Jeff Levy, LCSW, CTRS
Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Jeff brings with him almost 30 years experience as a recreation therapist and social worker. This unique combination of training creates a foundation for practice that emphasizes creativity, strengths, experiential learning, and a firm belief in the body-mind connection. He has provided training locally and nationally and has authored numerous articles addressing a broad range of issues including psychotherapy practice, training, and diversity. His training efforts were twice recognized nationally, receiving the Psychotherapy Networker's "Innovations in Training" award. Jeff is also a Part-Time Lecturer at the School of Social Service Administration/University of Chicago.
In the past, Jeff has taught at University of Illinois-Chicago/Jane Addams College of Social Work, Aurora University, Chicago State University, and The University of Toledo/Ohio. He was also Associate Faculty with The Chicago Center for Family Health. Prior to private practice and his work with Live Oak, Jeff was the Associate Executive Director and Clinical Director for Teen Living Programs, Inc. in Chicago, the Director of Program Development at the Center for Contextual Change in Skokie and Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Staff Development at Lawrence Hall Youth Services in Chicago.
Jeff's volunteer experience has included:
- Board Member, National Runaway Switchboard
- Board Member, American Therapeutic Recreation Association
- Associate Editor, Families in Society
- Triennial Reviewer, United Way of Chicago
- Grant Reviewer, Dept. of Health & Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families
- Trainer/Group Facilitator, Horizons Community Services (now known as the Center on Halsted)
Bruce Koff, LCSW
Partner and Chief Operating Officer
As a seasoned professional who has been in the field of mental health since 1976, Bruce has presented both nationally and locally on a wide range of LGBT issues including clinical practice with individuals, couples and families, domestic violence, working with youth, ethical issues, HIV, and recovery from trauma including childhood abuse. He is Adjunct Faculty at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and Associate Faculty at the Chicago Center for Family Health, an affiliate of the University of Chicago. Bruce was previously Adjunct Faculty for the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and served as Executive Director of Horizons Community Services (currently The Center on Halsted) and Clinical Director of the Evelyn Hooker Center for Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, a program of the University of Chicago Department of Psychiatry. He is co-author of Something To Tell You: The Road Families Travel When A Child Is Gay (Columbia University Press, 2000).
Live Oak Associates
Heidi Coleman, MA, AM
Post-Graduate Fellow
Heidi has over 10 years of experience working with late adolescents and draws from a theater background in both professional and academic contexts. In addition to her work at Live Oak, she is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago and the head of the undergraduate program in Theater and Performance Studies. She has extensive experience with group work and a firm belief in the possibilities of strength-based, process-oriented individual and group practice. Particular areas of interest include trauma, non-traditional families, depression, and anxiety arising from life transitions.
Chris Cotten, PhD, LCSW, ACSW
Trainer and Consultant
Chris is a clinical social worker with more than 15 years of clinical and supervisory experience -- primarily in residential treatment and child welfare settings. He has worked with Jeff Levy, Live Oak CEO, since 1993, conducting staff and in-service training with such organizations as The Night Ministry, Teen Living Programs, Rainbow House, the Salvation Army, Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois, Lawrence Hall Youth Services, and Uhlich Children's Advantage Network. As a trainer for CESO (formerly known as the Community Emergency Shelter Organization, now renamed the Center for Excellence in Training Organizations), he conducted sessions on case management, counseling, communication skills, and documentation (among other topics) for service providers in Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford. In addition to his work with Live Oak, Chris is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Social Work at Indiana University Northwest, in Gary. He received his MSW from New York University, his PhD in social work from UIC's Jane Addams College of Social Work (in 2006) and has been adjunct faculty both at UIC and at The University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.
Buck Dodson, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Prior to relocating to Chicago, Buck trained and worked in Los Angeles where he received a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California and completed a two-year post-graduate training program in psychodynamic psychotherapy. He specializes in working with LGBT individuals and families, addictions, couples, life transitions, and with creative & performing artists. In addition, Buck's special expertise is with males struggling with disordered eating, body image preoccupation, and exercise addictions. Buck's practice brings together contemporary psychodynamic, cognitive, and relational approaches in a highly supportive, warm and gentle way to foster inherent strengths, create and sustain more fulfilling & meaningful relationships, and increase overall feelings of well-being and contentment.
