Fall Convention Speakers

Dr. Miri Arie, PhD, CGP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified group psychotherapist specializing in relational, evidence-based therapy for individuals, families, and therapists. Her approach centers on improving relationships, reducing anxiety, and fostering emotional growth through both individual and group therapy.

Dr. Arie has been helping clients over 20 years develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts and feelings, emotional regulation and social skills, navigate anxiety and stress, and cultivate greater self-awareness and acceptance. She integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Integrative Attachment Family Therapy (IAFT), and other attachment-based interventions, tailoring her approach to each client’s unique needs and relational context.

While working with families engaged in high-conflict litigation and lawyers suffering from various mental health and drug abuse problems, Dr. Benjamin was named “Professional of the Year” by the Washington State Bar Association’s Family Law Section. As the founding director of the WSBA’s Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP,  now the wellness program), the ABA issued a certificate of merit for the development and implementation of LAP. With colleagues, he recently launched a new program that supports the health of Judges, lawyers and students, and serves as the director of training and consultation for the program. At the advent of LAP, Dr. Benjamin argued before and persuaded the Washington State Supreme Court to adopt confidentiality protections codified in the rules of professional conduct that protect the clients of lawyer peer counselors, and they still apply to both LAP and Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WaLAL).

He was elected to serve as President of the Washington State Psychological Association and later his colleagues created an Association award named after him for “outstanding and tireless contributions” (including as a current member of the Good Trouble Committee, among other WSPA endeavors). He was honored by the Puyallup Indian Nation’s Health Authority for serving as a “modern day  warrior fighting the mental illnesses, drug-alcohol addictions” for working in the Nation’s program. Dr. Benjamin is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in eight of its Divisions. The APA also conferred the Karl F. Heiser Award in recognition of his record of public service and advocacy in numerous areas of professional activity.

Dr. Benjamin continues to serve as a clinical professor within the Department of Psychology and an Affiliate Professor within the School of Law for University of Washington. He has published 76 peer reviewed articles in Psychology, Law, and Psychiatry journals, and five books with APA Press– Law and Mental Health Professionals, Washington; Family Evaluation in Custody Litigation: Promoting Optimal Outcomes and Reducing Ethical Risks (1st & 2nd editions); The Duty to Protect: Ethical, Legal, and Professional Considerations for Mental Health Professionals; and, Educational Evaluations of Children With Special Needs: Clinical and Forensic Considerations; and one book published by Sage– Ethics for Psychologists: A Casebook Approach.

Dr. Benjamin lives in Seattle with a wife of 50 years, an ardent feminist he continues to love for more than 54 years. He is very proud of his two adult children who serve as dedicated mental health professionals! 

Dr. Bedard-Gilligan is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW) and a licensed clinical psychologist. At the UW, Dr. Bedard-Gilligan is co-director of the Trauma Recovery and Resilience Innovations program and is associate director of the UW Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress. Dr. Bedard-Gilligan’s research is federally funded and predominantly focuses on recovery process following trauma exposure, with specific emphases on the co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol, and cannabis use. She is currently a lead investigator on several clinical trials testing brief interventions to promote trauma recovery and is involved in ongoing projects designed to train providers across the state of WA in trauma-focused behavioral treatment approaches. She also maintains an active clinical practice at the University of Washington Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic, specializing in delivering empirically supported treatments for PTSD and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Benincasa is a licensed psychologist in Everett, WA. He is committed to advancing the field of psychology through advocacy, education, and trauma-conscious practice. His work spans clinical, forensic, and consulting practices, as well as research and clinical training with an emphasis on complex trauma, dissociation, and dignity-based intervention. Dr. Benincasa has held various leadership roles within APA and WSPA. His advocacy efforts focus on equitable treatment of psychologists in the healthcare industry, improving training opportunities for graduate students, and expanding access to care. He is dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices and dismantling oppressive systems within the field of psychology and society at large.

Dr. Siobhan Budwey has always been intrigued by human interactions and relationships and knew she wanted to work with people in a helping profession since adolescence. Dr. Budwey received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York Fredonia with a major in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. She went on to attend Southeastern Louisiana University and received her Master’s degree in General Psychology. After taking one year off, she moved to the San Francisco Bay area to attend the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology and received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology with proficiency in neuropsychology. During her training she focused on working with children, teens, and families in community mental health clinics and learned about trauma-informed care. In 2012, Dr. Budwey moved to Washington state, got licensed, and joined a group private practice continuing to work with these populations. She opened her private practice in 2010 and continues to provide therapy and evaluation services to clients across the lifespan in Olympia and Tacoma. Dr. Budwey joined WSPA in 2021 specifically because of the work she learned about occurring within the Good Trouble task force. Since then, she has become a member of Good Trouble and co-leads a quarterly assessment study group with Dr. Conny Kirchhoff focusing the use of our psychometric tools with different groups and the limitations of these tools. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her wife, being in nature, cooking, and traveling.

