Christine Alvarez, LPC, joined Alaska Behavioral Health in August 2020. Since joining AKBH, Christine has focused on increasing access to care, reducing wait times, implementing evidence-based practice, and expanding crisis and intensive community based services. Prior to joining AKBH, Christine worked as Assistant Executive Director of the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Warren County, the Director of the Counseling Center at Multnomah University, and Team Lead of the Expanded Mobile Crisis Team at Austin-Travis County Integral Care. When not working, Christine enjoys hiking, hockey, and exploring Alaska with her family.

For more information about any of our Adult Services, contact Christine at calvarez@akbh.org.

Cheryl Charic is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and is certified to provide chemical dependency and substance abuse services (CDC II). Cheryl is passionate about training direct care providers to offer co-occurring services, equipping mental health providers to treat multiple behavioral health challenges in one setting. She has worked in a number of directions to address people’s primary needs, including housing and nutrition stability. Cheryl attended the University of Texas, Austin, as well as Alaska Pacific University. Cheryl has lived in Alaska for 35 years and enjoys parenting and outside activities such as hiking, ice skating and cross-country skiing. She has also been known to create unique craft items and plant-based cuisine.

Melina Breland, LPC  has 17 years of experience providing services to children, families, and adults. She has worked on and supervised teams serving individuals with high acuity needs, and in crisis work for the past 10 years.

Sarah Koogle, M. Ed., LPC-S,  has a master’s degree in clinical community counseling.  She has traveled and lived in many states and countries, but consider Fairbanks home. Sarah enjoys the Alaskan summer and all that comes with that: hiking and exploring lakes and rivers. She has worked with a wide range of mental health issues in both inpatient and outpatient care, with adults and children.  Her passion lies in the community counseling setting.

Dr. Hugh Leonard earned his Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology jointly offered at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Anchorage. Prior to graduate school, he worked on Dr. Marsha Linehan’s randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of DBT for Adolescents. During graduate school, Dr. Leonard trained in various treatment modalities and settings, including outpatient, intensive outpatient, behavioral medicine, and was a founding member of the UAF DBT program where he treated patients with BPD.

Dr. Leonard completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship in clinical-community psychology at Yale School of Medicine as a DBT Fellow. While at Yale School of Medicine, he was intensively trained in DBT and in the DBT for Prolonged Exposure Protocol for PTSD. Dr. Leonard went on to complete an APA-accredited post-doctoral residency in clinical psychology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where he served as assistant clinical director of the CBT/DBT program in the Adult Outpatient Clinic. While at Harbor-UCLA, he provided training, supervision and consultation in CBT and DBT to Los Angeles County mental health clinicians. Dr. Leonard is a certified CBT therapist through the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies and serves as clinical training manager and clinician at Alaska Behavioral Health.

Dr. Dianna Rehn earned her Doctor of Psychology (Psy D) in clinical psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.  While in graduate school she completed a number of training experiences in a variety of settings including outpatient clinics, a partial hospitalization program, an inpatient psychiatric hospital, providing crisis work in an emergency room, and an intensive outpatient program.  Dr. Rehn continued her training through her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship through the Alaska Psychology Internship Consortium.  Her primary placement was at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, and she also completed a mini-rotation that involved traveling to Nome, Alaska and learning about behavioral healthcare in rural settings.

After graduating, Dr. Rehn has worked as a forensic evaluator for the State of Alaska and as a senior clinician at Alaska Behavioral Health.  She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Alaska and is a credentialed Health Service Psychologist through the National Register of Health Service Psychologists.  Dr. Rehn is a Board-approved supervisor for masters-level clinicians, and as part of her role provides supervision for licensure.  She also enjoys working with students and supervises masters-level and doctoral-level students completing both practicum and pre-doctoral internships.  In addition to her role supervising students and clinicians, Dr. Rehn performs psychological testing for all ages and provides therapy to clients on the Folker outpatient team.

Amy Pomeroy, Clinical Operations Manager, has served in the community in various roles from direct care staff to management over the past 14yrs. She enjoys providing individual and group services, specifically supporting adults with co-occurring disorders. Amy also enjoys supporting staff development and helps lead Alaska Behavioral Health’s PQI (Performance Quality Improvement) efforts.

Robert Barnard, M. Ed., LPC-S, is an adult clinician in Fairbanks. Robert has worked for the company since 2014, first with clients who have co-occurring disorders and now with the Intensive Case Management Team in Fairbanks.

Robert retired form the US Army after a 20-year career as a musician, platoon leader, and supply and logistics supervisor. “When I was active as a professional musician, I used to have a private music studio. The students would come in and play their lesson and I would guide them in playing the music. Then I would assign them next week’s lesson. I would tell them ‘I’m not going to be sitting on your shoulder asking if you practiced.’ When they came in for the next lesson, I would be able to tell 1) If they practiced and 2) how much they practiced. I see therapy as very similar to the music studio as most of the work of clients is done outside the therapy session.”

He considers himself somewhat of a late vocation to the counseling field as he went back to school to learn some counseling skills when he was program director for a downtown church and people would keep coming to him wanting to talk. This led to a career change a little later than most. “I’m starting this career when most people my age are looking towards retirement.” But he would not have it any other way as he thoroughly enjoys working with clients and seeing them grow, become stronger, and thrive.

