Acton Road and Oakmont at Montclair Road Psychologists

Thomas C. Brecht, Ph.D.
Dr. Tom Brecht holds a double major in psychology and philosophy at the undergraduate level. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi, and completed his internship at Austin State Hospital in Austin, Texas. While on active duty in the Army, Dr. Brecht was director of the Alcoholism Treatment Center at Ft Polk, Louisiana, and later he was clinical director for the Mental Health Center in Camden, Arkansas. He has resided in the Birmingham area since 1980.

Dr. Brecht has been affiliated with APS for over 2 decades and conducts much of the psychological evaluations for the clinic. He is also involved in many of the clinic's groups and has a particular interest in DBT and Jungian sandtray therapy. His major hobby is four season gardening. Dr. Brecht also continues to pursue his life-long interest in philosophy.

Emily Whitt, Psy. D.
Dr. Emily Whitt is a licensed psychologist who works at the Eating Disorder Center of Alabama providing group, individual, and family therapy. She does psychological testing, individual therapy and family therapy with children and adolescents. She is an adjunct psychology professor at the University of Alabama. Dr. Whitt received her Bachelor in Psychology from Florida International University. She received her Master of Science and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Whitt completed her clinical internship at Miami Children’s Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry and was a member of the eating disorder treatment team.

Acton Road Therapists

Andon Briggs, LPC
Andon is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, but has lived in Alabama for the past 12 years. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Montevallo. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor and a Senior Level Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Certified Instructor.

Andon has served the mental health needs of children and adolescents and their families in a variety of roles. He was the Clinical Director of Child/Adolescent Services at MountainView Hospital and provided outpatient counseling services through GrandView Behavioral Health. Andon has dedicated his career to helping children, adolescents and their families reach their potential.

Mary Margaret Denman, LPC
Mary Margaret Denman is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked in mental health for almost 15 years. Her past experience has been with all populations, but she currently sees adults and the elderly. Mary Margaret’s areas of interest are anxiety disorders, and her focus is usually cognitive behavioral, and reality v. solution focused therapies.

Drake Denton, LPC, NCC
Drake Denton is a Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor who has served a diverse variety of mental health populations for almost 14 years.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Samford Univ. and is an honors graduate with a Masters of Education from The Univ. of Montevallo.  Since joining APS in 2002, Mr Denton has worked or provided clinical assistance to almost every APS program in Birmingham.  He has worked in both the Adult and Child/Adolescent Outpatient Programs and spent many years at the Partial Hospitalization Program conducting groups for teens and adults.  He is now broadening his experience in the Adult Outpatient Program and will be leading the Men's Issues Group.

Amy Flowers, Ed.S, LPC, RPT
Amy Flowers is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Registered Play Therapist. She earned a Master of Arts Degree in Community/Agency Counseling from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2002 and an Educational Specialist Degree in Counselor Education from UAB in 2004. Amy has worked with children, adolescents, and adults and has experience providing individual and group therapy to sexually abused children and adolescents. Other areas of interest include PTSD, emotional/physical abuse, depression, at-risk youth, foster care, self-injurious behavior, and working with children and adolescents who have been exposed to parental substance abuse. Amy has also provided clinical supervision to master’s level counselor interns in a community/agency setting and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Montevallo, where she teaches.

Angel K. Jernigan, LPC
Angel K. Jernigan is a Licensed Professional Counselor with experience in the treatment of adults with Severe and Chronic Mental Illness, Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, Personality and Eating Disorders. Angel received her M.S. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2005, and has since worked in a variety of therapeutic settings including Intensive Day Treatment, Rehabilitative Day, Dual Diagnosis and Outpatient programs. She currently provides individual, group and marital therapy services in the Outpatient Program.

Natalia Koulichova, LPC
Natalia Koulichova is a Licensed Professional Counselor with extensive cross-cultural education and experiences. She graduated from Beeson Divinity School with a Master of Theological Studies degree in 1995, and from the University of Montevallo with a Master of Education degree with concentration in Counseling and Guidance in 1998.

She also trained in the Clinical Pastoral Education program as well as in Pastoral Counseling program within the Baptist Health System. Services offered include individual, group and marital/family therapy. She maintains a flexible approach with the focus on depth-oriented psychotherapy. Her particular areas of interest include integration of spirituality in psychotherapy as well as creative use of art, poetry, metaphors and healing stories.

Beth Mann, M.A., LPC, RPT
Beth is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Registered Play Therapist. She graduated from Auburn University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Agency Counseling from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2001. Beth has worked in hospital, agency, and private practice settings, and specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents.

Laurita M. Miller, LCSW
Laurita M. Miller is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-PIP), and is certified by the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). She has over 16 years of experience in the treatment of adults with mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, other anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, marital and family problems and other relational problems. She received her Master of Social Work from Washington University, George Warren Brown School of Social Work in St. Louis, Missouri with a concentration in Mental Health and a specialization in Family Therapy. She has also been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) through the EMDR Institute, and in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She is also an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) service provider.

