Dr. Jessica Gerfen is Chief Executive Officer, St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute (SLBMI). She was appointed in May 2019.

Dr. Gerfen joined SLBMI in 2015 and has held a number of administrative positions, including Director of Risk Management and Technology, Assistant Administrative Director, and Administrative Director of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program.  She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Houston OCD Program.

Current initiatives of interest for Dr. Gerfen include advancement of technology integration into clinical practice and operational quality initiatives and expansion. Her clinical professional areas of interest include OCD and related anxiety disorders and the relationship between anxiety and eating disorders.

Claudia earned her B.A. in Psychology and French in 1986, her M.A. in Human Development Counseling in 1990 and her Ph.D. in Family Therapy in 2016 all from Saint Louis University. Her early experience as a therapist was in families and couples. She has extensive history working with undergraduate and graduate students’ mental health focusing on anxiety, depression, and relational issues and eating concerns. She also has experience working with individuals dealing with trauma. She has received extensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and has experience working in this modality. Dr. Charles has received training with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Health Behavior and Wellness Coaching. Areas of interest include: Anxiety, Depression, Relationship and Family Issues, Eating Disorders, Trauma, Culture and Diversity issues.

Dr. Margaret Cornell is a licensed clinical psychologist. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before obtaining her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Adler University (Chicago Campus).

Dr. Cornell is an integral part of the Integrated Care Consulting Team and serves as the Associate Director of Integrated Care. She specializes in guiding organizations and Behavioral Health Consultants through the complex process of integrating behavioral health services into primary care. Dr. Cornell also specializes in depression and anxiety and utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. She is dedicated to helping patients enhance their functioning and overall quality of life.

Office Location: Macklind

Dr. Deb Elliott-DeSorbo is a licensed clinical psychologist. She completed her undergraduate education at Rutgers University before obtaining a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University.

Deb specializes in the areas of gender, sexuality, health psychology, integrated care, military (she was once an active duty clinical psychologist), marital therapy and trauma. She also has a passion for working with geriatric patients. She primarily utilizes a mix of cognitive-behavioral therapy and person-centered therapy but brings in techniques from many other schools of thought when they are of assistance to a client. She is passionate about what she does and wants nothing more than to help her clients succeed in their goals (both therapy goals and life goals). She is the Director of both the Health Psychology Program and the Gender Affirming Program for Transgender and Individuals with Non-Binary Identities, and serves as the Institute’s Training Director.

Sofia Grewal, M.D. completed her psychiatry residency and geriatric fellowship at St. Louis University School of Medicine. Prior to joining St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, she has been treating patients across St. Louis in her private practice and provided inpatient and outpatient care in local hospitals. Dr. Grewal has experience in treating depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. She is trained in psychopharmacology and various modalities in treating a range of mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, and psychotic disorders. Her specialty interest is in geriatric psychiatry, where she has provided care to residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the St. Louis area. She is board-certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Christopher Grimes is the Director of the Program for Psychology and Religion at St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine. He earned his Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 2004. Dr. Grimes has particular interest and training in the assessment and treatment of clergy, religious, and people of faith. He also maintains a general outpatient caseload providing individual therapy, couple/family therapy, and psychological testing services at the Behavioral Medicine Institute. Dr. Grimes is licensed to practice psychology in the State of Missouri and is credentialed through the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT). His professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, the Missouri Psychological Association, and the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. He is active in research and writing in the area of religion / spirituality and psychological wellness.

Dr. Mishell Hashmi is the Director of the Eating Disorder program and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist.   She earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Midwestern University in 2007. She has extensive experience working with eating disorders in Residential, PHP, IOP and outpatient settings. Dr. Hashmi uses an integrated approach and is experienced in utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Hashmi has also completed training in Family Based Therapy (FBT) for eating disorders, Internal Family Systems (IFS), as well as advanced training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Dr. Hashmi enjoys working with teenagers and adults. She also has extensive experience working with individuals with self-injury, trauma, mood disorders and transgender issues.  She is a member of the board for the Missouri Eating Disorder Association (MOEDA).

Bio Coming Soon

Dr. Alison Menatti, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Director of the Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Ohio University in 2016, and completed two years of postdoctoral specialty training at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Dr. Menatti specializes in the treatment of OCD and a wide-range of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress, specific phobia, and panic disorder. Dr. Menatti approaches therapy from a cognitive-behavioral treatment framework, and provides clinical services to adolescents and adults.

Skylar Nichols is a licensed clinical social worker in both the Gender Affirming Program and the Eating Disorders Program. They earned their Master’s in Social Work from Simmons University in Boston, MA. They utilize an integrated therapeutic approach, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems Therapy, and Somatic Experiencing.

Skylar specializes in working with adolescents and adults experiencing eating disorders as well as those who identify as LGBTQ+. They also have extensive experience with individuals and groups treating depression, suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviors, anxiety, and trauma.

Skylar works with clients utilizing an empowerment approach, believing that all people have the capacity for healing within themselves. They work to help people find and harness that ability to work on the issues that have brought them to therapy.

