Zoe Machado, LMFT

Zoe Machado (LMFT 144224) is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Clinical Director of our Berkeley office. She earned her masters from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. Zoe has experience working with teens, adults, couples, and families. She is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, client centered/humanistic, and psychodynamic therapy. She is also grounded in the belief that not every client benefits from the same modality of therapy and that it is the therapist’s responsibility to adjust accordingly. Whatever modality fits best, Zoe is particularly skillful in tailoring her approach to the client’s needs.

Zoe has a lot of experience supporting teens and their families and has worked in multiple school districts over the years. She also has experience in crisis management through her work in residential treatment for adolescents. A smaller percentage of her work is with youth and families at this time with the majority of her caseload being adult couples and young adults. She has a passion for relational work, and believes some of the most powerful therapy sessions are ones with multiple clients in the room working through relational/interpersonal difficulties. Some of Zoe's niche areas of interest include working with professional women, women in harmful relationship patterns, codependency, as well as high conflict couples. Zoe also reserves a portion of her time to work with individual adults seeking comprehensive DBT therapy.

Zoe’s approach is flexible, collaborative, warm, and has a touch of humor. She believes in the power of the therapeutic relationship, making this the focal point of her work with her clients. Her approach aims to celebrate and encourage open exploration of the self while identifying achievable, concrete goals.

Alison Alderdice, Psy.D.

Dr. Alison Alderdice (PSY 28838) is a licensed clinical psychologist and senior advisor of The Wise Mind Institute. She earned her doctorate from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium.

She has provided therapy in diverse training settings including: Palo Alto VA, Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Notre Dame De Namur University Counseling Center, Community Health Awareness Council, and Egan Junior High School. Her pre-doctoral internship was at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Alison’s therapy is guided by DBT, existential-humanistic therapy, and CBT. Her work is flexible and collaborative, based on her patient’s needs and preferences in concert with her knowledge and insights. The common theme throughout her work is an emphasis on mindfulness and compassion. Alison’s therapeutic style is client-centered, warm, sincere, and non-judgmental.

Alison specializes in helping women recognize their potential, find their voice, and develop their power at work and at home. She has particular experience with women suffering from society’s push to “have it all” and to be the best in personal and professional settings.

Her passion is to help women identify their strengths and dreams, accept and work with stressors (particularly in high pressure fields), and to create lives of balance and fulfillment.

Leryn Messori, Psy.D.

Leryn Messori, PsyD (PSY 31190) is the Director of Operations and a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctorate from Antioch University, Santa Barbara with a focus on family forensics. Leryn has trained in a variety of settings and utilizes this vast experience to work with people from many different backgrounds and reasons for looking for therapeutic support. Outside of her work at WMI, she volunteers at both a local and state level with the California Psychological Association to advocate for mental health initiatives and support those in the profession.

Originally from New Mexico, Leryn has been making her way up the California coast during her own journey: from earning her bachelors in theater & film in Orange County, to working in the film industry in Los Angeles, to her psychological learning and early training in the Central Coast, to her professional development as a therapist in community mental health and group practice in the Bay Area. She brings these diverse experiences to her work with her clients.

Leryn specializes in using her training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Radically-Open DBT (RO-DBT), mindfulness, and narrative therapy to support people that are struggling to have the life and relationships that they want. She collaboratively focuses on the stories we have created about ourselves in the world from our families of origin, our work and home experiences, and our traumas. Leryn empathetically guides the person to help reframe these stories, actively develop new coping mechanisms, and mindfully explore their own emotional life. She hopes to help the individual find more peace within themselves, find their voice to ask for their wants and needs, and move closer to living the life they want.

Herman Sandhu, Psy.D.

Dr. Herman Sandhu is a licensed clinical psychologist (PSY 32802) who earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Alliant International University (San Francisco, CA) and also holds a B.A. in philosophy from The University of California, Santa Cruz.

Herman’s experience spans a variety of clinical and research settings. Previously to joining WMI in 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow, Herman completed his predoctoral internship at The Ann Martin Center (Emeryville, CA), where he gained extensive training in Psychoanalytic theory and technique and provided psychotherapy to clients and families coping with a variety of mental and emotional health challenges, including emotion regulation, substance abuse, complex and developmental traumas, loss and bereavement, and suicidality.

While at The University of California, San Francisco, Herman was part of a clinical research team that explored the neuropsychology of schizophrenia and helped patients gain access to innovative treatments, aiding their ability to achieve meaningful, functional and fulfilling lives.

While at The San Francisco and Santa Rosa VA Hospital, Herman treated veterans whose service spanned from the Korean War era to veterans recently returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Herman provided individual and group therapy to these veterans, many of whom struggled with PTSD, substance abuse, relationship problems and isolation.

