Meet our Exam Prep Faculty

Gerry Grossman, MA, MFT

Gerry has been successfully training MFT and LCSW candidates for their BBS licensing exams since 1985. He has an extensive knowledge of clinical practice. His teaching style is clear, incisive, humorous and empathic. Gerry has helped thousands of therapists gain additional clinical skills. In private practice, he specializes in working with young children and has conducted therapeutic enrichment groups for twenty years. Additionally, he is a trained hypnotherapist.

Vivian Aizpuru, MA, MFT

Vivian is a bilingual marriage and family therapist for San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. With the help of Gerry Grossman Seminars, Vivian passed both licensing exams on the first attempt. She found the MFT prep courses to be so helpful and enjoyable, that she readily accepted when asked to join the instructional team. In addition to a Master's in Social Clinical Psychology, Vivian holds BA degrees in International Relations and Spanish Language from UC Davis and spent one year attending university in Mexico. Vivian works full-time at a residential treatment facility for high-risk youth, where she facilitates DBT skills-building groups, and provides individual, family, and milieu therapy.

Michelle Balke, MS, MFT

Michelle has been a Marriage and Family Therapist for over 30 years. She is licensed in California and Connecticut. Ms. Balke earned her Masters degree from California State University, Fullerton, in Counseling. She returned from Connecticut a few years ago to become relicensed in California, and, after completing Gerry Grossman’s Exam Prep Courses, passed both the Written and the Clinical Vignette Exams the first time.

Michelle is very organized in her teaching style, is easily understood and weaves her sense of humor into the material, helping students feel more competent at the end of the day. She has taught classes on aging parents, domestic violence, and highly dysfunctional relationships.

Ms. Balke maintains a private practice in San Diego, CA. working with children, adults, couples and families in crisis situations including clients experiencing highly stressful life transitions, separations or a significant loss. Previously, Ms. Balke was a Family Relations Counselor for the State of Connecticut, and was a Clinical Associate at the University Of California School Of Medicine, Irvine, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has written a chapter for an OB-GYN textbook for medical students on “The Psychological Aspects of Infertility”.

Samantha Deming, MA, MFT

Samantha has been part of the Gerry Grossman instructional staff since January 2000. Samantha is an asset to the seminar because she has had many years of teaching experience prior to her teaching for the seminar. Students find her easy to follow because she very organized in her presentation. She is also very animated and brings a lot of her natural humor into the classroom.

In addition to teaching for Gerry Grossman Seminars, Samantha maintains a full-time private practice split between Santa Clarita and Encino. Her specialities include couples, anxiety, depression, trauma, E.M.D.R., grief, survivors after suicide, and the treatment of twins.

Renee A. Duffey, Psy.D., MFT

Renee has been teaching with Gerry Grossman Seminars since 1995. She enjoys helping people learn to think critically and utilize their own learning style while preparing for the exams.

Renee has master's degrees in Communications, Applied Spirituality and Counseling Psychology and completed a Doctor of Psychology from the Graduate Theological Foundation with an emphasis on Clinical Family Therapy. She is the Director of Guidance in a private high school and a lecturer in the Counseling Psychology and Gerontology program at Notre Dame de Namur University. Her private practice in Burlingame specializes in the integration of psychology and spirituality and she frequently consults with churches and schools regarding issues of abuse and crisis management.

Quentin Dunne, MS, MFT

Quentin earned his BFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York City and his MS from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. With the invaluable help of Gerry Grossman Seminars, he passed both licensing exams on the first attempt and is happy to now be affiliated with GGS.

A former volunteer rape crisis advocate at The Valley Trauma Center, Quentin is currently an Outpatient Therapist for Penny Lane Centers in the Antelope Valley, where he works with children, adolescents, and families dealing with issues related to trauma, grief, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction, and parenting.

Tim Elhard, MSSW, LCSW

Tim received his Master's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. A recent transplant to California, Tim is licensed in Texas, Ohio and California.
Tim has 20 years of experience in social work including state hospital work, medical social work, child and family therapy, private practice and managed care. He is proud to be affiliated with the excellent materials of Gerry Grossman Seminars. Having recently passed the CVE on 1-25-2010, Tim has an empathetic understanding of the challenges facing license candidates.

Kristen Ewers, MA, MFT

Kristen has been teaching and providing individual tutoring for Gerry Grossman Seminars since 2003. She completed her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at Western Seminary in 2001 and obtained her license in 2003.

Kristen is the director of the Sacramento area Meier Clinics Day Treatment Program as well as the Marriage Intensive Program. She enjoys working with adolescents, families and couples in crisis.