Jamie Eisenberg, MA, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Jamie received her graduate degree in social work from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. Her work as a psychotherapist for adolescents, adults, couples, families, and groups combines a strengths-based approach with her philosophies of the importance of a strong therapeutic alliance and a consideration for the context in which people thrive. She takes an eclectic approach to treatment, incorporating cognitive behavior therapy with techniques in the realms of dialectical behavioral and art therapies, adaptive learning strategies, and visual tools. Jamie has thus far specialized in working with clients with mood, anxiety, eating, and learning disorders, as well as difficulties related to trauma, identity, and relational and social issues. Her practice rests upon empowering clients to create desired change and encouraging acceptance of true identity in order to manage the many complexities that exist within life.
Andrea Gundersen, M.A., C.M.T.
Body-Centered Psychotherapist
Andrea pairs her counseling training with a rich background in movement, anatomy and physiology, meditation, yoga, massage and integrative healing techniques. She offers her clients training in how to safely and compassionately hold the body's experience within a holistic context that also includes the verbal and emotional realms. Andrea specializes in providing body-centered trauma resolution to a diverse clientele including adult survivors of torture, war, and family violence from many diverse cultures. She has written, presented, and provided training in body-centered trauma treatment and body-based attunement skills for professionals in the mental health field both nationally and internationally. In addition to her work with individual clients, Andrea also facilitates a skill-development group for trauma survivors called "Becoming Safely Embodied."
Erich Heintzen, LCSW
Psychotherapist
Erich is a psychotherapist and trainer at Live Oak. His extensive experience with families and with at-risk youth -- including 6 years as a family therapist in the Child and Adolescent Program of Counseling Center of Lakeview in Chicago-- inform both his training expertise and clinical practice . Utilizing a framework of strengthening client's resiliencies, Erich employs systemic and solution focused approaches in his work with individuals and groups. He specializes in trauma, couples therapy, youth and family issues, gay affirmative treatment, and providing consultation and supervision to other health professionals.
Mark Hodar, MA
Psychotherapist and Trainer
Mark completed the graduate counseling program at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has spent the last ten years working with Chicago's LGBTQ community, particularly around issues of identity, sexual health, harm reduction, grief & loss, and HIV/AIDS. In addition to his work at Live Oak, Mark works at Howard Brown Health Center counseling groups and individuals. He has worked with high schools and universities throughout the Midwest, training students and faculty on issues of diversity and the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ individuals
Margo M. Jacquot, PsyD, CSADC
Faculty, LGBT Postgraduate Certificate Program
Margo is a trainer in our postgraduate program in Clinical Practice With LGBT Individuals and Their Families. In addition, Margo is Adjunct Faculty at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology where she teaches Trauma Therapy in Clinical Practice, Family Therapy, and Professional Practice. Margo is also a published author and lecturer on assessment and treatment of addictive disorders. She maintains a private practice in Park Ridge, IL, with expertise in individual, couple, group and family practice with lesbians and gay men, specializing in anxiety/depression, identity integration, HIV, relationships, and trauma.
Lisa Katona, MSW, LSW
Post-Graduate Fellow
Lisa is a clinical social worker and a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Her work at Live Oak is informed by a client-centered, strength's based approach. Lisa has training and experience working with a variety of LGBTQ related issues, including individual, couples and family clinical practice, gender issues, sexual health, and domestic violence. In addition to her work at Live Oak, Lisa also works at the Howard Brown Health Center providing care to individuals who are HIV positive. Lisa has also worked with the Intersex Society of North America as a researcher around the issue of intersex health.
Joanna Kling, M.Ed. LCPC
Faculty, LGBT Postgraduate Certificate Program
Joanna has worked with individuals, couples, families and groups at a number of agencies in Tucson, Arizona, Chicago, and The Mental Health Center in Champaign, Illinois. Her training in Structural/Strategic theory influences her work; she also incorporates cognitive-behavioral, feminist, and neurological theories. Joanna specializes in issues of trauma and abuse and has worked extensively with sex offenders and survivors of sexual abuse and their families. She also treats girls and women who suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating.
