Charles S. Mansueto, Ph.D. - Director
Dr. Mansueto received his doctorate from Catholic University and completed his post-doctoral clinical training at Temple University School of Medicine. He has over 25 years of clinical experience in the application of behavior therapy to a broad range of clinical problems. Dr. Mansueto is past chair and current member of the science advisory board of the national Trichotillomania Learning Center.  He also serves as a member of the science advisory board of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and of the medical advisory board of the Tourette’s Syndrome Association of Greater Washington.  He is past professor of psychology at Bowie State University, and is on the clinical faculty of the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University.

Laurie E. Bassan, Ph.D.
Dr. Bassan received her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland and has over 20 years of experience in assessment, including psychological, neuropsychological, and psycho-educational testing. She works as a school psychologist in the Prince George’s County system. Dr. Bassin works primarily as a testing specialist for BTC and consults on a regular basis.

Elspeth Neiman Bell, Ph.D.
Dr. Bell received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Fordham University, with an emphasis on work with children and families. She completed her doctoral internship at the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolesents in Rockville, Maryland.  Dr. Bell works primarily with adolescents, adults, and families.  As the director of BTC’s growing Hoarding Program, Dr. Bell provides individual therapy for hoarders, both office-based and in vivo, as well as psychoeducational and support groups.  In addition to hoarding, she specializes in the treatment of OCD and other anxiety disorders, depression, and familial relationship difficulties.

Kristin N. Bianchi, Ph.D.

Dr. Bianchi received her master's degree in psychology from Wake Forest University and completed her doctorate at American University, where she conducted research on panic disorder and on the role of disgust in phobias.  She participated in BTC's externship program as part of her clinical training and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the American University Counseling Center.  She completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at BTC, during which time she worked in the social anxiety, school refusal, and hoarding Programs.  Dr. Bianchi specializes in treating a variety of Anxiety Disorders and behavioral concerns in children, adolescents, and adults, including body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g., trichotillomania and skin-picking), OCD, panic disorder, parent management training, phobias, separation anxiety, and social anxiety.  Dr. Bianchi is fluent in Spanish and has a strong clinical interest in working with the Latino community.        

Courtney B. Ferrell, Ph.D.
Dr. Ferrell received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park. She completed her doctoral internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and received a postdoctoral fellowship with the Society for Research in Child Development. Dr. Ferrell specializes in working with children and adolescents who suffer from a wide range of difficulties including social anxiety and other related anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD and disruptive behavioral disorders.

Ruth G. Golomb, M.Ed., LCPC
Dr. Golomb is a clinician, supervisor, and co-director of the doctoral training program at BTC, where she has worked since the mid 1980’s. Ms. Golomb specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adults. She has conducted numerous workshops and seminars, and participated in panel discussions covering many topics including Tourette’s Syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Trichotillomania, and managing anxiety disorders in the classroom. In addition to publishing articles for professional journals and newsletters, Ms. Golomb is an author of The Hair Pulling Habit and You: How to Solve the Trichotillomania Puzzle, a book describing the comprehensive treatment of Trichotillomania in children. Ms. Golomb is a member of the Science Advisory Board for the Trichotillomania Learning Center.

Brad S. Hufford, LCSW-C
Mr. Hufford received his social work training at Virginia Commonwealth University. He trained at Chestnut Lodge Psychiatric Hospital in adolescent services prior to joining BTC. Mr. Hufford specializes in working with children and adolescents who suffer from a broad range of behavior problems, OCD, other anxiety disorders and trichotillomania.

Jennifer H. Kessler, Ph.D.
Dr. Kessler received her doctorate in psychology from Louisiana State University, with a specialization in Child Clinical Psychology and a minor in School Psychology.  Dr. Kessler completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.   She also completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.  Dr. Kessler specializes in working with children and adolescents with a variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties, including obsessive compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders, depression, and difficulties associated with children such as bedwetting, separation anxiety, feeding difficulties, adjustment to life changes, and parent guidance.  Dr. Kessler also specializes in working with adults and children with trichotillomania, skin picking, and other body-focused repetitive behaviors.