Moreover, Herman trained at Garfield Neurobehavioral Center (Oakland, CA) where he assessed and treated patients suffering from both neurological and psychiatric disorders. At Walden House (San Francisco, CA), he provided psychotherapy to men reintegrating into the community after long-term incarceration. 

Herman’s approach to psychotherapy is integrative and adaptive to the specific needs of each client. His technique draws from Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral therapies (DBT/RO-DBT/CBT) as well as Psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Furthermore, Herman’s research interests include creativity, peak-performance, the psychology of music and the enhancement of social interaction. His doctoral dissertation explored the benefits of improvisational theater training and how present-centered states of consciousness such as Flow State and Mindfulness can enhance the quality of people’s daily social interactions.

Louiza Livschitz, Psy.D.

Dr. Louiza Livschitz (PSY 32373) is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium. Her pronouns are she/her/hers.

She has provided individual, couples and group psychotherapy in a variety of diverse training settings including: Santa Clara University Counseling Center, Mountain View High School, various community mental health centers and Stanford’s Prevention and Intervention Research lab. Her pre-doctoral internship was at University of California, Santa Cruz Counseling Center.

Prior to graduate school, she worked as a first responder for victims of sexual assault, volunteered at a suicide hotline for many years, and worked in a day treatment program.

Dr. Livschitz is a cisgender Jewish female, who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States as a child. As an immigrant herself, she deeply values the impact that family-of-origin and culture have on identity development, interpersonal relationships, and how one views the world.

Her dissertation research focused on examining the relationship between academic stress and physical health symptoms in young adults and how cultural factors impact that relationship.

Louiza practices primarily from CBT, DBT, and relational framework, integrating aspects of these modalities based on each client's unique presenting problems. She believes that some of the ways people developed to cope with difficult experiences in early life no longer adaptively serve them; therefore, she helps clients gain insight into those patterns and develop new ways of being in order to make positive changes.

Her clinical interests include life transitions, relationship issues, identity and interpersonal development, grief/loss, anxiety, depression, and trauma work.

Lesley Cherry, LMFT

Lesley Cherry is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT 122816) who earned her masters from the University of Southern California. For the last 12 years Lesley has provided individual, family and group counseling services in an array of settings including medical and community mental health facilities, schools, nonprofit organizations, and law enforcement agencies.

Lesley is formally trained in dialectical behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as trauma focused- cognitive behavioral therapy with children, youth, and adolescents. Additionally, since the start of the pandemic Lesley has begun working with couples.

Her couples treatment stems from a lens of cultural competency, active listening to develop a strong rapport with each partner and aiding clients in skill building, paired with emotion focused therapy techniques. 

Through her extensive work treating depression and anxiety, Lesley encompasses an accepting, warm, strength-based approach to treatment, accompanied with validation and curiosity. Lesley uses mindfulness work to increase mind and body awareness, while collaborating with clients to develop practical tools for grounding and emotion regulation in their everyday world. 

Lesley is passionate about working with individuals and couples in various processes of healing, grief and loss, life transitions and adjustments, addressing unprocessed trauma, unpacking racial and cultural life factors, improving communication in various life areas or anyone seeking to experience increased hope, awareness and self-actualization.

Lesley views therapy as a safe, non-judgmental space that can create meaningful change and positively impact one’s life. She strives to be a fellow journeyman, traveling alongside each client supportively through their own personal process of self-discovery. 

Alexander Mitchell, LMFT

Alexander Mitchell (LMFT 130451) is a licensed marriage and family therapist who earned his masters from the California Institute of Integral Studies with a focus in somatic, or body-oriented, psychotherapy. 

Alex provided holistic, body-oriented psychotherapy at the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy in San Francisco.  Additionally, Alex worked as a crisis counselor and a teen mentor, and provided community-based therapy to teens and young adults, as well as school-based therapy to middle- and high-schoolers.  

Alex’s training is grounded in client-centered, somatic, and psychodynamic approaches.  He takes a holistic stance, tending to the whole person’s body and mind, viewing them as the expert on their own unique experience.

He is informed by the Hakomi Method, with an emphasis on using mindfulness and self-compassion to promote healing and growth. Alex’s work begins with his presence as a genuine and understanding person, and he brings a spirit of lightness and curiosity into the therapy room.  

Alex has significant experience treating anxiety, depression, and trauma and also specializes in working with life transitions, grief and loss, parenting challenges, and management of intense emotions.

Alex’s work is guided by the power of self-compassion and acceptance to help clients get unstuck from old patterns and regain a sense of agency and peace in their lives.

Emily Schiller, Psy.D.

Dr. Emily Schiller (PSY 19529) is a licensed clinical psychologist. She earned her Doctorate from CSPP-Alliant international University and holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from U.C. Santa Cruz. Prior to joining WMI, Emily provided individual and group therapy through the Adult Intensive Outpatient Program and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente, Richmond for 20 years. Additionally, for 16 years, she served as the Training Director for the Postdoctoral Residency Program where she offered clinical supervision and mentorship.

