Philadelphia Area Group Psychotherapy Society

is pleased to be joining the Board as a member at large. Brian has returned to Philadelphia after a 32 year hiatus and looks forward to being part of the Philadelphia group work community. He has been in private practice since leaving his position at Cooper Hospital in 1990. Brian runs a number of Interpersonal Process Groups, as well as works with individuals with a wide range of presenting difficulties. Group therapy societies have always been his professional home, and he is pleased to have landed back in Philadelphia as a member of PAGPS. Feel free to contact Brian if you have any questions about membership in PAGPS.

is a past president of PAGPS and is a licensed clinical psychologist in practice with AIDS Care Group, a non-profit organization that offers comprehensive medical, mental health, and social service to patients living with HIV. She currently serves AIDS Care Group as the director of HIV psychology services, offering individual, family, couples, and group psychotherapy, as well as clinical supervision. She is also employed at Revive Wellness, a private practice in Conshohocken, PA, where she co-facilitates a long-term outpatient group for women in eating disorder recovery. She joined the board of PAGPS as a student in 2015 and was president from 2018-2020.

joined the PAGPS Board of Directors in January, 2021. She is an African American, licensed clinical social worker who has been practice for over 30 years working primarily with adults. She is the Director of Intercultural Counselling, LLC, a private practice located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia where she provides individual and group psychotherapy and psychoanalysis to adults. Her therapeutic approach is relational with attention given to the impact of systemic and personal racism and oppression. She serves as faculty at Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Service and Social Research, the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society (EGPS) and at the Institute for Relational Psychoanalysis of Philadelphia (IRPP). Ms. Harris is also the Founding Director of Intercultural Network, LLC, which provides trauma-informed, diversity and inclusion assessments and training to organizations.

Currently, she runs a weekly group for female-identified persons who have experienced all forms of trauma and is currently recruiting for a multicultural process group with plans for a BIPOC process training group for therapists in spring 2023.

is a clinical psychologist, licensed professional counselor, and the technology coordinator for PAGPS. He received his first master's from La Salle University, earned his doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Widener University, and is currently completing a second doctorate in human sexuality at Widener. Professionally, he specializes in providing mental healthcare for people who identify as transgender/non-binary/gender expansive and their loved ones; additionally, Jacob maintains sex positive, kink positive, and poly-aware practice as the postdoctoral fellow at Therapy Center of Philadelphia. Jacob applies a feminist, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based lens to his work with both individuals and groups. His current research focuses on creating a therapeutic program using role-playing games (RPGs) for LGBTQIA+ individuals in group therapy.

is a licensed psychologist in private practice. Prior to that he spent 15 years working with students in college counseling centers at Rowan and Temple Universities, serving as Training Director and Trauma Response Coordinator, and regularly facilitated a variety of process, support and psycho-educational groups. While primarily CBT oriented in his work with individuals, his orientation to group work tends to be systemic and psychodynamic. He received his BA from Brown University, MA from New York University and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!).

is a Psychotherapist and Career Counselor working in private practice at Walk Your Path LLC. With experience in helping clients realize confidence in their relationships and career goals using an eclectic mix of Gestalt and Mindfulness based techniques. He currently leads a men's group and has led career transition support groups and professional networking groups. He also incorporates eco-therapy in the Wissahickon park. He recieved his BS at the University of Maine, MS at Arcadia University and MA at Naropa University where he was also trained as a certified mindfulness instructor.

is a licensed clinical Health Psychologist and is Board Certified in Biofeedback. She is also certified in Holistic Stress Management and a group therapist. Dr. Rene has worked extensively in integrated behavioral health care as well as community mental health systems, school-based clinics, primary care and military settings. She served as Chief Behavioral Health Officer for a large FQHC in San Diego, CA where she implemented the organization’s integrated behavioral health program across many primary care clinics including dental clinics and county based specialty mental health programs. Dr. Rene is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Enterprise Director of Primary Care Integrated Behavioral Health at Jefferson Health/Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. She oversees the organization’s efforts to integrate behavioral health services across its over 60 primary care clinics across Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.

has been in clinical practice for more than 25 years. She is a past president of PAGPS and is in private practice seeing individuals and couples and running groups. She has run groups for graduate students and taught group psychotherapy courses at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Drexel University and Philadelphia University. She has also facilitated groups in her past positions at The Belmont Center’s Eating Disorders Program, The Renfrew Center, and in consultation at Fox Chase Cancer Center. She has presented on varied subjects, including; couples therapy; family conversations about cancer; and the experience of “typical” siblings of developmentally disabled people.

is a family therapist providing family therapy to the families of Deleware County through the non-profit organization of Child Guidance Resources Centers. She currently serves kids with varied mental health diagnoses to build experiential changes in their relationships with their parents and siblings. Sarah has ran groups for expecting mother's as they managed the transition into stable housing. She recieved her M.S. at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA in Medical Family Therapy.

is a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist in private practice in Delaware County for 40+ years. In addition, for 20 years, Shari facilitated groups for people living with cancer and for their family members at the Cancer Support Community of Philadelphia (formerly The Wellness Community), and she continues to work with families living with chronic and life-threatening disease. In addition to working with individuals and couples, she currently runs two intergenerational Women’s Psychotherapy Groups and an online support group for Ukrainian Therapists. Shari has been a Board Member of AGPA twice, served for six years as Co-Chair of the AGPA Special Interest Group Task Force, is currently the Co-Chair of the AGPA Fellowship Committee and is past president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association – Pennsylvania Chapter. She has been a member of PAGPS for over 40 years, has been on the Board for seven years and is currently the Program Committee Chair.

is a clinical social worker in practice for over 35 years. Working primarily with children and youth, he is currently conducting two ongoing, co-ed psychotherapy groups for high school aged adolescents within his private practice in Bryn Mawr. He also divides his time between the Benchmark School in Media, PA, a private school for children with language based learning disabilities, where he has been a supervisor since 1987, and Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, where he is an adjunct faculty member teaching five courses annually. Tom is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and is national co-chair of the Child and Adolescent Special Interest Group. He has been on the Board of PAGPS since 2005.