Dr. Shtuhl worked as an army psychologist in his native Israel before arriving in the U.S. to pursue doctoral studies in 1987. During a three year internship at the University of California in San Francisco, he specialized in working with children and families.
In 1990 he was one of fifteen health professionals nationwide to be recognized for exceptional work with children by Zero to Three, a Washington, D.C. based organization focusing on the needs of young children. In 1992, Dr. Shtuhl founded the Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program, a training program for mental health professionals at the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington, D.C.
He served as its chairman until 1998, when he stepped down to pursue concentrated studies in neuropsychology at the Fielding Institute, which he completed in 2000. He was also on the Faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council of Learning and Developmental Disorders from 2003 to 2010.
During the early 1980’s Dr. Dinsmoor completed extensive post doctoral work in family therapy at the Georgetown Family Center, Georgetown University Dept. of Psychiatry.
From 1983-1993 he was the Coordinator of Child and Adolescent Mental Health for Charles County Maryland. He was also the staff psychologist for the Community Mental Health Program at Liberty Hospital in Baltimore.
For the past 8 years Dr. Dinsmoor has provided neurofeedback services to a variety of clinical populations. This includes using neurofeedback to treat adults with Schizophrenia at the Springfield Hospital Center in Maryland, and children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Depression, Bipolar disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and other psychiatric disorders at Arlington County Department of Human Services.
Previously, Ms. deGraffenreid worked for eight years at the Jewish Social Service Agency (JSSA) where she served as a clinical supervisor and group coordinator in addition to running groups and seeing clients of all ages individually and in families and couples. Prior to that, Ms. deGraffenreid worked at Adolescent and Family Growth Center (AFGC), where she provided intensive therapy to foster children and their families, recruited and trained foster parents, and ran therapy groups for children. Her internships were with College Park Youth and Family Services, and National Institutes of Health. Ms deGraffenreid earned her degree at the University of Maryland at Baltimore with a Clinical Concentration with Families and Children.
Dr. Orth obtained his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Miami University in 1986. His post-doctoral training experiences included a two-year infancy and early childhood mental health program chaired by Dr. Shtuhl with the Washington School of Psychiatry. Dr. Orth has published professional articles regarding regulatory problems (emotional and behavioral) in children, psychotherapy, and doctor-patient relationships.
Licensed in five states, Dr. Orth has enjoyed a career focused primarily upon delivery of psychological services to children and adolescents and their families. In addition to his clinical psychology license he also possesses a highly specialized certification in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).
At Family Compass, Dr. Orth draws upon extensive experience evaluating children with complex presentations, many of whom have received multiple evaluations and treatment interventions yet continue to have difficulties functioning in different areas of their lives. Dr. Orth strives to provide comprehensive psychological, neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessments that provide meaningful and useful information for families and others concerned with the child’s well-being. Psychological evaluations are provided with aims of clarifying diagnoses, identifying strengths and supports, and developing recommendations for education, for treatment, and for enhancing development.
Dr. Shira Benhorin is a licensed psychologist in Virginia and Maryland who holds a doctoral degree in Clinical and Community Psychology from DePaul University. She specializes in working with preschoolers/children, adolescents, and families and treats a wide range of behavioral, emotional, and social concerns. She also specializes in working with children with feeding disorders, as well as with LGBT youth and families.
Dr. Benhorin completed her pre-doctoral psychology internship at the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (JLG-RICA), working with children and adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral difficulties. She completed her postdoctoral psychology fellowship at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital (2008-2009), where she obtained specialized training and extensive experience in treating children and adolescents with feeding disorders, obesity, and co-morbid behavioral and emotional difficulties. She then joined the MWPH psychology faculty, and later served as the Director of Pediatric Psychology Feeding Disorder services. Dr. Benhorin also worked as a staff psychologist at Chase Brexton Health services and in private practice.