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Ms. Prentice is the Director of Clinical Operations and Integrated Care. She works with the leadership team to review and enhance operational excellence of the clinical practices at SLBMI. Ms. Prentice is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and graduated in 2002 with a Master’s degree in Social Work at Missouri State University. Ms. Prentice has many years of clinical experience working with families and individuals, including, the treatment of stress, depression and anxiety, particularly with medical students and physician residents. She has experience in Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultation as a consultant in a Primary Care practice, as well as providing training and consultation for other clinics across Missouri.

Mr. Peebles is an anxiety specialist at the Center for OCD and Anxiety Related Disorders (COARD) at St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. Mr. Peebles received graduate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and Missouri Baptist University. In addition to his clinical training, Mr. Peebles has a research background in Neuroscience and Pharmacology and was awarded a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to support his research. Mr. Peebles has a profound interest in the integration of salient findings of Neuroscience with that of Evidence Based Clinical Interventions.Mr. Peebles’ clinical experience includes specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and anxiety-related disorders during his two year post- graduate fellowship under the supervision of Alec Pollard. In addition, Mr. Peebles has specialized training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and has provided family, group and individual therapy in a community-based crisis stabilization setting. He received additional training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy through The Linehan Institute, Behavioral Tech. Mr. Peebles is recognized as a certified Dialectical Behavior Therapist through the National Certification and Accreditation Association for DBT.

Mr. Peebles has extensive experience with undergraduate and graduate level students and is currently a professor in the Social and Behavioral Science Division at Missouri Baptist University.

Office Location: Macklind

Dr. Camille Randall’s therapeutic passions and expertise with children, adolescents, young adults and their families include anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts and negative mood management; daily and academic organization regarding attention or motivation difficulties; positive behavioral practices and communication skills surrounding disruptive behaviors in home and school; coping with peer problems; and adjusting to life changes, including residential relocation, school changes/pressures, passing of close family members, and divided families.

Dr. Randall subspecializes in autism-spectrum disorders, particularly for children, teens and young adults who are experiencing anxiety, sadness and social difficulties related to familial, peer, academic or individuation stressors.

Camille is a Missouri Licensed clinical child and adolescent psychologist, earning her doctorate degree from the University of Kansas Clinical Child Psychology Program (KU CCPP).   Her therapeutic, assessment, supervisory, clinical research and administrative experiences utilizing evidence-based practices (e.g., cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, functional-analytic, stress-reduction/tolerance and mindfulness) in a variety of clinical settings have provided her experience with a broad range of presenting concerns, both common and uncommon in childhood and adolescence. She espouses personal and familial strengths as key in navigating the decision to seek treatment, as well as to influence and secure positive, enduring outcomes.

Dr. Ryan is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in both Missouri and Tennessee, where she maintained a solo practice for 15 years. Dr. Ryan serves as the Director of the Women’s Reproductive Mental Health and Wellness Program at SLBMI. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1994. She has a Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of North Texas. Since 1994, Dr. Ryan has provided a wide array of mental health treatment to individuals, couples, older children, adolescents and couples. She has treated children in foster care and their foster parents; collegiate athletes; women and couples undergoing fertility treatments and/or experiencing high risk pregnancies or recovering from pregnancy loss. Over the years she has kept a general practice, treating anxiety; depression; eating disorder and weight management cases; stress management; trauma; relationship issues; career and work-related problems; grief; and relaxation training. From 2002 until 2010 she was the on-site provider of mental health services for employees of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee through their Employee Assistance Program. In this setting she provided individual counseling, management consultation, and conducted numerous psycho-educational lectures to employees on topics ranging from adjustment to change, helping a colleague through trauma, weight management, and stress awareness and relaxation training.

Dr. Pollard is Founding Director of the Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders (COARD) and Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He graduated in 1981 from the California School of Professional Psychology-San Diego with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and received postdoctoral training in anxiety disorders at the Behavior Therapy Unit at Temple University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Pollard is a licensed psychologist who works with a range of obsessive-compulsive and anxiety-related disorders, with a special interest in patients ambivalent about or resistant to therapy. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and chairs the organization’s national training initiative: the Behavior Therapy Training Institute. Dr. Pollard also serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Canadian Institute for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and the Obsessive-Compulsive Cognitions Working Group research collaborative, and is former chair of the Clinical Advisory Board of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. He serves as a reviewer for a number of professional journals and conference program committees and has authored more than 100 publications, including 2 books: The Agoraphobia Workbook and Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety & Phobia.

Randall C. Flanery, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Program for Psychology and Religions and in the Eating Disorders Program. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1983.

He has long been interested in incorporating psychological and spiritual perspectives in achieving recovery in mental health. He is committed to providing cutting edge, empirically supported treatments, and is trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Specific treatment interests of his are: evidence-based treatments of depression, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other variants of eating disorders.  He also has a broad background in the treatment of a variety of childhood and adolescent conditions and helping individuals achieve lifetime healthy weight management.   A particular  interest is tailoring treatment for eating disorders and weight control concerns to accommodate the unique perspectives of males with those conditions.

He is an adjunct associate professor of Family Medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, and the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, for which he is also an approved supervisor. He is a past associate editor and current reviewer of PsyCritiques, an online journal of reviews.  He is a frequent speaker to professional and public groups.