Emily is a compassionate therapist who specializes in supporting clients through major life transitions. With extensive experience treating anxiety, job stress and burnout, depression, emotional dysregulation, trauma, and personality disorders, she is dedicated to helping individuals navigate life’s challenges. Emily also has a particular interest in working with women, helping them navigate the unique challenges they face, including balancing personal and professional life, overcoming societal pressures, and fostering empowerment. In addition, Emily works with couples facing relationship difficulties, utilizing Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and DBT to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and strengthen their connection. Her holistic, empathetic approach ensures that each client feels supported in overcoming their obstacles and building a more fulfilling life.

Her therapeutic approach is warm, genuine, and collaborative, often with an irreverent touch that helps clients feel comfortable and understood. Emily draws on a variety of evidence-based techniques, DBT, Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Attachment-based therapies. She is deeply committed to helping her clients navigate not only personal struggles but also the impacts of systemic racism and oppressive dynamics, fostering a space for healing and resilience.

In addition to her clinical work, Emily supervises postdoctoral and post-master's associates as part of the Institute's training program. She offers guidance, mentorship, and support to these emerging clinicians, ensuring they are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and empathy to effectively serve their clients. Through her supervision, Emily is passionate about fostering the growth and development of the next generation of therapists.

Amy Banas, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy Banas (PSB 94027758) is a psychological associate who earned her PhD in Human Development from the University of California, Berkeley, where she researched human decision-making related to violence and aggression.

Amy completed her traineeship in the Piedmont Unified School District, focusing predominantly on adolescent mental health and school-based therapy. She has also served as a lay counselor for many years through the Stephen’s Ministry program, which provides mental health support to community members who otherwise could not afford care. Amy is currently supervised by Dr. Benjamin Evare (PSY 29833).

Amy’s approach to therapy is warm, holistic, and client-centered, often peppered with some humor. In addition to DBT-informed practices, she uses CBT, existential-humanistic, and solution focused methods to form hypotheses about what is going on and then works collaboratively with the client to - as a team - build, test, evaluate and revise strategies for the best path toward client goals. 

Teamwork has long been a part of Amy’s life. Prior to her PhD, she competed as an NCAA Division I student-athlete, was a USA Track and Field Level II certified youth coach and has worked with novice and elite athletes in numerous capacities. This expertise lends itself to a passion for working with athletes or anyone struggling with high-stress and high-performance contexts, as well as those recovering from injury. Due to her own life experience, Amy also has expertise helping people navigate life after concussion and brain injury. 

Amy has experience working with eating disorders, NSSI, anxiety, depression, identity/purpose, bullying, academic stress, ADHD, spiritual/existential exploration, violence exposure, and sexual assault and feels kindred to “highly sensitive” folks whose emotions feel SO BIG sometimes. She believes everyone deserves the opportunity to redeem the hard parts of life and find beauty in the messy and broken places.

Amber Masselot, LMFT

Amber Masselot (LMFT 153159) is a compassionate licensed marriage and family therapist, ready to guide you toward deeper self-discovery and lasting change in your life. Prior to joining WMI’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Training program, Amber worked at Rogers Behavioral Health in Walnut Creek, CA, where she helped individuals struggling with OCD, anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. Her earlier work at Piedmont Wellness Center with adolescents in a school setting further honed her ability to connect with clients from all walks of life. Since joining WMI, Amber has gained extensive experience and focused her skill development in DBT, neurodiverse affirming care, couples therapy, and family work.

Amber uses a variety of therapeutic models, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), DBT, Radically Open (RO) DBT, ERP, Behavioral Activation, Gottman-informed, and solution-focused therapy. She tailors each session to fit your specific needs, ensuring you feel supported every step of the way. Whether you are an individual, couple, or family, Amber creates a warm, welcoming space where you can explore your values, address past wounds, and develop coping strategies to navigate life’s challenges. She is a hope-bearer who is delighted to accept you and all your parts as you are while working alongside you to help you discover where you’re going, what you truly long for.

Sarah Easton, LCSW

Sarah Easton (LCSW 94875) is a licensed clinical social worker who earned her masters from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the WMI team Sarah worked in community mental health with severe mental illness, as well as for many years as a clinician at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. Within the VA, she helped manage an intensive outpatient program and provided individual and group psychotherapy for veterans dealing with addiction and trauma. 

Sarah specializes in working with addiction, grief and loss, spiritual development, and relationship issues. Her approach to therapy is informed by the integration of psychodynamic (Jungian), behavioral (DBT), and body-centered modalities (Hakomi and MBSR).

She believes that traditional talk therapy can be powerful alone, but integrating mindfulness of the body can more adequately address experiences in the present moment and help transform deeply ingrained beliefs or patterns.

