Lauren Hartz
Director and Licensed Professional Counselor
Lauren works with clients who have anxiety, who are moving through challenging transitions, and those who know that they want to feel better but aren’t quite sure what to do. She takes a holistic approach to mental wellness, and believes in the power of self awareness, self care, and life long growth.
Lauren graduated from Carlow University with a Master of Science in Professional Counseling.
Caryn Jooste, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
Caryn specializes in working with adolescents and adults of all ages. Her work involves a collaborative, non-judgmental and caring approach to her clients where she strives to build a safe environment for individuals to express themselves freely. She tailors sessions to a client’s specific needs, such as anxiety, life stressors, depression, relationship challenges, adjustment, parenting and early motherhood, and other challenges in a view to gaining mental wellness. Caryn earned her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Duquesne University after achieving a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Concentration in Counseling from Carlow University.
Dawnalyn Rudzinski
Licensed Professional Counselor
Dawnalyn works with clients of all ages, and has special experience working with children struggling with emotional regulation and anger management, as well as with adolescents and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, anger management, parenting, and co-occurring disorders. Dawnalyn uses a Cognitive Behavioral and Motivational Interviewing Approach to meet clients where they are emotionally and mentally, to create meaningful and realistic goals, and to assist clients in changing maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving. She obtained a Masters of Science in Counseling from Duquesne University, and an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University.
Sherry O’Donnell MEd
Licensed Professional Counselor
It was my interest in philosophy that led me to psychology. I was volunteering as part of a philosophy course when I observed a demonstration of equine assisted therapy to support in management of mental health symptoms. I was enthralled by the use of horses to build a person’s trust, awareness, and confidence. The ability for people to flourish when given the tools, resources, and support to do so excited me. Inspired by this single yet powerful encounter, I volunteered at a therapeutic summer camp and found fulfillment in being a part of one’s journey of emotional development, which solidified my desire to pursue psychology. I earned my bachelor’s degree with a major in psychology and a minor in philosophy from Duquesne University in 2011.
Julia DeFrancisis, MS, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
Hi, I am Julia DeFrancisis (She/Her/Hers)
I work with clients in late adolescents and adults. I specialize in helping people cope with life transitions and anxiety as well as those struggling with substance use, depression, work stress. I love supporting and providing guidance to people who want change in their lives.
I use a person-centered approach to build the therapeutic relationship and utilize techniques from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing to meet the client where they are in their change process and to capitalize on their successes with already made change. I also focus on building self-worth and self-care as a foundation for change.
Alicia Wyland, MS
I’ve been working in the mental health field for about 15 years. I began my journey in the field at a rape crisis center by working as a counselor/advocate. After several years there, I became a therapist for a therapeutic foster care program for a few years before a brief period of time staying home to care for my children. To get back into the field, I started working as a family based therapist before taking a position in a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. This opportunity helped me to discover the joy I have for working with a specific population of children, and I found myself transitioning to a residential treatment facility specialized for boys with ASD and IDD. Working in a private practice setting has always been a goal of mine, and I found myself being drawn more and more to it. This led me to finally pursue my license in professional counseling and a private practice that would support me and allow me to support others.
I enjoy working with clients of all ages, from young children to adults. My experience allows me to help clients with a wide variety of concerns or challenges. My work is a mix of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, person-centered, strengths-based, and reality therapy. I enjoy getting to know my clients in order to use their strengths and interests within sessions to help them reach their goals. I am a firm believer in self-care, for both myself and my clients.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, camping, and catching up on my favorite TV shows or podcasts.
If you believe that I could be a good fit for you, call 412-228-8489 to get scheduled with me. I am a master’s level clinician being supervised by Lauren Hartz. I offer a sliding scale private pay rate beginning at $85. If that is not affordable, let us know and we can work with your budget. I also accept the following insurance plans: Cigna and United/Optum.
Austen Taraby, M.Ed., NCC
I have worked with clients of all ages, but specialize in children/adolescents and early adulthood. My experience working as a school counselor has provided the me with the tools to help clients with emotional regulation, peer conflicts, social skills, and boundary setting.
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, person-centered approach and am passionate about giving clients the tools to manage stress. I believe in self-advocacy as a way to promote self care and mental wellness.
I graduated from Slippery Rock University with a Bachelors in Psychology and from California University of PA with a Masters in Education, School Counseling focus. I am a Nationally Certified Counselor and am working towards becoming licensed so participate in regular supervision.
If you are interested in working with me, call 412-228-8489. I can accept Highmark, United/Optum, and Cigna insurance and offer a private pay rate of $85. I also offer a sliding scale rate to ensure that sessions are affordable.