Paul Fergeson has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Texas Tech University and a Master’s in Psychology from Queens College (City University of New York).  Paul has been in the field of Psychology for 30 years and has worked as a: Health Scientist, Associate College Professor and Mental Health Clinician, in New York City, San Francisco, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and now Alaska.  His scientific work was published in: Journal of Addictions, Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research & Archives of General Psychiatry.  Paul’s training in counseling includes approaches from: Client-Centered, Humanism, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Crisis Interventions, Positive Psychology, and Transpersonal Psychology.   Relocating to “The Most Beautiful State of Alaska” and working for Alaska Behavioral Health has been a dream come true for Paul, as he loves all things Alaskan, fishing, hunting, camping, skiing, hiking, snow machining & even berry picking.

Amanda Forsting, M. Ed. is a Clinician in Fairbanks. She started with Alaska Behavioral Health as a Case Manager in 2018 while completing her degree and internships at University of Alaska Fairbanks. She began her journey in mental health in 2014 working on mobile crisis outreach teams in Colorado and eventually moved to Texas where she did the same. After graduating in December 2020, she became a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist Individual (CCTSI) through the Trauma Institute International and plans to continue to specialize in grief and trauma while completing supervision for licensure. She loves to spend time with her family in the summers traveling and sight-seeing around Alaska, camping, boating, fishing, and driving. She also loves reading, photography, music, comedy, and live theater.

Alicia Lamar, M. Ed. enjoys walking, hiking, and gardening. She loves living in Fairbanks in the summers, but is not too thrilled about the winter (though she thinks winter is beautiful!) Alicia started working with us as an intern (when we were called Fairbanks Community Mental Health Services.) She enjoys being part of a great team and working with all the staff and the clients.

Emily McClelland, MSW has been with Alaska Behavioral Health since May 2020.  She is a life-long Alaskan and enjoys going on walks to soak up the summer sun, reading, and arts and crafts.

Her passion is helping adults with anxiety, depression, substance abuse disorders, PTSD, personality disorders, and other mental disorders to create fulfilling lives. In order to do so, Emily uses a strengths-based approach along with CBT, mindfulness strategies, and other therapies with clients. Emily believes that the most important part of therapy is trust between the clinician and the client so that they can work together towards making positive changes.

Katie Strange earned a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Tennessee. She has experience working with mental health and substance use disorders in a variety of settings. Katie joined Alaska Behavioral Health in September 2020 and is passionate about providing evidence-based care. Brought to Alaska by the military, she loves to adventure and explore new places.

Kristen Hansen, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, graduated from Walla Walla University in 1996.  She has a background in medical social work before transferring to mental health therapy. Kristen enjoys working with underserved cliental employing an evidenced based approach while focusing on a client’s strengths. Her personal interests include reading and history.

Drew is a clinician on the ICM team and enjoys working in the community with clients of all walks of life.  He graduated with his Master’s in Clinical Psychology from UAA in 2018 and is currently working towards licensure.  In his free time he and his family enjoy spending time being active outdoors and eating food indoors.

Yannick Hodgin, M.Ed. has her master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and has been working as a clinician on the Adult Services Team since September of 2020. She strives to provide a safe and supportive environment for her clients by implementing a holistic, person-centered approach, and primarily uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help them overcome barriers and focus on instilling motivation to achieve personal growth and valued goals.

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Emilie Loran, MS, started with Alaska Behavioral Health as a clinical intern in August of 2020 and joined the team as a clinician in May of 2021. She is passionate about helping folks meet their goals and develop the skills needed to live life in a direction that works for them. Alongside her work at AKBH, Emilie is a doctoral student in Clinical-Community Psychology. When not working or doing school (which is admittedly what she spends most of her time doing), she enjoys hiking, skate-skiing, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Daniel McHarge, MS,  attended Western Carolina University in North Carolina and graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts. He moved to Alaska in the fall of 2017 to attend UAA where he received his Master of Science in Clinical Psychology in 2019. Daniel primarily provides services using motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy. He incorporates techniques from dialectical behavior therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy based on client needs and goals.

Stephanie Morgan, M.Ed., joined the Adult Services Team at Alaska Behavioral Health in May of 2021 after interning on the Child & Family Continuum in 2019.  Her role at Alaska Behavioral Health is an extension of her first career as a research psychologist.  She has taught psychology (mostly statistics and research methods) at Alaska Pacific University for 11 years and returned to school for clinical training three years ago.  She hopes to serve the community by helping people grow by recognizing, developing, and leveraging their strengths.

When not at work, Stephanie enjoys walking, reading, the arts, cooking, and is slowly learning piano.

Luke Offord, MS, attended the University of Alaska Anchorage, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2018 and his Master of Science in Clinical Psychology in 2020. He is a lifelong Alaskan and enjoys serving our population using techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy.

Sonya Smith, MA, CDC-I joined the AKBH team in June of 2020. She has over 10 years’ experience working with substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and trauma informed care. Military service brought her to Alaska, and she has called it home for over 20 years. Sonya is a proud wife, mother and grandmother who enjoys 4 wheeling, camping, travel, dancing, and karaoke.

Elizabeth Wallmann-Filley has over 30 years of experience providing mental health and substance use treatment to a variety of populations. Liz’s role as Clinical Lead for Intensive Services is allowing her to give back to what she identifies as the next generation of mental health professionals. She has extensive training in CBT, MI, TF-CBT, DBT, EMDR, and crisis management.