Clinical Staff
Supervisory Staff
Brian Lukas, PhD: Executive Director and Clinical Supervisor
Dr. Lukas is a licensed psychologist with more than thirty years of clnical experience working with children, adolescents and adults, in both outpatient clinic and private practice settings. He brings more than fifteen years' exerpience with sandplay to his work. He specializes in working with school-aged boys and their parents in psychotherapy. He has a private practice in Albany.
Nancy Jacobs, LCSW: Clinical Director and Supervisor
Nancy is a licensed clinical social worker and former graduate of The Child Therapy Institute. She has more than twenty-five years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents and adults in outpatient clinic, private practice, and school-based settings. She brings over ten years' experience with sandplay and the expressive arts to her work. She has a private practice in Marin.
Kathy Buys, MFT:
Associate Director and Clinical Supervisor
In addition to being a licensed marriage and family therapist, Kathy is a trained mediator and collaborative divorce practitioner. She has worked with children and adults in both outpatient clinic, inpatient psychiatric, day treatment and private practice settings and brings over fifteen years' experience with expressive arts therapies and sandplay . She has a private practice in San Mateo.
Staff Therapists
Gary Buck, MA, Psych. Assistant: Gary is a graduate of our training program and the founder of our Petaluma site. Gary uses sandplay, art , and play therapy with children. He draws on over thirty years of meditation practice in his work with adult clients who are interested in therapy informed by spirituality and the expressive arts.
Andrew Getz, MA:
Andrew has an extensive background working as a psychiatric nurse working with children and adults in emotional crisis. As a health educator, he co-founded youth horizons, an organization that developed mindfulness programs for incarcerated youth. He has also completed an internship in grief and bereavement counseling and works as a hospice nurse. He is interested in the capacity of the imagination, curiosity, and creativity to promote healing through play therapy.
Dajenya S. Kafele, MSW, ASW
Dajenya is starting her first year as an intern with the Child Therapy Institute. She has over twelve years experience doing social work with abused or neglected children and their families. She is keenly interested in developing her clinical skills in play therapy, sand tray and art therapy with children. Dajenya is passionate about providing high-quality child and family therapy to low-income families of diverse cultural backgrounds and hopes to one day open a child and family therapy practice in her own community of Richmond, California.
Tricia J. Mlnarik, MFT
Tricia
is a licensed Marriage, Family Therapist and is in her second year with The
Child Therapy Institute. She has worked with children and teens in
foster care and group homes and has a special interest in working with
parents and children to ease the reunification process. An amateur
dancer, Tricia hopes to incorporate her passion for the expressive arts
with the treatment of children to facilitate emotional and
psychological healing.
Jamie Gooley, MFTi: Therapist Intern
Jamie has experience working in school based and out patient clinic settings. Jamie brings an anti-oppression feminist framework to her psychological work. She facilitates emotional and developmental growth with children, youth and family systems. Its her hope that she can provide the support needed to strengthen children and systems she works with, by providing empathetic and expressive space for personal growth . She has special interest in working with those who are facing issues around trauma and recovery and with the LGBTQ community.