Leslie Farber, PhD, MFT

Les has been in private practice in the SF Bay Area for 25 years. He primarily provides long-term psychodynamic therapy for adults and couples. As a clinical faculty member at UCSF Medical School, he trained medical students in consultation-liaison psychiatry at Mt Zion Hospital, where he also served as a clinical supervisor for psychology trainees in the crisis clinic. At Kaiser Permanente in Oakland he coordinated on-site and work-site health promotion programs and, as coprincipal investigator of several studies on integrating mental health care into the primary care setting, he provided training and consultation for physicians on detecting and treating psychosocial factors in medical care.

Tracy Gottbetter, MA, MFT

Tracy earned her Master’s Degree in Psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute, and her B.A. in Art History from the University of California at Berkeley. Tracy was licensed in January 2012 and passed both the Written and CV exams with the assistance of Gerry Grossman Seminars (as a “fast-tracker”). Tracy has been working with Gerry Grossman Seminars since 2011 helping interns prepare and organize their forms for submission to the BBS for exam eligibility. She enjoys helping interns navigate the licensing journey and has given several talks on the subject. She has been an active member of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of CAMFT for the past 7 years, and is currently on the Board of Directors for the chapter. Tracy is looking forward to building a private practice in the San Fernando Valley. She is passionate about this field, and wants to help empower girls and women, support people who struggle with addiction, and help clients navigate life’s transitions.

Rocio Hernandez, MFT

Rocio, or "Cio", is an instructor for Gerry Grossman Seminars, Northern California Division. She is an Adolescent Mental Health Practitioner for Marin County Health and Human Services, where she specializes in Spanish speaking survivors of sexual abuse, teen pregnancy and issues of reproductive health. She is involved in many community building efforts in Marin County and has a small private practice in San Rafael. She is also on the Institutional Review Board for Kaiser Foundation Research Institute.

Kristen Hudson, MA, MFT

Kristen received her Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola Marymount University. She passed both her written and clinical vignette exams with the help of Gerry Grossman Seminars courses, as well as her own organizational skills and attention to detail. Kristen began working for Gerry Grossman Seminars shortly after earning her license in 2008, where she teaches seminars helping students prepare for the MFT and LCSW state exams. She also provides research and writing for continuing education courses and other study materials. As an instructor for Gerry Grossman Seminars, she especially enjoys teaching the legal and ethical aspects of clinical practice.

Kristen has a private practice in West Los Angeles, providing psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families. Before earning her MFT license, Kristen worked for ten years in the weight-loss industry, helping people by providing an understanding of the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of weight management and eating-disordered behavior.

Alexis Kalikman, MA, MFT

Lexi has a private practice in San Francisco, specializing in family therapy utilizing Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. She received her BA from Stanford University and her MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco, where she was a Graduate Merit Scholar. Using Gerry Grossman study materials and courses, she passed both the written and clinical vignette MFT licensing exams on her first attempt. In addition to teaching Gerry Grossman courses, she offers BBS application review and individual tutoring in San Francisco.

Donald M. Krikorian, MA, MFT

Don is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Fresno California. He currently is the Therapist for the Fresno County Juvenile Behavioral Health Court, has a small private practice, runs the therapeutic milieu at a 6 bed girl’s level 12 group home and is an adjunct instructor at California State University Fresno, teaching the Counseling Practicum.

Past experiences include: being a high school teacher and counselor for 24 years, working for the Fresno County Psychiatric Assessment Center for two years and being a clinical supervisor for a team of 12 therapists and case managers in a community based treatment program run by EMQ FamiliesFirst for 5 years.

Don’s past and present experiences with children, adolescents and their families gives him the knowledge that he loves to pass on to others in this field. He has a sense of humor and genuineness that is evident in his teaching abilities.

Specialties include: work with children and conduct disordered adolescents; PTSD; depression; anxiety, trauma and family reunification issues.

Sharon Law, MA, MFT

Sharon has been part of the Gerry Grossman Seminars crew since July 2004. She earned her Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree in Social Work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and worked as a Social Worker in Hong Kong for 4 years before coming to the U.S. in 1997 to pursue her graduate study in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Sharon is a licensed therapist, has extensive training in Structural Family Therapy and is currently in advanced training with the Pacific Gestalt Institute in Los Angeles. She has written mock clinical vignettes and uses her own experience in passing the WCV exam to offer specific test taking strategies to GGS students.

Sharon has extensive outpatient clinical experience working with clients having a wide range of mental illnesses; she has also delivered school-based counseling to students at elementary and high schools from LAUSD. She also has supervised MFT Interns while coordinating an intensive intervention program for high risk children and youth of different ethnicities. Sharon's Asian background and acculturation experience in coming to the US help her to have sensitivity to diversity issues. She is also a world traveler who has traveled to more than twenty countries.

George Mangual, MSW, LCSW

George has a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences with emphasis in chemical dependency and two master’s degrees: one in human resource management and an MSW from San Diego State University. He is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the state of North Carolina as well as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California. He also holds certifications through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NCC) and the California Association of Drug and Alcohol Counselors (CAADAC) as a substance abuse counselor, clinical supervisor and prevention specialist. He was trained in health promotions by the Cooper Institute.