Dr. Jennifer Cadigan is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri and then completed both her clinical psychology internship and fellowship at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Cadigan leads and co-leads multiple federally funded research projects and has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. Her research focuses on promoting adolescent and young adult health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on understanding, preventing, and treating substance misuse and co-occurring mental health concerns. This work aims to develop, test, and disseminate innovative, evidence-based interventions that reduce substance misuse and improve mental health outcomes. Clinically, she works with adolescents at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Steve Curtis, PhD, NCSP, MSCP is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Washington State and New Mexico, and a Certified Prescribing Psychologist in New Mexico. After completing the Post-Doctoral Internship and Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Child Clinical Psychology through the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Curtis went on to become a Certified Prescribing Psychologist in New Mexico. He completed the Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology (MSCP) at Alliant University, San Francisco and Prescribing Psychologist Fellowship in Family Medicine at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Since prescriptive authority for psychologists (RxP) is not legalized in Washington State, he has commuted at-least monthly since 2017 to provide prescribing psychology services to children and adolescents in New Mexico. As a former school psychologist, and Special Education Director at Seattle University, Dr. Curtis has always specialized in working with neurodiverse children/adolescents with challenges. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Curtis has also been an Affiliate Faculty Member in the PsyD Clinical Psychology Program at Antioch University, Seattle since 2008. At Antioch, he teaches psychopharmacology, child development, and pediatric psychology. Dr. Curtis is a Fellow and Past-President of the Society of Prescribing Psychology (Division 55) of the American Psychological Association. He is a member of the RxP Task force of the WSPA and firmly believes that legalizing prescribing psychology in Washington State will greatly help address the shortages of psychiatric care in our underserved communities.

Ms. Chen is a licensed Mental Health Counselor and supervisor in WA. They hold a master’s in counseling psychology from Argosy University. Additionally, Ms. Chen is a substance use disorder professional, certified Sex therapist, and Certified Group psychotherapist. Their experience include working with trauma survivors in community mental health settings, methadone clinic, in-patient and outpatient co-occurring treatment centers. Ms. Chen has been practicing counseling in private practice since 2014 focusing on supporting adults -individuals, and intimate partners. Their focus is on treating trauma, substance use, relational and intimacy challenges. Ms. Chen facilitates a few process groups for therapists as part of her practice.

Salvatore Frattallone is a Tacoma-based theater artist, director, and improviser with a passion for cultivating creativity and community through performance. Salvatore serves as the Director of After-School Theater at Annie Wright Schools, where he leads all student theater productions and runs the school’s improv program. Dedicated to empowering the next generation of performers, he has directed multiple student productions and built thriving programs that nurture both artistic skills and confidence. In addition to his work in education, Salvatore is the co-founder of Go Before You’re Ready (GBYR) Improv, established in 2021. GBYR focuses on long-form improvisation training for adults, offering a structured four-level curriculum designed to equip students with public speaking skills, performance readiness, and collaborative long-form improv storytelling skills.

Salvatore studied theater at Minnesota State University, Mankato from 2014 to 2016, where he developed his foundation in performance, directing, and ensemble work. He continues to bring that background into his work as both an educator and collaborator, fostering environments where creativity thrives and risks are celebrated.

Dr. Rachel Freund earned her PhD in 2010 from the APA-accredited clinical psychology program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She is a functional contextualist and clinical scientist, incorporating a range of contemporary cognitive behavior therapies, mindfulness, and process-based interventions into her clinical practice.

Rachel’s interest in treating sleep problems blossomed out of early career clinical work that focused on treating people experiencing post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and substance use problems in which nightmares and/or insomnia were often part of the clinical picture and needed specific attention. She was trained in Imagery Rehearsal Training (IRT) during her predoctoral internship and has been using CBT-I since 2015, finding both to be straightforward and effective therapies. Dr. Freund became increasingly aware of the prevalence and persistence of sleep complaints across the spectrum of clinical diagnoses while working for several years in a primary care setting. She gained additional expertise in behavioral sleep medicine through a 3-day intensive CBT-I certificate course offered by Colleen Carney, PhD, and Meg Danforth, PhD, as well as courses taught by other leaders and treatment developers in the field. In addition to treating sleep problems, Rachel has given talks on CBT-I to healthcare providers and trainees across multiple disciplines.