In addition to providing therapy, Joanna provides clinical supervision, training and consultation to area agencies and individuals. She has worked with Head Start, Rape Crisis, and supervised counselors at Parkland College. She has also provided training on topics ranging from parenting to sexual abuse locally and nationally. Joanna obtained her Masters of Education from the University of Arizona in 1984 and has been a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor since 1997 and a National Certified Counselor since 1993.
Tina Lee, AMFT
Training Coordinator and Psychotherapist
Tina is a graduate of the Family Institute of Northwestern University. Her work at Live Oak as both psychotherapist and trainer combines her expertise in marriage and family therapy with her previous career as an English teacher at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. Tina's culturally sensitive work, informed by her teaching experience with a diverse group of students and their families, takes an integrative and systemic approach to individual, couples, family, and group psychotherapy. Tina specializes in clinical practice with adolescents and their families, cultural identity, gender issues, LGBT identity and relationships, couples' conflict and intimacy issues, and young adult life-stage transitions.
Alisa Messana, LCSW
Trainer and Consultant
Alisa is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked with youth and families as a therapist and supervisor for 15 years. She has primarily focused on providing individual, marital and family therapy, along with case management and outreach services, in community based mental health settings. Alisa also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Elmhurst College and continues to guest lecture there. She currently works part-time as a family therapist in the Rogers Park office for the Counseling Center of Lake View. Alisa believes in engaging clients from a strengths based, family systems perspective through a trauma informed lens.
Prem Pahwa, LCSW
Trainer and Consultant
Prem has worked with LGBTQ youth and adults for the past 10 years in a variety of settings including community-based and residential group care settings. As the former Director of Youth Services at Horizons (now the Center on Halsted), Prem provided individual and group psychotherapy to LGBTQ youth, as well as training and consultation to agencies looking to provide services to this population. With Live Oak, Prem continues to provide training and consultation on issues related to LGBTQ individuals and their families, as well as on topics of cultural competence in clinical practice. In additional to his work with Live Oak, Prem consults with Vital Bridges, the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, and the Asian Health Coalition and has recently done collaborative work with Test Positive Aware Network and The Pride Institute. He also maintains a full-time private psychotherapy practice. Prem received his MA degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
Scott D. Pytluk, PhD
Faculty, LGBT Postgraduate Certificate Program
Scott teaches our postgraduate training program in Clinical Practice With LGBT Individuals and Their Families. He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University/Chicago. He also serves as co-chair of Division 39's Committee on Sexualities & Gender Identities and liaison between Divisions 44 (Society for the Scientific Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues) and 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association. Scott's expertise is in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender psychology, diversity, and psychoanalytic theory. He maintains a private practice in Chicago where he specializes in work with LGBT individuals as well as the general population.
Carolyn Schneider, M.A., LCPC
Psychotherapist
Carolyn is a psychotherapist and trainer at Live Oak. She has over 15 years experience as a clinician, trainer and administrator. Carolyn has served as the Mental Health Services Director at the Center on Halsted and Director of The Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, the outgrowth of Carl Rogers' Counseling Center at the University of Chicago. She is also an adjunct trainer at the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network where she provides basic skills training and ongoing consultation to domestic violence and sexual assault counselors. Her clinical work is informed by her training as a client-centered therapist, focusing on the individual's right to self-determination and the provision of a therapeutic environment emphasizing acceptance, self-awareness, and growth. She is particularly experienced in working with couples in discord or transition, as well as working with individuals coping with identity, career, and relationship concerns, sexuality and sexual dysfunction, and depression. She is also experienced working with individuals exploring gender identity and pursuing gender transitions.
Jacquelyn Singer, LCSW
Trainer and Consultant
A graduate of the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, Jackie is a licensed clinical social worker with over ten years experience in the field. She has worked in a variety of settings with both children and adults and brings a systems-oriented, strengths-based approach to her work. Her background includes work with LGBTQ individuals, families affected by HIV/AIDS, trauma, abuse, and loss, as well as children with special needs. In addition to her role at Live Oak, Jackie is an adjunct professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Advancing Technology and maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Chicago.
