Dr. Alicia L. Smart, PsyD (PSY 24516)

Dr. Alicia Smart has experience working with a wide range of individuals, ranging from older adults to adolescent clients. She specializes in working with older adults, depression, grief/loss, anxiety, relationship difficulties, impulsivity, and anger management. Dr. Smart has received extensive training in emotion-focused psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, gestalt awareness practices, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

Dr. Smart received her BA from New York University and earned her Doctorate in Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.  She completed her clinical training at the Institute on Aging, South of Market Mental Health Services, and Marin County Mental Health Services. Dr. Smart has been intensively trained in DBT and has attended several weeks of training in Mindfulness practices for depression.  Dr. Smart has over six years of group experience, including leading depression, anxiety, anger management, DBT skills groups, caregivers support groups, and bereavement process groups. For the last two years, Dr. Smart has co-taught a course on group leadership for the interns at Marin County Community Mental Health. 

She has also provided DBT trainings to the interns at Marin County Community Mental Health and Apple Family Works.  In addition to DBT, she uses other evidence-based treatments, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), Emotion-Focued psychotherapy with couples, and exposure treatments for panic, anxiety, and PTSD.  With a background in program evaluations, Dr. Smart is focused on developing the emerging discipline of DBT and looking at treatments that produce results. She offers training in DBT and group facilitation for programs and individual therapists, we well as consultation.  She also writes a blog at www.dialectictherapy.com.

David Fish, MFT (MFC 52446) 

David Fish has been helping clients using a number of different therapeutic approaches since 1989.

“There’s a theme that runs through the various kinds of work I do with clients:  

Compassionate, Mindfulness-based Psychotherapy"

"You are more than the web of thoughts and feelings that ensnare you.  By turning towards your present experience, using a supportive therapeutic relationship, and experimenting with new learning, you  can discover more fulfilling ways of living."

David uses DBT to help clients who struggle with emotional dysregulation to build lives they experience as worth living, by integrating new skills with understanding and acceptance.  David started leading DBT groups in 2007 and shortly thereafter, he participated in DBT Foundational Training and started doing individual DBT when he came to the DBT Center of Marin.  Since then he has received additional DBT training in working with substance abuse, using DBT for exposure and trauma work, working with teens and families, as well as consulting with others regularly on cases. 

David is also on the teaching faculty of the Hakomi Institute of California.  He was first trained as a Hakomi therapist in 1989.  He received his certification in 1996 and later studied Sensorimotor Trauma Work with Pat Ogden.  These approaches emphasize integrating  somatic and non verbal experiences with our other ways of processing information to develop resources, understanding, and change.  He also uses Functional Analytic Psychotherapy and attachment-oriented psychodynamic modalities to work with problems that come up in relationship:  

“As we get to know each other, our connection can provide you with a way to explore how you are and what happens for you in relationships.  You can use our relationship to experiment with new ways of relating and then take that to other relationships.  By getting help, you can work through the anxieties that come up as a result of your past and you can achieve more satisfying relationships in the present." 

His training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps clients focus on what they value in their lives, and to take action towards what they care about, while dealing with the host of feelings and thoughts that come up as they do.  As well as working with individuals, couples, teens and families, David specializes in working with anxiety & panic, depression, addictions & compulsive behaviors, eelationships and intimacy, aelf esteem, existential issues, spiritual integration, grief and loss, trauma, and high conflict couples.  David has participated in a wide range of intensive psychotherapy trainings since 1989 and he received his Masters degree from San Francisco State University.

Michael Vurek, LCSW (LCS 12882)

Michael a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who uses various forms of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with individuals and groups for adults who are experiencing difficulties living their lives with strong emotions or anxiety.  His clients may have diagnoses of depression, bipolar disorder, various anxiety disorders, as well as borderline or other personality disorders.  The approaches he uses are supported by basic behavioral science and are focused on increasing psychological flexibility and values-based actions.

Michael has hundreds of hours of training and consultation in Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Foundational Training 2009), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  Twice a year he offers 10-week groups based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  He has also learned to use the principles and techniques of other cognitive behavioral therapies such as Exposure and Response Prevention, Functional Analytic Psychotherapy, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Depression.  He participates in a DBT Consultation Team with his colleagues at the DBT Center of Marin.

Michael graduated with a Masters in Social Work in 1980 and spent many years doing case management, program development, and administration mostly in the field of geriatrics.  He began his clinical work in CBT in 1993 and developed and provided outpatient CBT services at Ross Hospital until he went in to private practice in 1999.

“This one precious life is too short to spend it dominated by a reactive, looping and fearful mind. Through the practices taught and strengthened in DBT and related approaches we can make room for the pain of living this life while moving in directions that are vitalizing and meaningful to us.”

