Staff
Jeff Ball, Ph.D., Executive and Clinical Director
Jeff Ball, Ph.D.
Executive and Clinical Director
Dr. Jeff Ball, a native of Los Angeles, received his B.A. Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA, where he published research in developmental disabilities. He received a Masters and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UCLA, and completed research on both projective processes in marital relationships and an integrative treatment model of bipolar disorder. Dr. Ball trained clinically in a psychoanalytic model focusing on personality and mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. As an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California, he taught Introductory Psychology, Personality Theory, and Abnormal Psychology, as well as Graduate level courses in Assessment, Psychopathology and Psychoanalysis. He has been on the UCLA Faculty for many years as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, where he provides consultation and supervision to psychology interns and teaches courses at UCLA Extension. He also has instructed graduate level courses included Psychopathology, Assessment Clinic, and Psychoanalysis, as well as Law and Ethics in Psychology.
In the 1990’s, Dr. Ball became a senior therapist in a clinical research project studying family therapy and medication management in the treatment of Bipolar disorder conducted by Dr. Michael Goldstein and Dr. David Miklowitz. The protocols of these clinically effective studies have formed a foundation in Dr. Ball’s treatment of bipolar patients. In 1991, Dr. Ball accepted a joint academic position with the UCLA School of Medicine and the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital where he served as the chief psychologist in a Nursing Home setting, and trained interns in psychotherapy, presenting the Intern Psychotherapy Seminar, which focused on psychoanalytic and systems models of psychotherapy. Dr. Ball left the VA in 2005.
In June of 2005, Dr. Ball was employed as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist at Bridges to Recovery, a residential center specializing in treatment of psychological disorders. After a few months he was appointed Clinical Director and subsequently Executive Director. In this capacity, after hiring an entirely new clinical staff, he had created a successful model of outpatient residential treatment. Dr. Ball left Bridges to Recovery in early 2009 with the goal of creating a clinically managed and more affordable program. In September of 2009 he co-founded PCH Treatment Center, in which he has assumed the role of Executive and Clinical Director. Dr. Ball’s contacts in the academic and treatment community have afforded him the opportunity to attract the top talent in the field. He also has a reputation in the community for being extremely ethical as well as highly skilled, both as a clinician and a consultant and supervisor.
Message from the Executive and Clinical Director >
Terry Krekorian, M.D., Co-Director
Terry Krekorian, M.D.,
Co-Director
Dr. Terry Krekorian obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychobiology from UCLA, and then graduated from the UCSD School of Medicine. He received a grant from the Deafness Research Foundation and completed an Otologic Fellowship, performing research within the UCSD Division of Otolaryngology. Dr. Krekorian then completed a general surgery internship at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California. He matriculated in Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and then transferred to complete an Anesthesiology Residency and subsequently, a Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia Fellowship at UCLA. He previously served as Assistant Clinical Professor in Pediatric Anesthesia and Cardiac Anesthesia at UCLA. At Cedars Sinai Medical Center, he was a member of the Pediatric, Cardiac, Neurologic, and General Anesthesia teams. Dr. Krekorian is currently Director of Anesthesia Services at the Diagnostic and Interventional Spine and Sports Center in Marina Del Rey. Dr. Krekorian brings his medical expertise to PCH Treatment Center where he is involved in administration, marketing and strategic planning.
William C. Wirshing, M.D., Psychiatrist
William C. Wirshing, M.D.
Medical Director and Psychiatrist
Dr. William C. Wirshing is Board Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and has added qualification in Geropsychiatry. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his medical degree at UCLA. He trained in Psychiatry at UCLA and completed a fellowship in Schizophrenia research at UCLA. He has been licensed to practice medicine since 1983 serving as a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at UCLA until 2006, and now at the University of Southern California. He has published over 250 articles, abstracts, and chapters in the psychiatric literature on a broad range of topics and lectured widely throughout the world. He has received awards for his teaching and is routinely consulted by fellow physicians throughout the Los Angeles area. He is highly regarded for his knowledge about both psychopathology and psychopharmacology and has an active forensic practice focusing on the use of psychiatric medications. He provides a great advantage to PCH Treatment Center, with his expertise in managing and minimizing Client’s medications.
