Our Team
Kristin Huntzinger, MS, LPC, CDVS, CCFC , CCTP-II
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Owner
Kristin has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2011. She has been working as a counselor in the mental health field for over 15 years. Kristin received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Albright College. She went on to receive her Master's Degree in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She holds additional certifications in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Certified Domestic Violence Specialist, Clinically Certified Forensic Counselor and is a level II Certified Trauma Professional. She has extensive experience, over her career, working with youth who are involved with Berks County Children & Youth Services and Berks County Juvenile Probation. In 2015, Kristin began completing forensic evaluations for Berks County court. These evaluations include specialty areas such as domestic violence, trauma, and juvenile offenders. She is a member of the advisory board of the Berks County Children's Alliance Center and provides evaluations and treatment for youth who have been sexually abused.
Kristin believes that success in treatment is the result of a collaborative effort between therapist and client. She understands the necessity of holding space for individuals throughout their journey. Kristin utilizes an eclectic and individualized approach to treatment, which includes elements of DBT, CBT, Internal Family Systems, Animal-Assisted, and creative/expressive therapy.
Megan Werley, MSS, LCSW, CTFCBT
Director of School-Based Services
Clinical Therapist
Megan has been a Licensed Social Worker since 2008 after graduating from West Chester University with her Bachelor of Social Work and a Minor in Studio Arts. Megan completed her Master of Social Service from Bryn Mawr College and later achieved her Clinical Social Work License in 2019. Megan has worked in the community setting with adults who experienced Traumatic Brain Injuries but has mainly worked in school-based and outpatient settings with adolescents. Megan became a Trauma Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist in 2016. Megan utilizes TF-CBT to work with adolescents who have experienced trauma in their lives. Megan also trained with Grief Expert David Kessler to complete his Grief Educator Certificate Program to work with adolescents and adults going through grief and loss.
Megan values the importance of human relationships. She believes that building trust and establishing rapport is the most important component to a successful working relationship. Once the client feels safe and comfortable, walls can come down and progress can be made. Megan specializes in trauma and grief and loss, but also works with depression and anxiety. Megan utilizes CBT, TF-CBT, Mindfulness and likes to utilize creative/expressive art activities in sessions.
Brianna Sears, LMFT
Clinical Therapist
Brianna Sears is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with nearly 6 years of experience working with children and families. After receiving her degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, she began her career by working with children and families in a community based service. She spent time working with children and adults in their homes, communities, and school settings. Brianna recently made the transition into an outpatient setting to provide support for children and families working through anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, family dysfunction, divorce, etc, after completing the process for licensure. Brianna practices using various approaches including: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), attachment therapy, and various family therapy models, such as experiential, strategic and structural family therapy.
Brianna's work in the mental health field focuses on using a systemic approach. She places value on the client's relationships and will explore the interactions that take place in the client's systemic world, meaning their supports in the family, in the school, and with peers. She places significant value on the closest relationships to the client and will work with caregivers and children in an effort to reduce symptoms and improve connections.
For formal education, Brianna attended Mansfield University for her Bachelors in Psychology. She then proceeded on to obtain a Masters in Marriage and Family therapy from Appalachian State University.
Alexa Mattise-Nauman, LSW
Clinical Therapist
Alexa is a Licensed Social Worker with 10 years of experience. She is passionate about supporting adolescents, adults, veterans, and families. She is also an LGBTQIA+ ally. Some of her initial experience stems from volunteering with a youth group at a shelter for domestic violence survivors. Throughout her experiences she has gained clinical knowledge working in community-based, outpatient, inpatient, and residential settings. She possesses a strong clinical and working knowledge of the juvenile justice system and forensic services. Alexa is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and utilizes trauma-focused CBT and motivational interviewing to address a variety of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Rachael Stamm, LCSW
Clinical Therapist
Rachael is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker passionate about creating genuine connections, and “holding space” for clients in their difficult moments. She has worked in the social work field for over 7 years and has a diverse background working with people of all ages in mental health emergency services, homelessness, evaluating, consulting, and more. After earning her Master of Social Work degree at Edinboro University, Rachael began to specialize in work with children, eventually earning both her Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credentials in 2019. As a play therapist she works from a foundation of Child Centered Play Therapy and she also has training in Animal Assisted Play Therapy® , Applied Behavior Analysis, and other types of modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT.) She is able to pull from this diverse skill set to choose appropriate interventions while working to maintain trust as the first priority.