Dr. Freund has worked with adults in a range of clinical settings and is currently working in private practice after working for over a decade at large healthcare organizations. She specializes in treating individuals with trauma, grief/loss, anxiety disorders, insomnia, and substance-use problems.

Rachel Goldsmith Turow, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, research scientist, mindfulness and compassion teacher, and an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University and at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Turow’s work explores connections among attention, self-criticism, stressful life experiences, and mental health. She is the author of The Self-Talk Workout: Six Science-Backed Strategies to Dissolve Self-Criticism and Transform the Voice in Your Head (Shambhala), and Mindfulness Skills for Trauma and PTSD: Practices for Recovery and Resilience (Norton) along with over 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters. Dr. Turow teaches three “science and practice” Psychology courses at Seattle University: Mindfulness Skills, Developing Compassion, and Building Resilience. In each course, students practice new mental skills while also learning about scientific research studies related to each technique. In collaboration with her colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Turow also provides training in sensitive practice to healthcare workers serving cancer patients who are also survivors of sexual violence. She has led mindfulness, compassion, and resilience workshops nationally for audiences including nursing professionals, university and high school educators, and active military personnel.

Dr. Joel Jin is a licensed clinical psychologist and an expert in deliberate practice for psychotherapy. He is an author of Deliberate Practice in Multicultural Therapy and the forthcoming second edition of Mastering the Inner Skills of Psychotherapy: A Deliberate Practice Manual. He has trained clinicians and graduate students in applying deliberate practice to improve therapeutic effectiveness. Dr. Jin specializes in personalizing clinical consultation for clinicians, and using experiential dynamic psychotherapies to alleviate centralized pain symptoms.

Dr. Nikki Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist and a tenured professor at Northwest University. Dr. Johnson earned their PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Azusa Pacific University with an emphasis in forensics. With over 9 years of teaching experience, Dr. Johnson is passionate about the intersection of psychology, relationship, and social justice. In addition to working at the university, she maintains a private practice providing assessments, forensic and immigration evaluations.

Driven by a strong belief in the inherent dignity of every individual, Dr. Johnson works to create inclusive spaces where clients from all backgrounds feel heard, understood, and empowered. Her approach is rooted in principles of social justice, focusing on addressing the systemic and nuanced issues that affect mental health.

Conny Kirchhoff, PhD., is Associate Professor, Clinical track, at the WSU Psychology Department and serves as the Associate Director of the WSU Psychology Clinic, a training clinic for the Clinical Psychology PhD program at WSU in Pullman. She teaches and supervises emerging professionals in Psychology in therapy and assessment work. She is also the current Vice President of WSPA and a member of the Good Trouble committee since 2020. Social advocacy has increasingly become a guiding theme for her involvement at WSPA and in her training of students at WSU. She sees advocacy as an ethical and scientific obligation to society and in training of future psychologists. She can be reached directly at hckirch@gmail.com.

Dr. Antoine Lebeaut is a licensed clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Trauma Recovery and Resilience Innovations Program and the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress at the University of Washington. He earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston and completed his APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA. Dr. Lebeaut specializes in the treatment of PTSD and anxiety disorders, with a particular focus on co-occurring conditions. His research centers on identifying risk and maintenance factors for PTSD and comorbid disorders among adults and first responder populations, as well as developing strategies to improve the accessibility and efficacy of evidence-based treatments for PTSD and related conditions.

A Levine-Ward is a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed mental health counselor, community educator and mental health advocate. Currently, they are a clinician and clinical director at Seattle Counseling and Wellness. A received their Doctorate in clinical psychology from Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA in 2017, and have been working in the mental health field for over 10 years. They completed their pre-doctoral internship at the UCSF/ ZSFG Trauma Recovery Center in the psychosocial medicine training program. There, they worked with survivors of religion and gender- based persecution, gun violence and sexual assault survivors living in San Francisco. Before joining the team at Seattle Counseling and Wellness in 2020, they worked for 3 years in in-patient substance use and mental health settings. In addition to providing talk therapy, they are a community educator, lecturer and psychological consultant. They’ve provided sexual assault response prevention and education for the University of Washington Panhellenic Society, LGBTQ+ affirming and trauma informed education to the broader community in Washington state since 2020. They approach my work with an integrative lens; utilizing narrative, feminist, social-justice, evidenced based and trauma-informed approaches. They specialize in working with members  of the LGBTQIA+, BDSM/ kink, polyamorous and culturally diverse communities. They also work with individuals who have experienced variant forms of trauma, religious deconstruction, death and dying, substance abuse, disordered eating and body positivity, depression, anxiety and PTSD.