George is presently part time faculty in the USC Graduate School of Social Work serving as an adjunct professor and field instructor for graduate students. He also serves full time as the director of a substance abuse facility working with co-existing disorders for active duty military personnel and their families. George has presented at numerous conferences on Post Traumatic Stress and has been published for his work with military personnel.

Suzanne Mell, MA, MFT

Suzanne has been teaching courses and providing one-to-one tutoring for Gerry Grossman mostly in the Sacramento area, since September 1999. She received her Masters degree from National University - Sacramento in 1995 and passed her licensing exams in January 1999. Her area of expertise is working with children, adolescents and their families, but over the years she has worked with many different ages and stages.

Suzanne has worked for Amador County Mental Health as a child clinician and as their Children's System of Care Coordinator, and has also provided clinical supervision for MFT and CSW Interns. Currently she is in private practice in the Amador & Sacramento County areas and is a contract clinician at Rite of Passage - Sierra Ridge group home.

Suzanne is empathetic to those preparing for their exams. She presents the course materials in a well organized manner and also uses humor to decrease her students' test anxiety so that they can remember that they are competent human beings.

Chuck Moshontz, MA, MFT

Chuck is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a diverse private practice specializing in men's issues, couples counseling, and working with parents and children.

In addition to his private practice and teaching at Gerry Grossman Seminars, Chuck is an adjunct faculty member at Antioch University. He supervises interns at the Antioch Counseling Center and at Southern California Counseling Center, where he is also a faculty member in the clinical training program and the community counselor certification program. Chuck's first career, in television and radio broadcasting, helped him to develop skills in language and oral presentation which come in handy preparing GGS students to pass their licensing exams.

Jorid Nygard, MA, MFT

Jorid has been preparing therapists for their MFT licensing exams since 1991. Through the many years of helping develop course materials and teaching courses for the MFT Written and WCV exams, Jorid has developed a comprehensive mastery of all the subject areas involved in passing the exams.

Her high level of energy and wonderful sense of humor make her a popular teacher. Many exam candidates experience the exam preparation process as an overwhelming and daunting challenge and greatly appreciate her command and overview of the many subjects involved, finding her teaching style and structure extremely beneficial.

Jorid has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1988 and has specialized in the areas of couples therapy, addiction, trauma, divorce and chronic illness. She runs divorce support groups as well as groups for people in early recovery from addiction. Jorid combines a contemporary psychodynamic approach with an experiential style. In addition to teaching for Gerry Grossman Seminars, Jorid is an adjunct faculty member at Pepperdine University.

Patricia E. Patton, Ph.D.

Patti is a clinical psychologist (PSY 13266) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC 27419). She created such Gerry Grossman Seminars Continuing Education courses as Domestic Violence, Anxiety Disorders and Anger Management. She was also instrumental in the development of the Gerry Grossman Seminars BBS exam prep courses for LCSW candidates, and continues to teach those courses.

Catherine Pfister, MSW, LCSW

Catherine has been licensed as a LCSW since 2002. She is a graduate of UCSC and SFSU and has a particular clinical interest in attachment and trauma. Catherine has done further studies in play therapy, sandplay therapy, and family systems work. She currently practices as a therapist working with children, adolescents, and families in English and Spanish for Marin County Community Mental Health. Catherine has previously taught at the College of Marin. She also has provided clinical supervision to LCSW Associates.

Monica Brooke Sheftel, MSW, LCSW

Monica is committed to working within diverse movements for social justice. For more than seven years, she has dedicated her time and energy to empowering young people to make positive decisions for themselves and their communities. Teaching children, youth, and adults has been a key component of Monica's education, training, and experience.

Monica received her Bachelor of Arts in Women's Studies with a minor in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles and her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Upon completing both Gerry Grossman Seminars' courses, Monica was confident that she not only received the support necessary to pass both licensing exams but that she also strengthened her clinical knowledge and skills. This motivated her to pursue opportunities to contribute to Gerry Grossman Seminars. Monica currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. She looks forward to working with future and current licensees.

Pam Sirota, Psy.D., MFT

Pam has a private practice in West Los Angeles and Encino specializing in social skills groups, family issues, children and adolescents, grief support, and parenting. Her extensive experience as a special education teacher and pre-school director makes her an ideal instructor. She has been working as a private GGS tutor since becoming licensed in 2005. Pam has received her doctorate as a Clinical Psychologist.

Mary Catherine Snyder, MA, MFT

Mary Catherine has her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. She received her Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. She additionally did post-graduate studies in art therapy at Phillips Graduate Institute in Encino, CA.