Mary Rauso, Psy.D., Intensive Treatment Program Director
Mary Rauso, Psy.D.,
Program Director
Mary Rauso obtained her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Iowa, majoring in Clinical Psychology in 1991.She obtained her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University in 1994, and obtained a license as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1999. Thereafer, she received a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Ryokan College in 2001. Dr. Rauso has been a program director of a 77 bed Psychiatric Treatment Facility in West Los Angeles, where she specialized in treating patients with severe mental disorders. She created a program utilizing a method shown to decrease relapse and improve the overall functioning and dignity of the patients treated. She then became the Clinical Program Director of a private dual diagnosis treatment center in Malibu, California where she treated clients suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, mood disorders, PTSD,eating disorders and personality disorders. Dr. Rauso acts as a consultant to various treatment programs in Southern California. She also has a private practice where she specializes in treating women who struggle with emotional dysregulation, mood disorders and relationship issues. Dr. Rauso's special areas of interest include trauma and women meeting challenges at various stages of their lifecycle.
Seth Kadish, Psy.D., Day Treatment Program Director
Seth Kadish, Psy.D.,
Day Treatment Program Director
Dr. Seth Kadish received his Doctor of Psychology degree at the California Graduate Institute. Dr. Kadish is the former Clinical Director of Milestones Ranch Malibu, and Staff Psychologist at California State Prison, Los Angeles County, counseling maximum-security inmates. Prior to that, Dr. Kadish worked with Probation youth at Penny Lane in North Hills, CA where he was named Clinician of the Year 2001. Dr. Kadish is the creator of Pattern Identification and Reduction Therapy™, a series of techniques culled from his prison, group home, private practice and treatment center work. He has lectured on forensics and mental health topics at conferences, clinics, and treatment centers and has taught forensic and clinical courses at the graduate school level for many years. Dr. Kadish is the author of Pop Your Patterns: The No-Nonsense Way to Change Your Life.
Jenice Cubillas, Intake Director
Jenice Cubillas,
Intake Director
Jenice Cubillas has been in the field of mental health and chemical dependency since October of 1989. She obtained a degree as an Addiction Specialist in 1996. Jenice ran the adult Program for Alcohol and Drugs for an acute unit in Port Hueneme, California for two years and then found her passion in the mental health field, where she has remained for the past 20 years. Jenice completed an internship under Dr. Dave Lewis for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and Disassociation Disorders at Anacapa Hospital. There, she assisted in desensitizing therapies, integration, and obsessive daily rituals with behavior modification therapy for the underlying causes of Obsessive Disorders. Jenice then transferred to the Admissions Department and started a hotline for depression, through which she was able to provide help nationwide for people that were severely depressed. Jenice has been working in Admissions for the past 16 years as an Assistant and Director of Admissions. Jenice has a high level of expertise in directing clients towards finding the right treatment with a compassionate and caring approach. She maintains a high level of integrity in assessing each client and directing them to the proper level of care.
Bethanie Thompson, Residence Director
Bethanie Thompson,
Residence Director
Bethanie Thompson received her B.A. in Psychology at UCLA. Bethanie has also completed the Drug and Alcohol Counseling Certification Program through UCLA Extension. She is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and has experience working in both the medical and mental health fields. For the past few years, Bethanie has worked in Residential Treatment as both an Assistant Program Director and Shift Lead. She is passionate about her work and helping those with psychological disorders.
Lori Petrie, Ph.D., Individual Therapist
Lori Petrie, Ph.D.