David J. Keuler, Ph.D.
Dr. Keuler received his clinical training at Catholic University and Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He was a pre-doctoral research fellow in the Adult Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Unit of the National Institute of Mental Health for several years. Dr. Keuler specializes in the treatment of obsessionality, anxiety disorders related to OCD, and Panic Disorder.

Özge Gürel Kırgız, Ph.D.
Dr. Gurel received her doctorate in clinical psychology from American University. She completed her doctoral internship at Virginia Tech where she gained experience on trauma work. Dr. Gurel specializes in cognitive behavioral treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. She has been integrating mindfulness practices with cognitive behavioral interventions in her individual and group treatment programs. In addition to her clinical practice at BTC, she teaches at George Washington University.

Lisa Levine, Psy.D.
Dr. Levine received her doctorate from C. Albizu University in Miami, Florida, where she conducted research on body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). She completed her predoctoral training at the Center for Group Counseling in Boca Raton, Florida and received postdoctoral training at Putuxent Institution in Jessup, Maryland. In addition to BDD, Dr. Levine’s clinical specialties include OCD, Trichotillomania, phobias, Panic Disorder, and other behavioral disorders across the life span.

Rina V. Pesce, Ph.D.

Dr. Pesce earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of South Dakota.  She completed a two-year pre-doctoral research fellowship on depression at the Clinical Psychobiology Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health.  Dr. Pesce also conducted research and treatment at the Maryland Center for Anxiety Disorders, with a special emphasis on social anxiety in children, teens, and adults.  For several years, she was the Director of Assessment at the Centers for Behavioral Health, providing consultation and treatment to adults with a range of behavioral problems in both inpatient and outpatient settings.  Dr. Pesce integrates collaborative, individualized care for functional change in her treatment of people with anxiety, depression, and emotional difficulties.  

Monroe Rayburn, Ph.D.
Dr. Rayburn received his doctorate in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina. His clinical interests include Panic Disorder, phobias, OCD, Tourette’s Syndrome, trauma, depression, and social anxiety. In addition to his work at BTC, he is the Director of the Counseling Center at Catholic University, where his work includes clinical training of advanced graduate students in psychology and social work, as well as therapy with undergraduate and graduate students.

Magda E. Rodriguez, Psy.D.

Dr. Rodriguez received her doctorate's degree in clinical psychology from Argosy University at the Washington D.C. campus and completed her two year post-doctorate at Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics at the University of Washington, where she provided treatment and conducted research on borderline personality disorder (BPD), posttraumatic stress disorder, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).  She is a national guest lecturer and trainer of DBT.  She participated in BTC's externship program as part of her clinical training, during which time she worked in the social anxiety and hoarding programs, and also treated OCD, panic disorder, and specific phobias.  Dr. Rodriguez specializes in treating emotion dysregulation, BPD, and a variety of Anxiety Disorders.  She is fluent in Spanish and has a strong interest in the development of graduate curriculums specializing in evidenced-based treatments.

Sherrie M. Vavrichek, LCSW-C
Ms. Vavrichek earned her MSW from the University of Maryland. She is a board certified clinical social worker with over 25 years of clinical experience. Prior to joining BTC full-time, Ms. Vavrichek was the supervisor of the Department of Social Work at Ivymount School, a special education facility in Montgomery County, MD. Ms. Vavrichek is an author of The Hair Pulling Habit and You: How to Solve the Trichotillomania Puzzle, a book describing the comprehensive treatment of Trichotillomania in children. She has particular expertise in the treatment of OCD, Trichotillomania, developmental delays/disabilities, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Noah Weintraub, Psy.D.
Dr. Weintraub earned his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University and completed further training at Terry Children’s Psychiatric Center in Delaware. While Dr. Weintraub works with all ages, he specializes in children and adolescents with a wide range of difficulties. In addition to OCD, Dr. Weintraub specializes in phobias, Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, Tourette’s Disorder, body-focused repetitive behaviors, parent management training and other behavioral disorders. He further has an interest in the use of computer technology to aid treatment of OCD and body-focused repetitive behaviors and developed related software named “TrichWare” and “OnTaskware”.  Additionally, he initiated and organizes a support group at Behavior Therapy Center modeled after Dr. Jonathan Grayson's GOAL group.

Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington

11227 Lockwood Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland

phone: 301-593-4040  fax: 301-593-9148