Faculty
The Family Therapy Training Program was first established in 1983 under the leadership of Drs. M. Duncan Stanton and Judith Landau. Subsequent Directors were Dr. Susan H. McDaniel (1994-2000), who initiated the accreditation of the Post-degree Certificate Program, and Dr. David B. Seaburn (1998-2000) who, in 1998, initiated the establishment of the graduate program in marriage and family therapy. Dr. Pieter Le Roux was the Director of the Family Therapy Training Program from 2000 until June, 2012. As of July, 2012, Dr. Jenny Speice and Dr. Carol Podgorski have taken on the Directorship of the Program. The faculty is recognized for developing Transitional Family Therapy, a model that blends transgenerational, ecosystemic and here and now approaches to the family, while utilizing family strengths and competence in therapy. Dr. McDaniel and her colleagues, Jeri Hepworth and William Doherty, are recognized for establishing the field of Medical Family Therapy with their 1992 seminal text.
Current Faculty
Olivia Chiang, PsyD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Clinical Psychologist, at Rochester General Pediatric Associates
Major interests
bereavement, medical family therapy, breastfeeding medicine, pediatric primary care
Beth Danehy, MA, MS MFT, CEAP
Director: UR Medicine Employee Assistance Program and Life-Work Connections/EAP
Assistant in Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Dentistry
Major interests
work-life conflict, grief and loss, wellness/wellbeing of medical professionals; relationship
and family conflict, systemic approaches to individual and organizational well-being.
Aubree M. Guiffre, PhD
Clinical Senior Instructor, Department of Psychiatry
Clinical Psychologist at Rochester General Pediatric Associates
Major Interests
primary care psychology, medical family therapy, grief, training medical providers, parenting and mindfulness based interventions.
Barbara A. Gawinski, Ph.D., LMFT
Associate Director of Behavioral Health Services, Highland Family Medicine
Associate Professor of Family Medicine & Psychiatry
Major interests
behavioral health, training and supervision, global health and immigrant and refugee care.
Kristin Koberstein, MA, LMFT
Marriage and Family Therapy Clinician with Strong Behavioral Health at Highland Family Medicine; AAMFT Supervisor in Training.
Major Interests
medical family therapy, clinical supervision, collaboration between primary care and mental health, refugee care, and postpartum adjustment for families
Susan H. McDaniel, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Laurie Sands Distinguished Professor of Families & Health
Director, Institute for the Family, Department of Psychiatry
Vice Chair, Department of Family Medicine
Major Interests
medical family therapy, integrated primary and specialty care, healthcare teams and collaboration, inter-professional education, reproductive technologies, genetic testing, unexplained medical symptoms, physician-patient communication, and communication coaching for physician and other health professionals.
Jessica Moore, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Major Interests
pediatric family psychology, medical family therapy, chronic illness, Developmental and behavioral needs, parenting, and advocacy. Teaching, clinical work, and research interests focus on collaboration and integrated care.
Anthony Pisani Ph.D., L.M.F.T.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology) and Pediatrics
Major Interests
population oriented suicide prevention, extending prevention through technology, crisis tech intervention, Zero Suicide
Carol Podgorski, PhD, MPH, LMFT 
Co-Director: Family Therapy Training Program
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Major Interests
family therapy in dementia and long term care, academic-community partnerships, and evidence-informed program development.
Ellen Poleshuck, PhD, LMFT
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics/Gynecology
Major Interests
women’s health, interventions and services research, depression And pain comorbidity, intimate partner violence.
Tziporah Rosenberg, PhD, LMFT
Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine
Clinical Director: Family Therapy Services
Major Interests
medical family therapy, models of collaborative and integrative healthcare, couple and family therapy training and education, outcome-based education and assessment, effects of illness and health on family relationships.
Jenny Speice, PhD, LMFT
Co-Director: Family Therapy Training Program
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Major Interests
families and health, particularly related to genetic concerns and infertility/fertility treatments; grief and loss; ethics and professional practice.
Michelle Swanger-Gagne, PhD, NCSP
Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Pediatrics at URMC
Psychologist at Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Program in collaboration with Pediatric Rheumatology and Physical Rehabilitation
Team Leader and Licensed Psychologist at Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Rochester Regional Health
Major Interests
family engagement in children’s education and healthcare, Family-School-Community Partnerships, Pediatric Collaborative and Integrative Care, School and Healthcare Consultation, Specific clinical interests include pediatric pain, chronic health conditions in children/youth, and children/youth with behavioral concerns and school challenges.
William H. Watson, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology
Major Interests
mind/body issues, spirituality and psychotherapy, family issues in the workplace, training and supervision.
Additional Onsite Clinical Supervisors
Kim Linde, MS, LMFT
Marriage and Family Therapy Clinician with Strong Behavioral Health at Strong Family Therapy Service
Clinical Supervisor Family Therapy Training Program.
Major Interests
marital/couples therapy, family reunification, medical family therapy, grief and loss, infertility, clinical supervision.
Community Faculty
Maisha Enaharo, MPH, MS
Clinical Associate in Psychiatry Director, Department of Pediatrics Rochester Regional Health
Major Interests
trainings/group facilitation: Internalized Racism; Structural/Systemic Racism; Intersectionality of Identities, Leadership Coaching, Effective Black Parenting.
Clinical Faculty
Jamie Carr, MS, MFT
Marriage and Family Therapy Clinician with Strong Behavioral Health at Women’s Behavioral Health Service at Lattimore
Major interests
women’s Health, trauma, marital and couple therapy, parenting, positive reinforcement, and self-care.
Tonya Girard, MS, LMFT
Marriage and Family Therapy Clinician with Strong Behavioral Health at Highland Family Medicine
Major Interests
medical family therapy, collaborative/integrated health practice, trauma informed care and treatment, mind-body integration, women’s and LGBTQIA+ health.
Wade Turnipseed, MS, LMFT
Marriage and Family Therapist at Strong Family Therapy Services at Highland Family Medicine
Major interests
collaborative/Integrated behavioral health, medical family therapy, medically-unexplained symptoms, chronic pain, mind-body integration, obsessive compulsive disorder.
Rachael Zoller, MS, LMFT
Senior Marriage and Family Therapist with Strong Behavioral Health at Women’s Behavioral Health Service.
AAMFT Supervisor in Training with the Family Therapy Training Program
Major interests
women’s health, couple/marital/family therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), individual and family therapy with adolescents, clinical supervision.
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