Individual Therapist
Dr. Lori Petrie is a licensed Psychologist who has been in the Mental Health field for more than 25 years. Dr. Petrie received her Masters of Art Degree in 1986 and her Ph.D. in 1988 from the California School of Professional Psychology. She is also a registered nurse, having earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1981 at Loretta Heights College in Denver, Colorado with a minor in Psychology. Dr Petrie has been in private practice since 1991, where she specializes in Empathetic Individual and Couples Therapy, Pre-Marital and Marital Therapy, Illness and Grief Counseling, Women's Issues, Divorce Survival and Growth, and Infant/Toddler Parenting Issues. Dr. Petrie has worked with ACCESS Services since September of 2004, serving as an Appeal Specialist for Psychologically and Cognitively Disabled Individuals who may have Anxiety or Affective Disorders, Schizophrenia, PTSD or Trauma backgrounds. Dr. Petrie has also worked in the academic setting, including teaching at Harbor-UCLA Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry and working in the Psychiatric Emergency Room as well as the Locked Adult Inpatient Ward. She has also received advanced training in Neuro-biological Development of the Self and Brain Behavior, Mullen Scales of Early Learning, Intersubjectivity/Analytic Self-Psychology and Gestalt Therapy.
Jon Ubick, Psy.D., DBT Group Therapist
Jon Ubick, Psy.D.,
DBT Group Therapist
Dr. Jon Ubick, a California native, received his training at Alliant International University (nee’ CSPP-LA) in the Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic track. During training, his internship placements were at the finest outpatient therapy sites including Maple Counseling and the Wright Institute – Los Angeles. His private practice in Brentwood, for the past decade, has focused on the unique needs of clients with severe mood disorders and personality disorders. With this particular focus, Dr. Ubick sought training by Marsha Linehan, the pioneering doctor of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), attending annual weeklong intensive workshops under her supervision. The integration of analytic models and DBT has proven an effective and powerful treatment combination. As part of the exploration of DBT models of treatment, mindfulness meditation and yoga have become central to his personal life and treatment. The treatment model at PCH is an ideal setting to use his skills and for clients to benefit from the multi-modal treatment he endorses.
Cheryl Chenot, Psy.D., LMFT, Individual Therapist
Cheryl Chenot, Psy.D., LMFT,
Individual Therapist
Cheryl Chenot, Psy.D., LMFT, is a Psychoanalyst and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has worked with adolescents, adults, couples and families in the Los Angeles area for 23 years. She earned her Doctorate in Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis (ICP) in 1999. She currently serves on the ICP Board of Directors and acts as a training and supervising psychoanalyst, teaching clinically focused classes. These courses include case conferences, eating disorders and a class on subtle interpersonal issues that therapists encounter, with an exploration of how these issues emerge, manifest themselves, and affect the therapeutic process. Prior to working at PCH Treatment Center, Dr. Chenot worked for over three years as a primary therapist on an inpatient eating disorders unit at Glendale Adventist Hospital where she led multiple-family groups and didactic groups for families as well as working individually with patients and families. In her private practice in west Los Angeles, Dr. Chenot works with Clients who suffer from chronic depression and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, relational difficulties, debilitating inner conflicts, PTSD and childhood trauma, self-harm, grief and loss difficulties, and chemical dependency issues.
Meiram Bendat, J.D., M.F.T., Individual and Group Therapist, Ethics and Legal Counsel
Meiram Bendat, J.D., M.F.T.,
Therapist, Ethics and Legal Counsel
Meiram Bendat is a psychotherapist and ethics consultant at PCH Treatment. As a clinician, Meiram has worked extensively with high functioning and chronically ill patients struggling with sexual and gender identity, stigma, trauma, and career conflicts. He received his training at several prestigious private and public, APA-accredited clinics. Meiram maintains an expertise in mental health law, a university faculty appointment, and a private practice in West Hollywood. He earned a BA with honors/Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University, a Juris Doctor from USC Law School, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, and received post-doctoral psychoanalytic training at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. He is a member of the State Bar of California and licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as a marriage and family therapist.
