Center for Counseling & Mental Health Our Staff
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Darien F.S. McFadden, received his BA in psychology and English Literature from Colgate University and his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his doctoral internship at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Center for Counseling and Psychological Health. Darien initially worked at the CCMH from 1992 to 1998. Following that, he worked at Behavioral Health Network/Pioneer Valley Mental Health Services in Springfield, MA. and later, at Hampshire College Counseling Services, before returning to Amherst in 2006. Darien's varied clinical interests include college mental health, identity development and awareness, sexual orientation, gender, and coming-out issues, conflicts around race, culture and ethnicity, male body-image, family systems, depression, and self-care.
Sarah J. Erickson (she/her) received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Minnesota School of Professional Psychology. She completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Sarah has a broad range of experience having worked in inpatient, community mental health, and college settings. Her theoretical orientation integrates psychodynamic, developmental, cognitive behavioral, narrative, multicultural, and systems theories; however, she believes that the relationship is the most important aspect of therapy. Sarah has a particular interest in work that encompasses identity development and the intersections of identity, white identity, trauma, adjustment, anxiety, family dysfunction, self-care, depression, and sexual orientation, and assistance with the integration of newly diagnosed mental illness into one's self-concept.
Jordan Barnard completed his Psy.D in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hartford. He completed his internship and a post-doctoral fellowship (with a concentration in psychological assessment) at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Jordan spent 4 years at Penn State University prior to coming to Amherst College. In addition to his work in collegiate mental health, Jordan has done rotations within inpatient mental health settings, rehabilitation hospitals, the juvenile court system, and VA healthcare. Jordan's clinical interests include working with student-athletes, men's health, gender identity and the intersection of multiple identities, social justice issues, training and supervision of psychology, and the use of psychological assessment during the therapeutic process. His orientation is integrative in nature with themes from time-limited dynamic psychotherapy, motivational interviewing, solution-focused, acceptance and commitment, and narrative therapy.
Britt Billmeyer-Finn (she/they) received her MSW from Smith School for Social Work and has spent much of their time in the field working with the LGBTQ+ population exploring the expanse of gender and sexuality and offering gender-affirming care. Britt is a trauma-informed therapist with an integrative therapeutic style that includes but is not limited to psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, relational, acceptance and commitment therapies as well as experiential mindfulness and sensorimotor psychoeducation. Their theoretical lens is also informed by feminist, queer, disability justice and critical race theories.
Allyson Black-Foley received her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the team at Amherst, she worked at Swarthmore College, in private practice, and in K-8 schools in Philadelphia. Her practice is informed by an appreciation of the ways in which structural and societal oppression contribute to mental health. Her clinical interests include gender and sexuality, identity development, trauma and recovery, issues related to family of origin, and life transitions.
Annery Lola Brown received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Springfield College. Her broad clinical work encompasses community mental health with a specialty in substance use disorders. She has been teaching as an Adjunct Professor for over eight years in Western Massachusetts and recently returned to her alma mater, Springfield College's graduate program as an Adjunct Professor. Fluent in Spanish and English, she provides clinical services in both languages. Her theoretical orientation integrates psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, strength-focused, trauma-informed, and narrative therapy. Lola enjoys working collaboratively with individuals to self-advocate, build resiliency and explore an individual’s infinite potential to author and narrate their own stories.
Caitlin Carmody received her Master of Social Work degree from Smith College School for Social Work. Before joining the team at the CCMH, she worked in community mental health, with a focus on providing affirming psychotherapy services to LGBTQIA+ clients. She takes an integrative approach to therapeutic work, incorporating psychodynamic, relational, systems, and DBT theories and tools. Her clinical interests include identity development, trauma, perfectionism, issues related to family of origin, and the ways that privilege, oppression and marginalization shape our internal and external experiences.
Bryna Cofrin-Shaw (she/her) received her BA in Environmental Studies from Brown University, her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College, and her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University New England. Her clinical interests include supporting students in navigating relationships, both to self and others; gender and sexual identity development; anxiety and self-esteem; challenges related to childhood and family of origin; and experiences of existential anxiety. Bryna brings experience in the fields of writing, teaching, and activism to their work as a counselor, and their approach to therapy is narrative, dynamic, and rooted in each individual’s own horizons for growth.