Moving beneath words and life stories, experiences can be felt and understood, allowing innate wisdom to support transformation. Additionally, Sarah has witnessed how behavioral therapies can offer much needed structure and skills to help cultivate a sense of emotional resilience and the development of healthy relationships. 

Sarah views therapy as a courageous act, a gesture of willingness to turn towards inner life. Her therapeutic approach is warm, relational, and accepting. Sarah’s curiosity, care and attentive presence will create a safe and supportive space for reflection and change on each client’s journey towards healing and growth.

Medina Shah, ASW

Medina Shah (ASW 125598) is an associate clinical social worker who earned her MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work. Her education focused on decolonizing therapy through an anti-oppressive, multicultural lens. Before joining the Wise Mind Institute, she provided therapy to LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and ENM communities at Manhattan Alternative Wellness Collective.

Her clinical and personal experiences have informed her values as a trauma-informed, collaborative practitioner who can work effectively with a vast range of client backgrounds.

Medina offers a holistic approach to therapy, grounded in evidence-based practice and intuitive flow based on her clients’ needs and wants. Her academic specialization is in behavior therapy (DBT & CBT), however, her approach integrates nervous system regulation (polyvagal theory), somatic, psychodynamic, and mindfulness-based modalities, as well as IFS and parts work. She also enjoys integrating spiritual practice into the therapy space.

Her therapeutic style offers radical self-compassion and imagination to help clients embrace their past, present, and future selves. She balances being validating and warmly challenging, so they can build emotional flexibility and safely “meet their edges”. She strives to help clients align with and embody the whole and complete version of themselves that they already are.

She has experience working with neurodiverse clients and clients living with personality disorders, complex PTSD, depression, anxiety, intergenerational and religious trauma, ADHD, imbalanced/conflict-oriented relationships, and spiritual challenges.

Jennifer Nickel, AMFT

Jennifer Nickel (AMFT 148568) is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. Jennifer earned her MS in Counseling from the Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences and completed her practicum at the Kaiser Counseling Center, where she had the privilege of serving a range of clients that reflected the wonderful diversity of the Bay Area.

Jennifer also holds a MA in Educational Therapy, and prior to joining the WMI team worked as an Educational Therapist, supporting students with learning differences and their families to navigate academic and emotional challenges.

Jennifer’s work is grounded in building meaningful relationships with clients to guide them towards lasting change that aligns with their values. She creates a warm, non-judgmental environment where clients feel heard, understood, and supported, and works collaboratively with clients to identify desired outcomes and explore strategies for growth.

Jennifer believes there is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy, tailoring her work to each client's unique needs. She is particularly interested in supporting clients in periods of transition - those starting something new or changing something old.

Jennifer’s approach to therapy integrates evidence-based practices with compassion, humor and insight. She helps clients cultivate an awareness of their thoughts, feelings and automatic behaviors to help them respond flexibly to whatever life brings.

Jennifer’s goal is to empower individuals to accept that distressing thoughts and feelings are part of life while moving towards those things that make life meaningful for them. Jennifer works with children and adolescents, adults, couples and families.

Clare Farrington, PsyD

Dr. Clare Farrington (PSB 94028420) earned her doctorate in psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Her extensive clinical training spans community mental health, university counseling, geropsychology, and health psychology.

She completed her pre-doctoral internship at The Wright Institute Health Psychology Training Program, where she worked closely with medical providers to deliver integrated behavioral health care. Dr. Farrington has also served as part-time faculty at the School of Psychology at Notre Dame de Namur. She is a Psychological Associate currently supervised by Dr. Emily Schiller (PSY 19529). 

Dr. Farrington approaches therapy in a curious, non-judgmental, and collaborative fashion. She works from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) lens and works to tailor the specific aspects of treatment to the unique qualities of each individual. 

Additionally, Dr. Farrington believes in transparency in treatment planning so her clients understand what they are working on in therapy and why different techniques are recommended. She believes that therapeutic change occurs within the context of a strong, trusting relationship and is committed to building this foundation with each client.

She encourages her clients to think deeply upon their values, guiding them towards creating more personally fulfilling lives. She has a particular passion for helping adults navigate life transitions, including career shifts, relationship changes, and the journey into parenthood.

With a particular interest in perinatal mental health, Dr. Farrington is dedicated to supporting parents before and after the birth of a child.

Rhonda Len Wai

As The Wise Mind Institute’s Office Manager, Rhonda brings professionalism, efficiency, kindness, and humanity to every aspect of her work. She is an experienced and skillful office administrator with a keen interest in psychology and an appreciation for the journey of healing and enrichment.

Managing the vast majority of non-clinical daily operations, she is committed to relieving our clinicians of the behind the scenes (administrative) tasks so they can continue to stay focused on providing exceptional care.