Jeff Stebor, MSW, LSW
Post-Graduate Fellow
Jeff is a licensed social worker and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago where he was a Jane Addams Scholars Award recipient. Jeff is personally and professionally interested in exploring issues related to social justice, as well as individual and community identity. His work as a clinician with individuals, couples and groups is grounded in a systems oriented and client centered perspective. He has a wide range of experience and training in LGBTQ issues and has extended professional experience working with individuals living with HIV/AIDS, as well as people with disabilities.
Michael Valdez, LPC
Post-Graduate Fellow
Michael is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University. The person-centered approach to therapy strongly informs his work, however he has led groups on depression and on recovery from substance use/abuse using cognitive-behavioral and dialectical behavioral models. In addition to providing individual therapy at Live Oak, Michael is the MISA (mental illness substance abuse) coordinator of group services at Trilogy, Inc. providing group therapy and case management to adults with chronic mental illness. He has a wide array of interests including depression, domestic violence, substance abuse, and LGBT issues.
Janet Sushinski, LCSW
Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Consultant
Janet has worked with Jeff Levy (Live Oak's CEO) since 1991 in a variety of settings. At Live Oak, she facilitates support groups for parents of adopted teens, workshops for wives of gay/bisexual men, and training/consultation to mental health and child welfare agencies in the Chicago area. In addition to her work with Live Oak, she is a social worker at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire where she developed and implemented a support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth--one of the first in the Chicagoland area. Janet has conducted workshops on how schools can serve this population and has also provided consultation for schools throughout the country interested in similar programming. Prior to working as a school social worker, Janet worked in child welfare settings with youth in substitute care.
Jacquelyn Vincson, PhD
Trainer and Consultant
Jacquelyn has over 20 years experience as a social worker, educator, researcher, and program developer. Her professional experience concentrates within the areas of family and child development. She has worked with numerous human service organizations to build capacity in the areas of the administration of clinical services, maternal child health, leadership, and supervision. Jacquelyn has provided evaluation, technical assistance and consultation to such organizations as Chicago Public Schools Early Childhood Services, Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, and Children's Home + Aid. She advises organizations on management and leadership principles to coalesce theory and practice and to build organizational capacity.
Jacquelyn has conducted training on child development, motivational interviewing, human and family development, communication, writing and documentation, team building, and strategic planning. She coordinated the maternal child health program at the School of Social Service Administration, and directed the family support program at La Rabida Children's Hospital for children with chronic illness and their families. She has taught graduate courses in health, social policy, team effectiveness and decision-making, and social work practice. Jacquelyn's research on literacy outcomes for young children helps inform parents how to strengthen their child's cognitive and social emotional readiness for school.
Live Oak Graduate Interns
Kellie Magnuson
Social Work Intern
Kellie is a second year Master's student in the evening
program at the University of Chicago School of Social
Service Administration. She has worked as a community
organizer for several years with a variety of populations,
but primarily with low-income women of color and their
families. Kellie believes strongly in strength-based
therapy and in people's capacity to make personal, family,
and community change. As she is fluent in Spanish, Kellie
has a particular interest in working with Spanish-speaking
immigrant families. She also is interested in working with
LGBTQ people and people who experience depression, family
violence, and trauma.
Sixto Muñoz, AB
Social Work Intern
Sixto is currently a second year Master's student at the University of Chicago School of Social Service
Administration. His prior experiences have been with LGBTQ adolescents and low-income children and families. Sixto has a wide range of interests that includes working with
families, couples, children and adolescents, and issues specific to the LGBTQ population. Sixto believes a collaborative relationship and strong communication are essential to foster growth and change.
Erica Rumpel, BS
Counseling Intern
Erica is currently completing a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Counseling at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has also studied yoga and meditation for 7 years and is currently teaching in Chicago. Erica's study and practice of psychotherapy is informed by eastern philosophy, body-mind integration, and the belief that all are on a path toward self actualization. She has worked extensively with diverse populations of underserved adolescents and teens, co-facilitated team building trainings for adults, and is currently co-facilitating a yoga for substance abuse group at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Particular areas of interest include: trauma, Latino bicultural identity and acculturation, meditation, relaxation and stress management, and couples counseling.
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