Dr. Benhorin takes a holistic and collaborative approach to therapy, working closely with clients, families, and other professionals to develop the most effective treatment plans. She uses empirically validated interventions including Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), behavior management and modification, family systems, ecological systems, and mindfulness.
After completing her post graduate work in the New York City Public Schools, she received an appointment an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Albany Medical College. In this capacity, Dr. Ross served as a resource for families of children with chronic as well as terminal illnesses, served as a therapist at an outpatient practice with children with behavioral and mood challenges as well as anxiety and depression. Since leaving that position, Dr. Ross has been in private practice. In addition to this, Dr. Ross has provided consultant services to the staff of the foster portion of Albany, NY Catholic Charities as well as providing treatment to the foster children. The focus of her work is children and families, utilizing a behavioral and cognitive behavioral approach.
Ms. Harber is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and is licensed by the Board of Medicine to practice as a Behavior Analyst in the state of Virginia. She also holds a master’s degree in special education.
Ms. Harber received a B.S. in elementary education with a specialization in reading from Texas A & I University. She earned a master’s degree in special education and a graduate certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from George Mason University.
Throughout her training, Ms. Harber gained experience working with preschoolers with autism in a preschool autism class as well as providing one on one ABA therapy in the home environment. Ms. Harber also worked at George Mason University with college students with autism through implementation of strategies and development of skills in such areas as organization, time management, problem solving and self-management. She also worked with college students with other developmental and intellectual disabilities by providing supports in learning and behavior management.
Prior to this, Ms. Harber worked as a classroom teacher, special education teacher as well as a reading specialist for grades 1-8 in the public school setting predominately working with students with learning disabilities.
Ms. O’Neill received her BS in Social Work from George Mason University in 2001 and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Simmons College School of Social Work. Her studies and experience have focused on empirically supported interventions for children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, including traditional and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness training, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. In addition to her clinical practicum with Family Compass, Ms. O’Neill provides services to young adults with developmental disabilities in a supportive day program and acts as a life skills mentor to adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in community-based settings. Ms. O’Neill is also the Director and Legislative Advocate for Danny’s Walk, an advocacy organization promoting autism awareness, safety, and acceptance.
Elena Zaklis M.A., BCBA, LBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and is a Licensed Behavior Analyst in Virginia, Maryland and New York.
Elena provides services for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, facilitates social skills groups for children, teens and social groups for girls. She also leads parent training groups and works with families individually. She works with schools to help develop a culture and climate that promotes social emotional learning in all classrooms. Elena leads training sessions for school administrators, school personnel on behavior management techniques, and provides training for staff to obtain their registered behavior technician certificate. Elena is a member of the ACT Matrix Academy and uses the pro-social matrix communication process to assist individuals and groups to identify their values and achieve meaningful outcomes. Elena conducts functional behavioral assessments, program evaluations and works with teams to develop behavior intervention plans for individual students. One of her goals is to provide support for young women with autism spectrum disorders in their academic and community settings.
Elena has been working in the field of special education for over 20 years. She started her career at The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center (DDDC) at Rutgers University. While at the DDDC she worked as a Training Coordinator at Douglass Outreach. She worked with families, consulted to public schools, and private organizations. In 2015, she joined a psychology practice Behavior Therapy Associates in Somerset NJ and was the Director of the HI-STEP social skills program at the Pennington location until she moved with her family to Virginia in 2018. Elena received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Rutgers College at Rutgers University and earned her graduate degree in Education from Rider University.
Ms. Small has been a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) since 2005 with over twenty years of experience working closely with children and families to help and empower them to achieve their goals.
She was a Professional School Counselor in the Fairfax County Public Schools for twenty-four years. She lived abroad for many years working with culturally diverse populations as the Community Liaison Officer at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas. Ms. Small received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and her master’s degree from Auburn University. She completed additional post-graduate training at The Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech and at the Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy.