Benjamin Super, MFT
Clinical Therapist
Ben is a Marriage and Family Therapist that is currently working towards his licensure and has 3 years of experience working with families and children. He graduated from Kutztown University with a major in clinical psychology and a minor in sociology. He continued his journey towards higher education at Northcentral University to earn a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Ben’s experience in family-based programs has made him proficient in the Ecosystemic Family Therapy model. Ben views the client’s situation from a systemic lens, which allows him to see the bigger picture of what may be challenging for the client. During his experience, Ben has gained a special focus in the LGBTQIA+ community and wants to create more support for youth and families within the community.
Kate Floren, MFT
Clinical Therapist
Kate is a Marriage and Family Therapist working toward licensure in Pennsylvania, with over four years of experience working with youth, families, and individuals in a clinical setting. She believes in fostering a collaborative and accepting environment in which clients feel supported to recognize their strengths and develop new strategies to improve their quality of life. Kate’s experience includes work with youth, adults, and their families, with concerns related to anxiety, attachment, low self-esteem, grief, and loss. Kate is trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and trauma-informed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), utilizing these and other family systems theories to address a variety of mental health concerns.
Marcia Nolan, LPC
Clinical Therapist
Marcia is a Licensed Professional Counselor since December 2020. She has been working as a counselor in the mental health field since 2018 upon completing her master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University. She has previously worked as a School Based Therapist in the Reading School district for three years before resigning from that position to raise her son (who is the light of her life!). She has recently returned to the workplace where she is a School Based Therapist at Southern Middle School and Cornwall Terrace Elementary School.
Marcia uses a systemic approach where she places values on the client's relationships and explores the interactions that take place in the client's world, such as support within the family, school, and peers. She will often use play therapy with clients to help build rapport so a strong foundation can be set in an effort to make each, and every client feel safe and comfortable during his/her therapy session. Marcia is also training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and utilized trauma-focused CBT to address a variety of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kelly McCaughey, LSW
Clinical Therapist
Kelly is a Licensed Social Worker that has garnered 5 years of experience in the field working with a variety of populations, including children, teens, adults, and families. Her current primary focus is working with teens and adults, especially members of the LGBTQIA+ community. She graduated from Kutztown University with her Master of Social work and also holds a Behavioral Health certification as well as is a Certified Trauma Professional. She has worked with individuals experiencing a large variety of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, interpersonal issues, anger management, among others, providing outpatient therapy services to said individuals. She utilizes a client-centered approach to therapy, including modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic techniques, in order to achieve the clients' own specific goals and objectives.
Jennifer Lenkevich, MSCP
Clinical Therapist
Jennifer is a Clinical Therapist with 6 years of experience working with children, teens, and families. Her primary role is a School Based Therapist in the Wyomissing and Wilson School districts. She graduated from Capella University with her Master of Clinical Psychology and holds a Registered Behavior Technician certification. Jenn is trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Applied Behavioral Analysis to address mental health issues including ADHD, autism, and anxiety.
Lauren Johnson
Wyomissing School District Coordinator/ Counselor
Lauren Johnson has been in the mental health field for 20 years. After graduating college, she worked as a case manager for a local agency. She supported families in understanding and navigating the mental health system in Berks County. After this, she worked with children and families in community-based services for over 13 years. She worked with families in their homes, community, as well as school settings. More recently, she worked for a non-profit agency within a school district as a site coordinator. In this role, Lauren helped students and families feel a sense of belonging while in school. She worked on improving attendance within the school as well as facilitating groups on topics such as anxiety and healthy coping to social/communication skills. Lauren made the transition to Empowerment as a way to continue to support students and families in the school setting navigate mental health services.
Ashleigh Levan
Administrative Assistant
Ashleigh is an administrative assistant at Empowerment Behavioral Health. She graduated from Penn State Berks with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. Her 10 plus years of customer service make her a great fit for the Empowerment family. She loves interacting & getting to know clients at the office. In her spare time, she loves snuggling up with her 1-year-old corgi, Cookie. Safe to say she’s an animal lover. When Nacho isn’t busy working, he’ll be at the front desk helping Ash welcoming friendly faces that come into the office.
Nacho
Therapy Dog
Nacho makes EMPOWERMENT a special place to be when it comes to therapy. Nacho is currently working toward becoming a certified therapy dog. In his free time, he enjoys running in circles, sleeping where he sees fit, and chewing anything he can get his paws on. He looks forward to helping others and soaking up cuddles in the process.