Nancie Jordan, MFT (MFC 48481)

Nancie is the Co Director of Southern Marin Services, a non profit counseling agency in Sausalito affiliated with Family Service Agency.  She has a private practice and sees clients in both San Francisco and San Rafael.  Her specialties include working with couples with relationship issues, intimacy issues, couples considering divorce, couples with parenting issues, and co-parenting issues. She has been running DBT groups for eight years.  She works with individuals with anxiety, depression and specializes in working with individuals with substance abuse issues and PTSD.

Nancie’s approach to therapy is warm and pragmatic.  She combines DBT, Gestalt techniques, art therapy, and sandtray therapy with a more traditional psychodynamic approach.  Nancie is also trained in the use of EMDR for working with individuals with PTSD and trauma.

Nancie has a Masters Degree in Expressive Therapies from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an MA in Counseling from Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Her life experiences include living on both the East and West Coasts and in Canada, and raising four children. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, painting, dancing and she is currently learning to sing rhythm and blues. 

Diane M Hanson, MA (PSB 37039), LMHC

Diane is a registered Psychological Assistant working under the supervision of Alicia L. Smart, Psy.D at the DBT Center in Marin.  Diane has worked with adults ranging in age from 18 to 65 years old in both In and Outpatient drug and alcohol treatment settings and for eight years in a Community Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Program specializing in the teaching and practice of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington in 1992 and earned her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington in 1996.  She completed her clinical internship at Sacred Heart Hospital in the RALLE Intensive Outpatient Program in 1995.  Diane acquired both the Washington State LMHC and the Washington State CDP licenses in 2002.

Diane was introduced to DBT in 2004 at Spokane Mental Health’s Intensive Outpatient Program where she worked as a therapist and acquired a Mental Health Professional (MHP) certification.  She taught skills groups and provided individual counseling to adults.  In 2007 she was one of only 4 employees invited by Spokane Mental Health’s Intensive Outpatient Program to attend Behavioral Tech’s Ten-Day Intensive Training Course in Dialectical Behavior Therapy.  She completed the Advanced Intensive Training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy presented by Dr. Marsha M Linehan, Ph.D. in 2010.

Diane has over 12 years of group experience and individual counseling, which include stress and anger management, anxiety reduction, parenting skills, self-esteem, bereavement process, cancer support, psycho-educational groups, dreamwork, relapse prevention, and DBT skills training.  Diane was also authorized to provide DBT trainings to the both Master’s and Doctoral level interns at Spokane Mental Health.

In addition to DBT, Diane received training in and provides other evidence-based treatments, such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) treatments for panic, anxiety, and PTSD. Diane moved back to Marin County in March 2012 and is currently very happy to be working with the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center of Marin.

Shelley Richardson, MFT (MFC 48073)

Marriage and family therapist, specializing in DBT, EMDR trauma, grief, addiction and couples (including high-conflict couples using DBT).

"I enjoy working with individuals and couples who are looking for ways to heal from past hurts, create lives worth living, or deal with anxiety, stress, and life transitions.  Approaching each client from a place of acceptance, my style varies depending on your needs - from listening and supporting you to asking tough questions or providing more direction.  I incorporate mindfulness into my work to support people in connecting with their emotions as well as to help them regulate their emotions.

Half of my practice is focused on couples work and I specialize in working with high-conflict couples (using DBT techniques) and in improving relationships more broadly using a research-supported approach developed by the Gottmans.  I am also trained in EMDR, an effective trauma treatment, which I use with people who have experienced various types of trauma.  This treatment is also suitable for those who are dealing with issues of procrastination, addiction, and other behaviors they feel motivated to change."

Julie Miknis, MA, Psych Assistant (PSB 37488)

As a Psychological Assistant and Marriage Family Therapist Intern, I am committed to providing a safe and hope-filled space for my clients to explore their experiences and move towards healing and transformation.  In a confidential, caring, and supportive environment, my goal as a therapist is to help clients work through the struggles they face that hold them back from living a life of happiness, purpose, and meaning.  I believe in people immediately having tools for change so my clients begin improving their situation after their first session.

I work collaboratively with clients by utilizing evidenced-based treatments, including cognitive behavioral (CBT) and dialectical behavior (DBT) therapies.  These approaches assist me in helping clients who face a variety of concerns including, but not limited to, trauma and PTSD, life’s transitions, relationship and codependency issues, domestic and sexual abuse, anxiety, stress, guilt, self-esteem and self-confidence, empowerment, anger management, and depression 

I am a registered Psychological Assistant under the supervision of Alicia L. Smart, Psy.D at the DBT Center in Marin.  I am also a Marriage Family Therapist Intern for the Community Family Service Agency of Sonoma County where I provide therapy to individuals, including adults and children. Additionally, I co-facilitate a 52-week anger management group.  I hold a Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UCLA.

"Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard." -Anne Sexton