Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, DBT, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, CBASP

CBT California
A Center for Cognitive and Dialectical Behavior Therapies

A Center for Cognitive and Dialectical Behavior Therapies

Who We Are

Lynn McFarr, Ph.D.
Director
Licensed Psychologist
PSY16799

Dr. Lynn McFarr is the Director of CBT California (CBTC) as well as the Director of the Cognitive Behavioral/Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic at Harbor UCLA Medical Center and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry for the David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. McFarr received her Ph.D. from NYU in clinical psychology and trained as a cognitive behavioral therapist under Dr. Robert Leahy at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York City. She completed her internship at the Sepulveda VA and her postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Dr. McFarr trains psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and psychiatric nurses in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies including DBT, CBASP, and ACT . She lectures for major universities and regularly presents at national and international conferences. Dr. McFarr is a Beck Scholar, is Secretary for the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and is on the executive board of The International Association for Cognitive Therapy (IACP). She founded the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Society of Southern California as well as the listserves for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and CBASP. Dr. McFarr edits an international cognitive therapy newsletter. She is published in the areas of CBT for schizophrenia, medication compliance and Adult friendships and CBT. Dr. McFarr was intensively trained in DBT in 2000 and CBASP in 2007.

Jennifer Robles, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Training
Licensed Psychologist

Dr. Jennifer Robles received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the Ohio State University. She has provided Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to a wide variety of clients throughout her graduate and post-doctoral training. Dr. Robles completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, during which she provided treatment to clients with chronic depression utilizing the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) model, and also to clients with Borderline Personality Disorder using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Dr. Robles is currently a licensed psychologist in private practice. She specializes in treating clients with anxiety and mood disorders using a variety of (CBT) techniques. .

Mary Read, M.D.
Medical Director
Board Certified Psychiatrist

Dr. Mary Read is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and in addition to serving as the Medical Director of CBTC, she is also the Medical Director of the adult outpatient psychiatry clinic at Harbor-UCLA. Dr. Read received her medical degree from the University of Kansas and completed her internship and residency training in psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA. She has been trained in CBT, DBT, ACT, and CBASP.

Elizabeth Gonzalez-Jaskulak, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Elizabeth Gonzalez-Jaskulak is Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Cal State University Northridge in 1993 and her Master’s in Social Work from UCLA in 1996. Elizabeth worked at Harbor-UCLA Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Department as a clinical social worker since 1999. In 2007 Elizabeth became the Director of Spanish speaking CBT services for the Harbor-UCLA CBT clinic under the direction of Dr. Lynn McFarr.

Elizabeth was trained as a cognitive behavioral therapist at Harbor-UCLA through the guidance and supervision of Dr. Lynn McFarr (Beck Scholar) and Ulises Ramirez, LCSW (Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy) in 1999. As a CBT therapist over the last eight years she has run CBT groups for Anxiety and Depression in both English and Spanish. She has also provided individual therapy for individuals suffering from chronic mental illness using CBT.

While becoming a CBT therapist Elizabeth also was intensively trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in 2000 and has received multiple additional trainings offer by Behavioral Tech. Elizabeth became one of the founding clinicians of the DBT program at Harbor-UCLA. In October of 2008 Elizabeth proudly spearheaded the new Harbor-UCLA Spanish speaking DBT program that is most likely the only one in the country.

As the director of CBT Spanish speaking services at Harbor-UCLA Elizabeth provides direct services and supervises and trains interns and other staff interested in working with the Spanish clients, she leads the Spanish speaking consultation team, coordinates and supervises the Spanish speaking NAMI group and the Spanish speaking Recovery Inc. self-help groups at Harbor. Elizabeth is also currently an active Latino Behavioral Health Institute conference committee member for 2008 and the LBHI Conference Art and Culture chair. For the past six years Elizabeth has been providing training workshops via LBHI on using CBT with Latinos as a consultant.

Ulises Ramirez, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Ulises Ramirez, LCSW is a Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT) and is on the faculty of UCLA where her serves as a clinical instructor of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in the School of Social Work. Mr. Ramirez was also certified by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as a Cognitive Therapist for a national study on depression. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Masters in Social Welfare (MSW) from UCLA. Mr. Ramirez completed the intensive training in DBT and in Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). He is a Clinical Social Work Supervisor and the Director of Social Work Training at Harbor-UCLA. Through the Latino Behavioral health Institute (LBHI), Mr. Ramirez has performed training workshops on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Latinos. His area of expertise is treating depression and anxiety disorders in English and Spanish. He is also one of the founding clinicians of the Spanish-speaking DBT Program at Harbor-UCLA.