Garrett Fitzgerald received his M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from Marywood University and has since worked in a variety of higher-ed settings across the Northeast. Garrett has over ten years of experience working in college mental health and wellbeing, with a particular focus on the role of drugs and alcohol on the college campus. He works within a holistic health framework and leverages public health models to advance to work of mental health promotion and support on campus. He believes in the role of the community in creating a supportive environment for growth and success and is committed to personal and professional growth around issues of inequality, oppression, and marginalization. Garrett supports the work of the Student Wellness Team and offers a variety of training, workshops, and programs on behalf of CCMH.
Tanner Glen (he/him) earned his B.S. degree in psychology from Northern Arizona University and his
Master of Social Work degree from Arizona State University. Tanner has experience working in
community mental health, college settings, and group private practice in both case management and
therapy capacities. His theoretical orientation integrates strengths-based, systems, intersectional,
narrative, and dialectical behavioral perspectives to provide therapy from a holistic lens. It is Tanner’s
firm belief that every person has multiple forms of strengths and resilience within, and everyone
occasionally needs some assistance to access and improve them. Tanner’s goal in therapy is to make this
process something that not only feels possible, but sustainable as well. Through a highly collaborative
approach, Tanner seeks to create an environment in which the individual is comfortable to feel, express,
and grow in any direction that leads them to their favorite version of themselves.
Jason Hopkins (he/him) received his BA in Government from Cornell University, his MA in Sociology
from UC Santa Barbara, and his MSW from Smith College School for Social Work. He completed his
clinical internships at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Williams College Integrative Wellbeing
Services. Prior to becoming a therapist, Jason worked in Queer Student Services and International
Student and Scholar Services in the University of California System. Jason’s theoretical orientation
includes Psychodynamic, Acceptance and Commitment, Narrative, Liberation Health, and Mindful Self-
Compassion approaches. His clinical interests include LGBTQIA+ identity development, spiritual
oppression and empowerment, first-generation student development, sports psychology, substance
use, career counseling, and group therapy. Jason appreciates the potential that major transitions hold
for therapeutic growth and especially enjoys helping new students adjust to campus and senior students
prepare for life after college.
Lisa Jaffe received her Master of Social Work degree from Smith College School for Social Work. Before joining the team, she worked in Western Massachusetts for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a focus on community-based mental health, co-occurring disorders, and mental health advocacy. Lisa is a systems theorist who provides case management services with a strengths-based and trauma-informed lens, with an emphasis on inclusivity, decreasing stigma, and increasing access to services. As a clinical case manager, Lisa will work collaboratively with students, staff, and faculty to identify individual needs and work to ensure students have connections to support.
Meg Kroeplin earned her Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Studies and Women’s Studies from the University of Massachusetts — Amherst, and her Master’s in Social Work from Springfield College. As Clinical Case Manager, Meg works collaboratively with students, staff, and faculty to identify individual needs, address gaps and barriers, and pursue pragmatic solutions. She helps students who are seeking care off-campus or at home, and provides urgent and crisis appointments. Meg is committed to examining how class, privilege, disability, and other identities intersect and influence students' experience of college and mental health. Before joining CCMH, Meg worked at Valley Medical Group in Amherst. She provided integrated therapy in a primary care practice, helping patients address anxiety, grief, health disparities, adjustment to chronic illness, and substance use. Previously, Meg had a private practice and directed Community Partners, an organization pivotal in bringing health care reform to the Commonwealth and nationwide.
Tiffany has been a Medical Assistant in Western Massachusetts since she graduated from Porter and Chester Institute in 2008. She has experience in a variety of settings including medical assisting at various primary care offices and venipuncture collection with the American Red Cross; Blood Donor Services. Tiffany developed her love for college health while working as part of the Smith College Health Services team for 8 years. Her responsibilities included managing the lab, reviewing health forms, assisting students with their health care needs and concerns as well as other general medical assisting responsibilities. She is excited to use her experience in health care to support the needs of the students here at Amherst College.
