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.
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.
Ms. Márquez Canale was a clinician at the NYU Student Health Center and became an NYU Adjunct Assistant Professor and supervisor of NYU Silver School of Social Work graduate students. She completed additional post-graduate training at New York University and Montefiore Medical Center in New York. While at Montefiore, she had rotations with the DBT program, the child obesity program, and she has led relationship violence preventive initiatives, including anti-bullying, both at the school and university level. Then, for many years she worked at NYC public schools and later at FCPS when she moved to Virginia.
At Family Compass, Ms. Márquez Canale treats school-age children and adolescents struggling with emotional, behavioral and social difficulties. While always coming from a strength perspective, she uses a variety of approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Attachment Theory and Internal Family Systems (IFS) among others. She believes that children do well when they can, and is committed to providing a supportive and safe space for them to grow and learn skills to succeed. She has a special interest in promoting better relationships between parents and their children.
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.
She also provides Autism Diagnostic Assessments, facilitates social skills therapy groups, and sees individual therapy clients and families utilizing an eclectic mix of strategies from attachment-based therapeutic interventions, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (traditional and trauma-informed), Mindfulness training, and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Rebecca provides professional training in disability inclusion practices, mindfulness, and autism engagement strategies to both school professionals and parents/caregivers and is a certified Zero to Three Trainer in The Growing Brain. In addition to her clinical work with Family Compass, Rebecca serves as a therapeutic mentor for autistic adolescents and is the Director and Legislative Advocate for Danny’s Walk, an advocacy organization focused on educating communities, families, and individuals about the dangers of autism-related wandering and promoting autism awareness, safety, and acceptance.
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.
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.
A member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, Rachel is currently pursuing postgraduate certification as a Registered Expressive Art Therapist (REAT). She works with children, adolescents, and families, and specializes in behavioral issues, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Rachel uses a wide range of evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and play therapy. Rachel is also trained in the use of Positive Discipline, the Nurtured Heart Approach, and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE).
Rachel has experience with crisis and trauma 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, Rachel has been providing childbirth education and support as a birth doula for over 18 years. She utilizes tools of mindfulness, expressive arts, and play to support the growth and development of her clients in an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance.
Ms. Lagasse has worked in various capacities in both clinical and psycho-educational settings providing individual, group and family therapy sessions in addition to training other clinicians. At Zero to Three (ZTT), a national nonprofit focused on the needs of young children, Ms. Lagasse developed content and provided training to other professionals. Of note, she collaborated with the Department of Defense on “Coming Together Around Military Families,” a multi-year project designed to strengthen the resilience of young children and their families coping with trauma, grief, and loss. In addition to her primary clinical focus supporting children and their families, Ms. Lagasse has also provided therapy to homeless women and families in crisis.
Throughout her career, Ms. Lagasse has lived and worked abroad, providing counseling to her clients– from Peace Corps volunteers to other expat families– utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, play therapy, and mindfulness-based tools. Ms. Lagasse’s professional interests include brain development, infant mental health, and family systems. Currently, Ms. Lagasse is pursuing licensure in Clinical Social Work through a Clinical Residency at Family Compass.
Abigail has over 10 years of experience working in early intervention supporting families with children with developmental delays, complex diagnoses and/or challenging behaviors. She implements a variety of strategies including parent-coaching, play therapy and attachment-based therapy with parents and their young children. She is passionate about supporting the social emotional development of children and building family capacity.
Abigail’s work has also supported various local childcare centers and federal and state childcare programs (Head Start, Early Head Start and Virginia Preschool Initiative) by providing training in early childhood social emotional development and coaching teachers to support children with challenging behaviors in the classroom.
Ms. Waters has worked in various educational settings, including public, special education, and the Department of Education as a teacher, intervention specialist, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal. She uses a wide range of interventions and is trained in Transpersonal Psychology, Gestalt therapy, Person-centered therapy, mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Internal Family Systems techniques, and a range of other creative and behavioral methods to assist with wellness practices. She is excited to combine her background in child development and education with mental health counseling to help children and families.
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.