Ms. Small’s areas of focus include supporting children and families in healing from ADHD, trauma, grief and loss, anxiety, selective mutism, emotion dysregulation, and family separation and divorce. She has training and experience in play therapy, sand therapy, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Ms. Small works closely with school personnel to promote the social, emotional, and academic success of students. She is experienced in facilitating therapy groups with children in the areas of social awareness, self-regulation, ADHD, and executive functioning.
Bethany Cook earned an MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University and has worked as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2006. Ms. Cook has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including school systems and college counseling centers, where she realized her love for working with adolescents and families.
Ms. Cook is very open about having two “differently wired” children. Since the birth and subsequent diagnoses of her children, Ms. Cook has become passionate about educating and supporting neurodiverse families. In 2018, Ms. Cook received intensive training at the socialthinking clinic with Michelle Garcia Winner. She is excited to combine her therapeutic background and this specialized training to help children and families.
Ida Damkilde received her Bachelor of Fine Art and an Art Therapy Certificate from the School of Visual Arts and her Master of Social Work degree from Our Lady of the Lake University and The Worden School of Social Work.
As a facilitator, educator, and therapist, Ms. Damkilde’s experience includes coordinating and implementing individual and group treatment for children with a broad range of developmental, socio-emotional and behavioral challenges. Her approach encompasses a holistic, client-centered, strength and solution-based focus that strives to emphasize the importance of the physical, emotional, and the psychological well-being of the child.
Ms. Guetlein is registered with the Virginia Board of Counseling as a Qualified Mental Health professional in training (QMHP-T). She will complete her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with Antioch University, New England, in December 2020.
A life-long advocate for disability awareness and rights, Ms. Guetlein is well acquainted with neurodiverse children, teens, and young adults and experienced addressing challenges faced by siblings and parents. She is working towards certification as a PLAY Project certified consultant. As a Member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, Ms. Guetlein also plans to pursue postgraduate certification as a Registered Expressive Art Therapist (REAT).
Ms. Guetlein volunteered with Crisis Services of North Alabama for two years where she gained training and experience with crisis and trauma response and counseling, with focus on grief and loss due to suicide. She has also led substance abuse treatment groups, and counseled individuals and families impacted by drug and alcohol addiction for Virginia ASAP (Alcohol Safety Action Program). Additionally, Ms. Guetlein has been providing childbirth education and support as a birth doula for over 18 years. An Air Force spouse and mother of four, Ms. Guetlein is well-versed in the unique challenges faced by military families.
Ms. Guetlein holds a BA in speech communication from California State University, Fresno, and an MBA. Prior to her current position, Ms. Guetlein worked in the corporate world doing organizational development consulting. A lifetime of passion for service to others has culminated in this career change to a profession where her experience, skills, and education will allow her to utilize tools of mindfulness, expressive arts, and play to support the growth and development of her clients in an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance.
Prior to his work in the District of Columbia, Jarred pioneered drama therapy for over 10 years at the Cooke Center for Learning and Development in New York City, growing to establish the school’s formal art based therapies curriculum. In addition to his professional activities, he continues his volunteer advocacy work as a drama therapist with Jacob’s Color Link Initiative in Haiti, a vice president of his local chapter of the North American Drama Therapy Association, and has served as a co-chair of the 38th annual NADTA conference. Jarred is a graduate of the master of the arts program in drama therapy at New York University, and holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Central Florida.
Mary Mozingo is a Registered Behavior Technician who has worked in the field for ten years, and in the field of ABA for the past seven years. She also holds an Associate’s Degree in Social Science from Northern Virginia Community College and will graduate with her BS in Social Work from George Mason University in 2019. She plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in both Social Work and Applied Behavior Analysis.
Throughout her time in the field, Mary has practiced ABA with a variety of learners, from toddler to adult. She has worked in home, school, vocational, and community settings. Her areas of interest include natural environment teaching, social skills, and generalization training . She has a passion for ABA and plans to become a BCBA to enable her to apply behavior analysis professionally into under-explored areas.