Julia Movra, MS, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
My passion for therapy grew from my interest in the human connection, the desire to uplift others, and the urge to inspire others to create a life worth living.
Since high school, I have had this innate drive to help others. It was an easy decision to go to school for a masters in professional counseling, which I received at Carlow University. Since then, I started my career as a Family-Based Therapist working with children, adolescents and their families, helping to strengthen bonds and healthy relationships. Through this work, I began to appreciate the impact that an unhealthy attachment style and complex trauma can have on someone’s core beliefs, self-worth and future relationships.
This helped drive my motivation to help others learn how to challenge unhealthy thinking styles that have become natural for them, into a healthier, more realistic way of thinking. This work helps decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety and increase feelings of self-worth and positive core beliefs through Cognitive Behavioral techniques (CBT). I also believe self-care is pivotal in helping strengthen positive feelings and self-compassion.
Throughout my career as a therapist working with both children and adults in an outpatient clinic setting, I’ve had the opportunity to be trained in both EMDR therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. EMDR therapy has given me the chance to help individuals process through past trauma, find meaning in the pain, and transform negative cognitions related to the trauma into positive ones. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) has provided me the knowledge to help others understand how to regulate intense emotions, communicate more effectively, and learn how to practice mindfulness in order to create a life worth living.
My hope during our therapy sessions, is that you will feel listened to, validated, and challenged in a safe, nonjudgmental and therapeutic way. It’s amazing the healing that can be done when someone is provided the space to express their innermost thoughts and feelings, and I would feel honored to provide that to you.
I enjoy working with all ages, all phases of life, and anyone motivated to create a healthier, more fulfilling life. Whether you are seeking help to work through an intense trauma, or just need a supportive, safe environment to process your feelings, I would love to work with you. If you believe that I could be a good fit for you, please contact 412-228-8489.
I accept most health insurance plans and offer a rate of $120 per session. A sliding scale option is available if needed.
Matthew Metcalf, MS
My ideal client is someone who wants support in increasing and improving self-awareness, self-acceptance, and cognitive processing skills. My work is often related to those struggling with anger management, anxiety, depression, or substance use disorder. I find value in helping people I work with to implement small changes in their daily routine to produce sustained positive change.
I work with clients between late adolescent through adulthood. My work involves a combination of several therapeutic approaches including but not limited to Motivational Interviewing, Talk Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectal Behavioral Therapy. I have a holistic client- centered approach. I work to create a positive and nonjudgmental space where you as the client navigate the pace of your sessions and actively engage in the treatment process.
If you believe that I could be a good fit for you, call 412-228-8489 to get scheduled with me. I am a master’s level clinician being supervised by Lauren Hartz. I offer a sliding scale private pay rate beginning at $85. If that is not affordable, let us know and we can work with your budget. I also accept the following insurance plans: Cigna, and United/Optum
Alanna Laipple, LSW
Hello, my name is Alanna and I have been working in the mental health field since 2013. My passion to help others as well as my curiosity of the mind began at a very young age, ultimately leading me to pursue a career as a therapist. My goal in therapy is to bring healing to my clients by developing helpful tools and strategies, implementing positive changes, and providing genuine, nonjudgmental support along the journey.
I enjoy working with individuals of all ages, including children, adolescents, and adults. I have treated various mental health conditions including but not limited to anxiety, depression, ADHD, drug and alcohol use/abuse, trauma, grief/loss, PTSD, and anger-related disorders. I do a lot of work with behavior and emotion regulation, navigating through everyday life stressors, managing interpersonal relationships, and establishing healthy boundaries. I enjoy getting to know my clients and feel that a client’s relationship with their therapist is a very special one which involves a large amount of trust. My work involves a variety of models I pull from in order to meet the individual needs of my clients. Some of these models include, but are not limited to CBT, CPT, Systems, Interpersonal, Psychodynamic, Mindfulness, EMDR, and Interpersonal theories.
I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from California University of Pennsylvania and my master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. I feel that my experience working in inpatient psychiatric care, community and school-based programs, family and parenting counseling, and outpatient therapy has allowed me to become a well-rounded clinician, taking into account various backgrounds and internal/external stressors.
If you believe that I could be a good fit for you, call 412-228-8489 to get scheduled with me. I am a master’s level clinician being supervised by Lauren Hartz and Gwen Zeichner. I accept Highmark, United/Optum and Cigna insurance. My private pay rate is $130 with opportunities for a sliding scale if it’s not affordable.