Julia Mackaronis is a licensed clinical psychologist who lives on the Washington coast. She is the lead mental health provider for the Roger Saux Health Center of the Quinault Indian Nation, and has a small freelance consultation business. Julia identifies as a generalist, although specific areas of expertise include working with couples, trauma, sexuality, and members of the queer community. She has been a WSPA member since 2015, and served the organization in various capacities, including as a founding member of the Good Trouble Committee in 2020. You can reach her at julia@praxispsychotherapy.com.

Dr. Dakota Mauzay is a Licensed Psychologist in Washington. He owns and operates Storm Psychological Services, which provides psychotherapy services to individuals in-person in Pullman, WA, as well as throughout the state via Telehealth. This office consists of four clinicians, two of which he supervises within his clinic. Dr. Mauzay works as an adjunct professor for Washington State University. He is also a member of the Washington State Psychological Association Early Career Psychologists Committee.

David R Patterson PhD, ABPP is an emeritus professor of psychology in the Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine, Surgery and Psychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Patterson’s current interests are in psychological approaches to the reducing and managing pain, particularly through hypnosis, immersive virtual reality and Eastern concepts such as mindfulness and Zen Buddhism. He remains a strong advocate of providing interventions for people in pain, particularly after trauma and has conducted several studies using pharmacology, as well as psychological alternatives. Dr. Patterson has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, chapters, monographs and book chapters in topics such as pain control and adjustment to burn injuries and trauma. He has co-directed the bioethics committee in his hospital and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on topics related to bioethics. He was funded from 1989 to 2020 by the National Institutes of Health to conduct randomized controlled trials on treating burn pain and trauma pain. He has developed internship and postdoctoral training programs and has mentored hundreds of students. He has given keynote lectures and clinical workshops in dozens of countries and his work has been featured on both national and international news outlets on numerous occasions over the past 30 years. Dr. Patterson’s book with Elena Mendoza entitled Clinical Hypnosis for Pain Control was published in 2024.

Driving neuroplasticity in a positive direction became my passion decades ago. Every client of mine was educated about this, valued this, AND increased use of everything possible to influence their healthy aging brains with evidence-based interventions that could increase their cognitive, physical, social and emotional health. “Enhancing the health of your BRAIN” was a stronger motivator than any other encouraging sentences I had ever used. Evolving neuroscience is increasingly empowering to the extent that I need to bring this information to all who want to know how to influence healthy aging brains in ways that could include cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits. Maybe we could also appreciate more peaceful coexistence. Thus, with Liliana Alberto, MD, of Argentina, we cofounded an international project to prevent, delay onset, and/or reverse dementia in ways that promote healthy aging. We are gifted to work with Music Mends Minds® which has broadened our reach to include healthy brain aging activities online AND on 4 continents. A significant statement about the positive value of my research is that the Global Supercentenarian Cohort Network Study (GSCNS) group of 42 scientists from 16 countries invited me to be a member of GSCNS. We had our first meeting on 4 & 5 May 2025 in Cairo Egypt. It was an honor and a privilege that GSCNS invited me to provide one of their keynote addresses at our first meeting!

Sharon A. Stanley, Ph.D., is a licensed mental health counselor based on Bainbridge Island, Washington, specializing in trauma healing through relational and body-centered practices. Her extensive career spans psychotherapy, teaching, research, and professional development focused on developmental neuroscience, attachment, and somatic approaches to trauma.

Sharon earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology in 1994 and is the author of Relational and Body-Centered Practices for Healing Trauma: Lifting the Burdens of the Past with a second edition published in 2025 and other works focusing on practices of somatic empathy and inquiry in healing trauma. 

Her research interests have focused on the development of somatic awareness, empathy, inquiry, and reflection on lived experience in educators, psychotherapists, and community leaders. For over 17 years, Sharon studied with Dr. Allan Schore, a leader in the field of developmental neuroscience. Schore has identified essential psychotherapy practices that are emerging from neuroscience research.