Tiffany lives among the pine trees of Western Massachusetts and loves to spend time hiking and exploring new places with her fiance and their two children. Autumn is her favorite season and she loves to celebrate Halloween!
Cassiel Owens (she/her) received her MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work. She has worked in various settings prior to joining the team at CCMH, including community mental health organizations, as well as day and boarding secondary schools. Some of her clinical interests include supporting individuals who are healing from trauma, navigating grief, living with developmental disabilities, negotiating major life transitions, coping with the impacts of institutional racism, creating and finding internal and external affirming spaces in a hetero/cis-
normative culture, and finding peace and making meaning in the midst of difficulty. Her clinical orientation draws from humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, somatic, and compassion and mindfulness-based theories and practices. She endeavors to support an empowering space in counseling in which one’s voice is honored and one’s growth and healing is generated from within.
Cailin Qualliotine is a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts and is nationally credentialed as a registered art therapist. She earned a PsyD in clinical psychology at Antioch University Seattle. Cailin approaches counseling from a strengths-based perspective that emphasizes an understanding of the whole person within their cultural and experiential contexts. Central to her practice is the development of a supportive, trusting relationship where students feel valued, and respected. Cailin is informed by contemporary relational psychodynamic theory, and systems theories which emphasize interdisciplinary understandings of intersectional identities and social justice. Cailin is skilled in collaborative therapeutic engagement with students as they deepen their sense of personal meaning, purpose and insight. She invites curiosity, humor and self-compassion through her work with others. Over the course of her clinical career, Cailin has provided counseling and assessment services primarily in college counseling and community mental health settings. Prior to taking the staff counselor position at Amherst College, Cailin was the director of the Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis Program (PREP) in Holyoke, MA.
Crystal Richey received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Bay Path College. Her varied experiences in community mental health encompassed providing clinical treatment and other therapeutic support to youth and their families. Crystal believes that connecting with a person in a genuine way that creates a place of safety and a feeling of being seen and heard is the foundation of therapy. She integrates this philosophy into her trauma-informed, strengths-based, and solution-focused approaches to treatment and care. Crystal endeavors to provide this care and more in educating the Black community about the importance of seeking mental health support.
Kirstin Ritchie attended Yale University where she received her Master's of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Prior to this she worked at Harvard School of Medicine doing research with Drosophila melanogaster. She decided on a career change so that she could work clinically with individuals. She has experience across a broad array of settings including inpatient, outpatient, and addiction clinics. She believes in working with students from a holistic perspective and understands the interplay between the body and mind. She works collaboratively with students to understand the use of medication alongside lifestyle changes and therapeutic techniques.
Nicole E. Torres Collado (LCSW) (she, her) is originally from Puerto Rico. She received her BA in Generalized Social Sciences with a minor in International Political Affairs from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. She further served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica, where she worked with sustainable community development from 2017 to 2019. Further, she received her MSW from Springfield College and is currently working towards a Masters of Public Administration and Public Policy (MPAP) from American University. During her training and after, she has worked with support groups, counseling, education, community development, school districts and school mental health. She is fluent in English and Spanish, providing services in both languages. Her clinical interests include, cognitive-behavioral, trauma informed and solution focused therapy. She looks forward to working with the Amherst College student body.
Ruina Tu was originally from China. She received her BA in Archives from Zhengzhou University, her Juris Master (equivalent to Juris Doctor) from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, her MA in Counseling from Palo Alto University, her MA in Psychology, MA in Intercultural Studies, and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Seminary. Ruina initially worked at Beijing United Family Hospital as a practicum student and as a staff counselor from 2014 to 2016. During her doctoral training, she obtained a broad range of clinical experiences in various settings, such as school districts, university counseling centers, community mental health, and private practice. She completed her doctoral internship at Baylor University Counseling Center. She draws from a variety of theoretical orientations and is currently attracted to Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Jung. She finds it meaningful and rewarding to support college students as they navigate their transition to adulthood. Her clinical interests include but are not limited to depression, anxiety, trauma, spirituality, gender, cultural identity and adjustment.