Mary Catherine is the Clinical Director at the Center for Grief and Loss for Children, a division of Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services. The Center for Grief and Loss provides first responder emergency services and ongoing therapy to children that have experienced traumatic loss. In addition, she has a small private practice. She began working with Gerry Grossman Seminars in 2005 after taking the GGS classes and passing her Board exams. She enjoys all aspects of working with the students during the exam process.

Karrie Stafford, MA, MFT

Karrie Stafford is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Art Therapist. She owns and operates Inspired Lives Counseling & Creative Arts Studio, a private practice in Pacifica, CA. Recently she worked for the County of San Mateo Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, facilitating individual, group, and family sessions using Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). DBT is a skills-based modality focusing on the areas of interpersonal and emotional functioning. Karrie was also a part of the Co-Occurring Disorders Initiative, supporting progress towards a more seamless collaboration with mental health and substance abuse treatment providers for San Mateo County. She received her Masters at Notre Dame De Namur University in Belmont CA, along with her Creative Arts Therapy Certificate.

Elizabeth M. Still, MS, MFT, LPCC

Elizabeth is a UC Davis graduate and completed her Masters Degree in Counseling in 1998 at California State University of Sacramento. She passed her licensing exams on her first try in 2002. (MFT38575) She has a full-time private practice in Sacramento, California, where she has been practicing since the day after she received her license. Some of her specialties include EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, gay and lesbian issues, and blended family issues. Elizabeth also provides clinical supervision for MFT Interns.

Elizabeth is the first MFT in the State of California to pass the LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor) gap exam, and is currently awaiting the issuance of her LPCC license. She has recent experience in test taking procedures, studying, and the anxiety that comes along with it.

In addition, Elizabeth is a faculty member in mentorship at University of Phoenix where she will be facilitating a variety of courses in the Counseling, MFCC, Psychology, and Human Services departments.

Christina J. Stimmann, MSW, LCSW

Christina earned her BA in biochemistry from Mills College, her MS in Health Services Administration from St. Mary’s College, and her MSW – specializing in public child welfare – from California State University, Stanislaus. Over the last 18 years Christina has worked in various health and social service settings including HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, sexual assault, child welfare, child forensic interviewing and health education. Currently, Christina is working as a Social Services Supervisor for Solano County Child Welfare Services.

Christina’s teaching experience includes her work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa, an outreach educator for domestic violence and HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention, and she has spent the last fours years as an instructor for UC Davis Extension teaching social work courses to adult learners. Christina has taken the entire Gerry Grossman Seminar preparatory program for both the written and clinical vignette portions of the LCSW exam. She is very confident that you too will gain the study skills, knowledge base, and testing focus needed to pass both exams. Best of luck!!

Peter Stuart, MA, MFT

Peter is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has worked in alcohol and drug treatment for more than seven years at some of the most respected adult and adolescent treatment centers in the U.S. In addition to maintaining a private practice in West Hollywood, CA, Peter has worked as a sober companion traveling around the world with both adult and teen clients. Peter passed the Written and CV tests with the help of Gerry Grossman Seminars (as a “fast-tracker”) and is particularly glad to be able to give support to people in helping them through the testing process — which can be an anxiety provoking and stressful time.

Peter received his Bachelors from Northwestern University and his Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. He brings his diverse life experiences, stress management skills and humor to the classroom.

Andrew Teton, MA, MFT

Andrew received his Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Santa Barbara, and has also participated in the Hakomi Body Inclusive Therapy training. He studied with Gerry Grossman for both his written and orals exams, and, after passing both on the first attempt, Andrew started offering Gerry Grossman Seminars classes for both the written and WCV exams in Santa Barbara where he has found interns in the Central Coast area extremely receptive to having locally based licensing classes.

Andrew is noted for his sense of humor and has served as the "comedy break" entertainer at several local CAMFT functions.

Anne Wilford, MA, MFT

Anne received her Masters degree from John F. Kennedy University and has been an instructor with GGS for 14 years. Her clinical experience includes working with adolescent psychiatric in-patient programs and adult, dual diagnosis day treatment. For the last 15 years, she has had a private practice in Berkeley working with individuals in long-term, in-depth therapy and transformational couples work. She has over 35 years of teaching experience and truly enjoys the balance of teaching and practicing in-depth psychotherapy.

Jane Winslow, MA, MFT

Jane received her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She passed both the written and clinical vignette exams using Gerry Grossman Seminars study materials and classes. Additionally, she has done post graduate work at UCLA Neuro-Psychiatric Institute, The Kinship Center of Southern California and The Latino Family Institute. Jane holds certification in ACT Training and SAFE training, enabling her to specialize in adoption placement home studies and in home work with the adoption triad.

Jane has extensive experience in community outreach and teaches domestic violence, parenting skills, recovery and relapse prevention, and life skills. She is particularly empathic toward student anxiety during preparation for the licensing exams all that is embodied in the journey.