Alina Gorgorian, Ph.D.
Director-- Adolescent DBT Program
Postdoctoral Fellow

Registered Psychological Assistant to Jennifer Robles, Ph.D.
PSB-34101

Dr. Gorgorian is the Director of Adolescent DBT Services at CBTC and an Assistant Director of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She also serves as an adjunct professor of psychology at Pepperdine University’s School of Psychology and Education. Dr. Gorgorian is Secretary of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Society of Southern California. Dr. Gorgorian completed her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Fordham University in New York and her internship at the Sepulveda VA in Los Angeles. She received extensive training in DBT, substance abuse and eating disorders at Bellevue hospital in New York City. She currently supervises and teaches graduate students and psychiatry residents in DBT, CBT, CBASP, and ACT. Dr. Gorgorian has special expertise in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) with children and adolescents. Dr. Gorgorian's clinical interests include chemical dependency, chronic mental illness, eating disorders in adolescents and adults, acculturation gaps within ethnic minority families and intergenerational conflict. Her research interests include assessing outcomes for DBT patients within community mental health settings, Evidence-Based Supervision effects on trainees, acculturation issues among minority adolescents and intergenerational conflict, Crisis Resolution in CBT, psychological effects of miscarriage, and the multicultural personality.

Wendy Chan, Psy.D.
Co-Director Friends and Family Program
Postdoctoral Fellow
Registered Psychological Assistant to Lynn McFarr, Ph.D.
PSB-34609

Dr. Chan is the Co-Director of the Friends and Family program and a postdoctoral fellow at CBTC. Dr. Chan completed her Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Patton State Hospital as well as CBTC. Dr. Chan received extensive CBT, DBT, and CBASP training early in her graduate career at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, under the supervision of Dr. Lynn McFarr (Beck Scholar). She was intensively trained in CBASP by Dr. James P. McCullough in 2007. Dr. Chan completed her internship at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina. During internship, she continued to apply third-wave behavior therapies in individual treatment, group therapy, clinical supervision, and agency/staff trainings. Her current research interests include applying emotion regulation skills in correctional environments, effective treatment for antisocial personality disorder, and the effective application of cognitive behavior therapies in real-world settings.

Rhea Holler, Psy.D.

Co-Director Friends and Family Program
Postdoctoral Fellow
Registered Psychological Assistant to Lynn McFarr, Ph.D.
PSB-34666

Dr. Holler completed her Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow and an Assistant Director of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where she works with adults and supervises graduate students in an outpatient setting, providing DBT, CBT, CBASP, and ACT individual and group therapy. Dr. Holler, too, received extensive CBT, DBT, and CBASP training early in her graduate career at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, under the supervision of Dr. Lynn McFarr (Beck Scholar). She was intensively trained in CBASP by Dr. James P. McCullough in 2007. Dr. Holler completed her internship at the Northwest Georgia Training Consortium, finishing three training rotations across varied clinical settings (including a residential facility for severely emotionally disturbed children, an outpatient clinic, and an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital). During internship, she continued to apply third-wave behavior therapies in individual treatment, family therapy, clinical supervision, and agency/staff trainings. Her current research interests include reducing seclusion and restraint practices in restrictive settings, competency-based models of supervision for the CBT therapists, and the effective application of cognitive behavior therapies in real-world settings.

Katy Jakle, Psy.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Registered Psychological Assistant to Lynn McFarr, Ph.D.
PSB-34837

Dr. Jakle completed her PsyD in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, and she received both her BA and MA in psychology from Stanford University. During her externship at Harbor UCLA medical center, Dr. Jakle was trained in 3rd wave cognitive behavioral therapies under the supervision of Lynn McFarr, Ph.D., including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP).
She was intensively trained in CBASP by Dr. James P. McCullough in 2007. She also completed training in empirically-supported treatments for chemical dependency and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while on clinical internship at the West Los Angeles VA. Katy’s interests include biosocial conceptualizations of mental health problems as well as implementation and dissemination of best practices in mental health treatment. Her research has focused on trauma, anxiety and health.

Lauren Jackson, Psy.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Director- Trauma Services

Registered Psychological Assistant to Lynn McFarr, Ph.D.

Dr. Jackson completed her Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California. She is completing her postdoctoral training at the Cognitive Behavioral/Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic at Harbor UCLA Medical Center where she engages in both individual and group therapy using evidence-based practices. Her postdoctoral training also includes providing supervision to graduate level clinicians receiving training in cognitive behavioral models such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). As an extern at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in 2008, Dr. Jackson herself received focused training in CBT, DBT, ACT, and CBASP under the supervision of Dr. Lynn McFarr (Beck Scholar). She was also intensively trained in CBASP by Dr. James P. McCullough as an extern at Harbor UCLA. Dr. Jackson continued to pursue training in the use of evidence-based assessment and treatment approaches while on internship at the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina. While on internship, Dr. Jackson received focused instruction in the use of group and individual treatment approaches for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), DBT, and Dr. Marylene Cloitre’s model for treating survivors of childhood abuse. She also underwent a DBT intensive training in April of 2010. Dr. Jackson’s current research interests include the developmental impacts of childhood exposure to trauma as well as evaluating the long-term health consequences of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

CBT California

4201 Long Beach Blvd
Suite 406
Long Beach, CA 90807

6404 Wilshire Blvd

Suite 870

Los Angeles, CA 90048

Please note new address. We are one block east of Beverly Hills at Wilshire and San Vicente.

(800) 624-1475