As an EMDR trained therapist, Dr. Watters specializes in working with trauma and complex PTSD and providing gender affirming services for LGBTQ+ individuals. Dr. Watters‚ research focus on examining the relationships between childhood trauma and biopsychosocial outcomes across the lifespan utilizing quantitative methodologies. They are particularly interested in resilience factors that can help mitigate the negative long-term effects people experience. 

Dr. Ashley Walsdorf, LMFT, is an Assistant Professor of Couple and Family Therapy in the online program at Alliant International University. She is also a licensed, bilingual Couple and Family Therapist and Approved Supervisor in Austin, Texas, and a research consultant at the University of Texas at Austin where she researches ethnic-racial socialization and the effects of socio-political climate on mental health among Latinx communities. She has been practicing therapy in both English and Spanish with individuals, couples, and families for over 10 years. She received her PhD from the University of Georgia in 2019 with a specialization in working with multicultural communities and immigration law. Dr. Walsdorf specializes in working with Latinx, LGBTQ, immigrant, and multicultural communities from a culturally responsive lens. Her research interests broadly focus on issues of social justice and systems of power and inequity. Current projects relate to Latinx trauma and mental health, affirmative clinical work with LGBTQ communities, White racial socialization, and Critical Whiteness.

Dr. Momoko Takeda is an assistant professor in the Couple and Family Therapy program at Alliant International University. She is originally from Japan and earned her B.A. from Meiji Gakuin University and M.S. from Ochanomizu University in Japan, and is a licensed clinical psychologist there. She attended Alliant International University for her M.A. and University of Akron for her Doctorate in Couple and Family Therapy. In between M.A. and Ph.D. in the US, she worked for Monterey County Behavioral Health and worked with children and families. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and AAMFT approved supervisor.  

I received my PhD From Stony Brook University in New York working with Dr. K. Daniel O'Leary. I received my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Hofstra University in New York.  I completed 2 years of externship at Yale, as one of the therapists on the first and only NIH funded RCT of LGBT Affirming therapy with Dr. John Pachankis. I completed my Internship and Post doc in the VA focusing on Trauma-focused therapy (specializing in individuals and couples dealing with experiences of sexual assault), serious mental illness, and couples therapy.  I also worked as a staff psychologist at the VA with an additional focus in sex therapy and educating clinicians about sexual orientation and gender diversity.  In addition to teaching at Alliant, I have a private practice that focuses on these specialties in interpersonal relationships, and the unique stressors and considerations for bi-coastal creatives (i.e., artists, actors, musicians) in New York City and Los Angeles.

Shruti Singh Poulsen is an Associate Professor in the CFT Online PsyD/MA program and the Branch Director for the CFT Online PsyD program at Alliant International University. Dr. Poulsen is an LMFT in Colorado and Indiana, an AAMFT Clinical Fellow, and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She has been clinically active in couple and family therapy and supervision for over 27 years. She received her doctorate from the MFT Program at Purdue University in 2003. Her research, teaching and service all focus on areas of multiculturalism; specifically access to quality mental health care to diverse populations, and training culturally responsive and competent therapists and counselors. She is also interested in empirically based treatments and their utility with diverse client populations; to this effort, she has obtained advanced training in EFT, Gottman Level I therapy methods, and training in IBCT. In 2016-2017, she was a Fulbright Scholar to Ozyegin University in Istanbul, Turkiye, where she assisted with the development of a new CFT program, taught CFT graduate students and undergraduate students in the Psychology Program, and provided mentoring and clinical supervision. The majority of her scholarly work (publications & presentations) focuses on clinical work with diverse client populations with specific focus on areas such as immigration, interracial and diverse couples, and cultural responsiveness in CFT training and supervision. 

Dr. Franchesca Fontus is an Assistant Professor of Couple and Family Therapy at Alliant International University. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), she provides culturally sensitive therapeutic services to diverse groups of individuals, couples, and families in private practice, specializing in improving mental wellness and relationships. Her clinical experiences include community-based, school-based, and substance-based treatment for children, teens, and adults. As an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Clinical Fellow and AAMFT Approved Supervisor, she is passionate about mentoring students, supervisees, and early researchers. Dr. Fontus is informed by a Bowen Family Systems Theory lens and has special research interests in issues of culture & diversity and the lived experiences of therapists.

Additionally, Dr. Fontus served on the Broward Association for Marriage and Family Therapy in South Florida and is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University, having earned Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Family Therapy.