Our Staff - 2012-13

The CPS staff is comprised of licensed psychologists and counselors. CPS professionals are schooled in the fields of counseling and psychology from accredited training programs and have a special interest/expertise in college student development. CPS also hosts advanced graduate students earning their Master’s and Doctoral degrees who are practicing under the supervision of licensed staff members.

If you aren’t comfortable with your counselor for any reason, please address this directly with her/him. Sometimes it’s helpful for counselors to know if there are problems in the counseling relationship so they can try to make adjustments to help you feel more comfortable. Other times, it may not feel like a good match. Regardless, bringing it up with your counselor will assure that you get the services you need, and if a reassignment is necessary your current counselor can help facilitate this.

Our staff is listed below with a summary of their areas of interests or specialized training. All of our professionals have broad-based general therapy skills and training, so even if a certain topic or problem isn’t listed they can still work with your concern.

If you see someone you think you’d like to work with in counseling, feel free to make a request. However, please be aware that scheduling difficulties may make it difficult to honor all requests, and you may be assigned to another counselor in order to provide you with the fastest and most appropriate services possible

Counseling Staff

Senior Staff

Dr. Betsy Asserson
Licensed Psychologist
Assistant Director of Training

Betsy is a generalist who works with a variety of concerns, including depression, relationship issues, sexual assault, trauma, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, eating disorders, crisis intervention, and EMDR. Betsy enjoys group work and leading the Coping Skills Group at CPS.

Laura Bailey, M.S.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor

Areas of interest: depression, anxiety, women’s development, relationship concerns, and LGBTQ issues. Laura works with students to help identify personal strengths and utilize them to create balance, meaningful relationships, and a better understanding of themselves.

Dr. Cheryl Blank
Licensed Psychologist
Director of Training

Areas of interest include helping students with depression & anxiety, grief and loss, stress management & biofeedback, trauma, women’s development, and dreamwork. Cheryl helps students focus on emotions and relationships to help them gain a deeper awareness of their relationships and experience of themselves.

Dr. Pat Donahoe
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Director

Pat is a generalist who works with a variety of issues including depression, relationship issues, grief and loss, performance anxiety and sexual trauma. His areas of special interest include eating disorders, sex therapy and sport psychology. He has consulted about crisis management, trauma debriefing and workplace dynamics as well as leading the eating disorders and sexual trauma groups.

Brandi Fischer, M.S.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor

Brandi enjoys working with a variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and identity struggles. She helps students focus on their emotions, beliefs, and relationship patterns in order to gain insight and awareness. Brandi enjoys outdoor activities with her husband and their rambunctious Lab/Retriever.

Aaron Grusonik, M.A.
Senior Staff Therapist

Aaron is a newly hired senior staff member to the CPS team.  He was previously a pre and post doctoral intern with CPS and is happy to be able to continue working with the students of MSU. Aaron is completing his Doctoral degree at the Wright Institute. Aaron is integrative in his approach to therapy and relies heavily on his training and background in areas of psychodynamic, client centered, relational, motivational, and cognitive-behavioral theories.  Aaron has particular interest in working with couples and with Veteran students who are transitioning from military to university life.  He also has interests in helping students with anxiety disorders, PTSD, depression, anger management, relationship issues, sexual identity, and minority/multicultural issues. 

Dr. Mariah Hill
Licensed Psychologist
Diversity Coordinator

Mariah joined CPS in 2007. Her specific areas of interest include working with students on issues related to trauma, identity development, gender, adjustment, relationships, depression, anxiety, and culture/diversity.  In addition to working with individual students, Mariah also enjoys doing couples work and co-facilitating various groups which have included Grief Group and Talk Circle for Native American students.  In her spare time, Mariah enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing in the great Montana outdoors as well as traveling internationally.

Dr. Brian Kassar
Licensed Psychologist
Outreach Coordinator &
Men’s Services Coordinator

Areas of interest: Depression, anxiety, family issues, substance use, performance/motivation enhancement, college adjustment, academic difficulties, sexual/relationship concerns, and identity, gender, and life skills issues. Brian works collaboratively with students in setting counseling goals and increasing insight into relationships, behavior patterns and strategies for success. He facilitates the Men’s Group and specialty areas include men’s psychology, counseling male students, and presenting on Men’s Issues. He enjoys outdoor activities, traveling, movies, music, theater, and pop culture.

Chip Kern, M.S.
Senior Staff Therapist

Chip received his Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling at MSU. His main areas of clinical interest include depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, family concerns and couple's counseling. He enjoys movies and outdoor activities including skiing, fishing and sporting clays.

Dr. Ryan Niehus
Licensed Psychologist
Groups Coordinator

Areas of interest include depression, anxiety, physical and sexual trauma, men’s psychology, and grief and loss. Ryan also enjoys working with student athletes to address a variety of factors that impact performance and overall well-being. He strives to support and empower people to explore the issues they find troubling and to make decisions and changes that are healthy for them.

Dr. Samantha White
Licensed Psychologist

Sam is a newly hired senior staff member to the CPS team.  She was previously a pre doctoral intern with CPS and is happy to return to working with the students of MSU. Sam has her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2011. Interests: Trauma recovery, interpersonal and relationship concerns, LGBTQ issues, identity development, grief and loss, adjustment to life changes, consultation, therapy groups, and outreach.

Trainee Staff

Jenny Fiebig
Post-Master’s Intern

Jenny has her Masterss degree in Mental Heath Counseling from MSU. Before starting her master's program, Jenny has worked as an outdoor educator, wilderness therapist and an international travel consultant. Jenny spends as much time as she can exploring the mountains and rivers in the Northern Rockies and is happy to call Montana her home.

Kari Halvorson
Pre-Master’s Intern

Kari is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from MSU.

Melissa Heinrich
Pre-Master’s Intern

Melissa is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from MSU.

Jen Millner
Post-Master’s Intern

Jen has her Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from MSU. Her areas of interest include depression, anxiety, relational issues, and identity issues. She is also interested in alternative and experiential therapies including outdoor/recreational counseling and animal-assisted therapy. Jen enjoys traveling and being outdoors in any capacity, especially skiing, hiking, and windsurfing.

Tony Silva
Pre-Master’s Intern

Tony is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from MSU.

Maggie Kirlin , M.S.
Doctoral Intern

Maggie is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree from Pacific University.

Liz Russell , M.A.
Doctoral Intern

Liz is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree from the University of Akron - Akron Campus.

Lisa Wolf , M.A. LLP
Doctoral Intern

Lisa is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree from the Union Institute and University - Brattleboro, VT.

Adam Moller , M.S.
Staff Therapist

Adam earned his master’s degree in psychology from Western Washington University in 2007.  He is in the final stages of his doctoral program in Counseling Psychology at West Virginia University, and is currently a staff therapist at MSU. As part of his doctoral training, Adam had the opportunity to work in a variety of settings, including two university counseling centers, a community mental health center, and with practitioners in private practice. In those settings, he helped clients with a diverse array of concerns, including depression and anxiety, multicultural issues, relationships, grief and loss, trauma, among many others. Adam is interested in helping MSU students with such concerns in ways that promote healthier and more meaningful relationships with self and others.

Front Office Staff

Mercy Boys

Mercy recently joined the CPS staff in 2012 and serves as the Agency Manager. She assists students in scheduling their counseling appointments and serves as the Training Director’s administrative support.

Melissa Schaak

Melissa has been the Front Office Manager at CPS since May 2010.

In addition to broad-based generalist psychotherapy skills, the staff members have training and expertise in the following areas:

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