Leslee Cook, M.A., M.F.T.,
Leslee Cook, M.A., M.F.T.,
Leslee Cook is a native Californian with a Masters in Educational Psychology from Cal State University Northridge. She has been a practicing licensed Marriage Family Therapist since 1978. She is currently completing post-graduate training in Somatic Experiencing (SE™) from The Foundation for Human Enrichment. SE™ is a gentle form of psychotherapy that can help to relieve and resolve symptoms of post-traumatic stress due not only to acute physical traumas but also more subtle relational, attachment, and developmental traumas which may also deeply compromise the resilience of a person’s autonomic nervous system. In Somatic Experiencing therapy it is not necessary for a client to retell their traumatic story in order to resolve the trauma. Trauma is basically the psychic and physical retention of a previously activated threat-response that had not been successfully discharged from a person’s nervous system. In becoming more aware of their sensations, images and thoughts, a person can complete the body's thwarted fight, flight or freeze response in a safe and measured way, allowing fragmented sensations, images and thoughts to re-integrate. Leslee states “I'm very excited about this breakthrough gentle approach to psychotherapy. I see huge transformations in people's lives in just a few sessions. When trauma is released we reconnect to the source of our energy and vitality. With the body and mind now working together, one's ability to handle life's stresses vastly improves."
Leslee is fluent in American Sign Language. She has a private practice in Santa Monica where she enjoys using her holistic mind/body approach to help relieve clients of their chronic fears, phobias and limiting behaviors.
Stacey Goldwasser, LCSW, Group Therapist
Stacey Goldwasser, LCSW,
Group Therapist
"You can feel calmer when inner pain is transformed into inner peace."
Stacey Goldwasser, LCSW, received her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Southern California and her Somatic Experiencing post-graduate work at the Foundation for Human Enrichment founded by Dr. Peter Levine. Somatic Experiencing is a gentle, holistic, mind-body approach used in the prevention and healing of trauma. Stacey Goldwasser's Somatic practice specializes in working with trauma, anxiety, panic and chronic pain. Her philosophy is of the mind-body connection; "one is always influencing the other and the healing is just waiting in the wings." With Stacey's attuned support, her clients report an unbelievable change in their overall sense of regulation and ease in which they now feel in their body. Many describe it as, "I just feel calmer." Aside from her private practice in West Los Angeles, she is also a Clinical Supervisor as well as the Program Coordinator at Vista Del Mar for MAT (Multi-Disciplinary Assessment Team) overseeing assessments on newly detained and traumatized children ages up to age 17 throughout the Los Angeles and South Bay County. Stacey Goldwasser also provides training for medical doctors at Cedars Sinai in the Somatic Experiencing approach.
Tonya Meeks, M.A., M.F.T.I., Programs Coordinator
Tonya Meeks, M.A., M.F.T.I.,
Programs Coordinator
Tonya received her masters in Counseling from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She previously worked at a community counseling center in Santa Barbara addressing problems with families, couples and children dealing with psychological trauma and addiction. She currently works in a private practice in Westlake Village at Townsgate Counseling Center where she offers expressive arts groups, play therapy and individual, family, and couples therapy. Tonya also has a B.A. in Performance, and specializes in expressive arts and drama therapy. She is currently the Programs Coordinator for PCH Treatment Center.
Jenna Kemp, Alumni and Marketing Coordinator
Jenna Kemp,
Alumni and Marketing Coordinator
Jenna Kemp received her Bachelor of Arts at California State University Chico, concentrated in Social Sciences and Italian Studies. She had the opportunity to live and study abroad in Torino, Italy for a year. Exploring all of Europe and becoming fluent in Italian furthered her interest in cultural studies and her passion in human behavior. She aspires to get her MFT in 2011 and constantly strives to help people in all capacities.
Meredith Hines, Yoga and Meditation Instructor
Meredith Hines,
Yoga and Meditation Instructor
Meredith Hines is a certified yoga instructor dedicated to integrating yoga and meditation into mental health treatment. Meredith specializes in working with Clients with anxiety, depression, and trauma. She teaches at Yogaworks in Pacific Palisades, and has worked in several elite recovery centers. She has a private practice on the Westside of LA, and is completing her master’s degree in psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute with the intention of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist.
Diana Ungerleider, Ceramics Instructor
Diana Ungerleider,
Ceramics Instructor
Diana Ungerleider is an artist and ceramics teacher, with 18 years of teaching experience. She enjoys working with adults, teens and young children. She shares her enthusiasm for exploring the creative possibilities of clay in a fun, expressive and relaxing way. Diana’s special skills foster creative energy in the Client’s at PCH Treatment Center.