Sharon is the founder and director of Somatic Transformation, LLC, providing in-depth accredited professional training for over 600 psychotherapists internationally since 1994 alongside adjunct faculty roles at Antioch University and the University of Victoria.

Sharon has had over four decades of clinical practice offering psychotherapy, consultation, and supervision focused on trauma, including work with Indigenous communities. She has delivered numerous workshops and lectures globally on somatic and relational trauma healing and specialized trainings for Indigenous trauma and the therapeutic applications of developmental neuroscience and ancient wisdom.

Since 2009, Dr. David Shearer has been a clinical and prescribing psychologist for the Department of the Army at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in the state of Washington. He serves as a core faculty member and Director of Behavioral Sciences for the MAMC family medicine residency. Dr. Shearer is fully integrated into the family medicine clinics at MAMC as the primary psychopharmacological consultant and prescriber. In addition, he is a faculty member of the Department of Behavioral Health at MAMC. He is a recipient of the Major Eduardo Caraveo National Service Award for contributions to the advancement of prescribing psychology, the Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy at the State Level Award and a Meritorious Service Award for Leadership in the Creation of Psychopharmacological Guidelines from Division 55 of the American Psychological Association (APA). He was awarded the Sustained Service Award by the Washington State Psychological Association (WSPA) for life-long service to WSPA and the field of psychology. He is a Fellow of Division 55, the Society for Prescribing Psychology, of the APA. Dr. Shearer is the Chair of the Washington State Psychological Association’s Prescribing Psychology legislative taskforce. He is a past-President of the APA Division 55 Board of Directors and past Editor-in-Chief of the division’s official newsletter, The Tablet. Dr. Shearer was a co-chair of the Taskforce that published the Practice Guidelines Regarding Psychologists’ Involvement in Pharmacological Issues for the American Psychological Association in 2025. He is an inaugural member of the Board of Psychological Psychopharmacology of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He is a past associate editor of psychopharmacology for the open access, international, peer-reviewed journal, npj Mental Health Research. Dr. Shearer teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Alliant International University and New Mexico State University in the psychopharmacology graduate programs. He has appointments in the Department of Family Medicine as an assistant professor at the Uniformed University of Health Sciences and as a clinical instructor at the University of Washington. His research and professional interests include understanding and evaluating the combination of psychopharmacology and psychotherapy in the treatment of behavioral health disorders, prescribing psychology in primary care settings, teaching psychopharmacology to psychologists and allied health care providers, and the development of prescribing psychology in the military. He is the author of book chapters and professional articles on these topics and has presented at numerous national, regional and state conferences.

Dr. Eric Strachan is a clinical psychologist who has worked with people experiencing and living with psychosis, depression, severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, addiction, HIV infection, and various manifestations of existential dread. He knows the academic grind from 17 years on the faculty of the University of Washington School of Medicine and the challenges of private practice since 2021. He has been an active member of the South Sound theater community since 2019 and the improv world beginning in 2023.

Alysha Thompson, PhD, is the Clinical Director and attending psychologist on the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Washington. Prior to joining the staff and faculty at Seattle Children’s/UW, she was a staff psychologist on the Adolescent Inpatient Unit at Bradley Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. She is an active participant in training future psychiatrists and psychologists and currently serves as Past-Chair of the Acute, Intensive, and Residential Services Special Interest Group of the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, which she co-founded. Dr. Thompson has authored multiple publications regarding inpatient psychiatric treatment for youth and has forged collaborations with psychiatrists and psychologists working in inpatient psychiatry and acute care around the country. Most recently, she co-edited the Handbook of Evidence Based Inpatient Mental Health Treatment for Children and Adolescents. In addition, she is actively engaged in advocacy efforts regarding improveming the mental health care system for youth. She is passionate about providing quality services to youth experiencing severe mental health crises and has specific areas of expertise in working with youth with trauma histories and suicidality. 

Mavis Tsai, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and senior research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for Science of Social Connection. She is the co-creator, with the late Robert Kohlenberg, PhD, ABPP, of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), a treatment that harnesses the power of the therapeutic relationship to transform clients’ lives. She is a recipient of Washington State Psychological Association’s Distinguished Psychologist Award and is a Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. She is proud to be named by New Harbinger Publications as one of “13 Badass Psychologists… Who Happen to be Women”.

As Founder of the Nonprofit Organization “Awareness, Courage & Love Global Project”, she trains volunteers to lead chapters in six continents to create a worldwide network of open-hearted change-seekers who strive to meet life’s challenges through deepening interpersonal connection and rising to live more true to themselves.