Counseling Center Staff

All staff members are committed to working using a developmental framework that validates the academic, social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and spiritual aspects of undergraduate and graduate students.

	Dr. Cheryl M. Rosenthal is the Director of the Counseling Center. She received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and her M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. When she was an undergraduate at Bowdoin College, her visits to the counseling center inspired her to become a psychologist. For the last six years, Cheryl has found her home at Emerson College where she loves working with artistic and creative students. Her professional interests include spirituality and psychotherapy, the use of humor in healing, and human sexuality. She spends her free time reading, knitting, doing yoga, being outdoors and believing in the Red Sox.
	Dr. Patricia A. Challan is the Associate Director. She also serves as the Director of Training. Patty received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Patty has over ten years of experience in college mental health, as well as specific training in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Patty’s clinical interests include mindfulness, expressive art therapy, play therapy, and the personal and professional development of mental health trainees. This is her 7th year at Emerson, and she is inspired by the creativity, passion, and talent of Emerson students. A native of New Jersey, Patty is a writer who enjoys reading, being near the ocean, and listening to music.
	Dr. Ryan C. Aylward is a Staff Psychologist in his second year at the Counseling Center. He received his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and has worked in college counseling for four years. Ryan's professional interests include psychodynamic therapy, Buddhist psychology, and supervising developing therapists. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing bass, reading and watching movies.
	Jenn Brandel, LICSW is a Staff Social Worker in her fourth year at Emerson. She received her MSW from Boston University School of Social Work. Jenn has worked with adolescents and young adults, as both a clinician and a health educator, for more than ten years. Jenn's clinical interests include work around resiliency, healthy sexuality, relationships, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, STDs and HIV. Jenn relies heavily on her sense of humor and spends much of her time writing, watching The Daily Show and Invader Zim and playing dress-up with her daughter.
	Erica L. Eckman, LICSW is a Staff Social Worker who received her MSW from Smith College and did her undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Additionally, Erica completed a post-graduate fellowship at Harvard University's Counseling Center. She has been at Emerson College for six years. Erica's professional experiences include, eating disorder treatment, undergraduate teaching, community mental health, inpatient psychiatric settings, and working in the public school system. Her clinical interests include eating disorders, supervision and training of developing therapists, couples counseling and relational and psychodynamic therapy. Fluent in Spanish, Erica has traveled extensively and lived in Venezuela, Spain and England. Erica enjoys yoga, running, photography, and music.
	Maureen Crowley has been the Staff Assistant at the Counseling Center since May 2006. She received her BA in Social and Rehabilitative Services from Assumption College and worked for more than 10 years as a healthcare recruiter. Maureen also spent several years working for residence life at Merrimack College. While spare time is a rarity in her life, she enjoys reading, yoga, roadtrips, and walking around the city. She appreciates whimsical art and all 64 Crayola crayon colors (especially periwinkle). Maureen feels at home amidst the creative energy here at Emerson College.
	Faedra Backus is a Graduate Intern in the Counseling Center for the 2009-2010 academic year. She received her BA in Psychology and Educational Studies from Colgate University and her MA in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College. She is currently in her second year of BC's Counseling Psychology doctoral program. Faedra's research interests include gender socialization, feminist identity, and work/career issues. She has prior clinical experience with children, families, and college students. Originally from New York, Faedra enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, and spoiling her two cats.
	Debra Glick is a Graduate Intern at the Counseling Center for the 2009-2010 academic year. She is in her fourth year of the PhD program in Clinical Psychology at Suffolk University. Debra's clinical experience includes individual and group therapy at a community mental health clinic and at a local veteran's hospital. In her work, Debra enjoys helping people identify their strengths and values in order to promote their well-being. Her dissertation will focus on the causes of student procrastination and on ways to reduce these habits. Debra loves spending time with friends and family, long conversations, reading, and spending time in the sun.
	Jen Ingrassia is a Graduate Intern at the Counseling Center for the 2009-2010 academic year. Jen received her MA in Clinical Practices from the University of Hartford. She is currently working on her doctorate in clinical psychology and is researching the effects of losing a mother on women's experiences of motherhood. Jen's clinical experience includes work concerning substance abuse, language-based learning disorders, and childhood sexual trauma. Prior to obtaining a BA in Psychology from Northeastern University, Jen worked at a film company and a recording studio in Manhattan and spent many years training to become a professional ballet dancer. She looks forward to working with the creative and talented students here at Emerson.
	Dr. Tia Horner is Emerson's new consulting Psychiatrist.  She graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed her psychiatry training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She has devoted her career to working with young people in a variety of settings: the Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center in NYC, Germaine Lawrence Residential Treatment Center for Girls, the Charlestown-MGH Health Center and in the Western Sydney Australia Community Health System. She is also on staff at both Newton-Wellesley and Massachusetts General hospitals. She enjoys running on her own and after her children, Portuguese water dog teaching, learning and new challenges. Her children accurately report that she loves "coffee, showers, sleep, watching youth baseball, and the color purple."

Photography by Peter Paradise