Rhonna Phillips, LPC, LMFT
Rhonna White Phillips is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Counseling Supervisor, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Guilford College and her master’s degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham.  She has worked extensively with Abuse in Family Systems. Rhonna has been with Alabama Psychiatric Services since May of 2000. She enjoys the diversity of working in all areas of Mental Health using an Integrative approach to therapy.

Elaine Rasco, LPC
Elaine Rasco is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has extensive experience in mental health, substance abuse and spiritual issues as a Chaplain and Pastoral Counselor. She holds a Master of Divinity Degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a Master of Education in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Montevallo, Montevallo, Alabama. Her undergraduate degree is from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama where she was an honors student, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She currently is an adult therapist at the Acton Road location where she sees patients for individual and couples/marital therapy. She also conducts the Women’s Self-Esteem Group and the Women’s Boundary Group which have been successful in addressing women’s issues by helping to build their self-esteem. Her therapeutic style is varied, using education, self-help, cognitive-behavioral, rational-emotive, as well as analytical psychotherapeutic approaches to assist the patient in discovering their strengths in order to build coping skills.

Dana Sheridan, LCSW
Dana Sheridan is a master’s level therapist who attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham for undergraduate degree in Social Work, and received her Master in Social Work from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She specializes in family of origin issues. She has a strong background in acute/residential treatment with extensive experience in substance abuse and trauma-related issues. She has provided therapeutic interventions to children, adolescents and adults through individual, family and group therapy. Dana’s certifications include: Certified Practitioner of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Juvenile Sex Offender Counselor Certification (JSOCCP) and National Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist (NBCCH).

Chrissy Snead, LPC
Chrissy Snead is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a master's degree from Auburn University. She has over seven years of experience primarily working with children and adolescents. Chrissy attends many workshops and has extensive training in the area of play-therapy. She leads anger groups for children and adolescents as well as provides individual and family therapy. Chrissy is a member of the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Wesley Wilkes, LPC
Mr. Wilkes is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who specializes in working with adults. Mr. Wilkes provides treatment, such as individual and group therapies, for a wide range of psychological issues, and generally uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help patients to address their problems. His particular areas of interest include: anger management, depression, obsessive compulsive disorders, self esteem issues, and social anxiety disorder. He obtained his master’s degree at Georgia State University, and has been in practice for Alabama Psychiatric Services, P.C. since July of 2002. He is an active member of the National Board for Certified Counselors, and is licensed in the state of Alabama. 

Oakmont at Montclair Road Therapists

Bret Hardenbrook, LPC
Bret Hardenbrook is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Alabama. His undergraduate degree is from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. He holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Bret has a background in Chemical Dependency counseling, and joined APS in 2004. He is active in the Recovery community.

Amy Hutto, LCSW
Amy Hutto is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in therapeutic services for children and adolescents in the Intensive Outpatient Program. She received her Bachelors degree in Social Work and Sociology from Louisiana College in 1997 and her Masters degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University in 1998. Amy’s professional experience includes working with children, adolescents and families in State, non-profit and faith-based settings. She has worked extensively with families experiencing a variety of problems including child abuse/neglect, divorce/custody conflict, crisis pregnancy, mental health, substance abuse, juvenile/family court and legal issues. Amy relocated to the Birmingham area from Baton Rouge, LA where she was employed as a counselor at a group home for pregnant teenage girls.

Lindsay Korth, LCSW
Lindsay Korth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in working with adults. She joined Alabama Psychiatric Services in March of 2008. She has been in practice as a psychotherapist for over 20 years. Before moving to Birmingham, Alabama Lindsay had a private practice in Birmingham, Michigan where she worked primarily with adults and couples in individual and group modalities. She has also co-led intensive day long experiential workshops dealing with anger, grief, codependency and family of origin issues.

Lindsay has a deep interest in Jungian psychology and serves on the board of Friends of Jung South. She also volunteers at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Outside of APS she enjoys kayaking, fly fishing and racquetball.  

Anna Orcutt, LPC
Anna Orcutt is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. Anna has experience in treating adults and adolescents with depression, anxiety, and trauma, both individually and in groups. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Education in Counseling, both from the University of Montevallo. She is currently the adult therapist for the Birmingham Partial Hospitalization Program for Mental Health.

Deborah Watkins, MLAP
Deborah Watkins is a Master’s Level Addiction Professional, and an Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor with experience in treating patients with Chemical Dependency Disorders. She is currently employed as a therapist at the Oakmont Building in the Intensive Outpatient Program. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master in Education from Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, Alabama. She obtained her Master’s Level Addiction Professional Certification through The Alabama Alcohol and Drug Association, and International Certification Reciprocity Consortium/ Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Inc. in 1999.

S. Reese Wilson, LCSW
S. Reese Wilson, LCSW, is a therapist at the Birmingham Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Program (PHP/IOP) location. She graduated with a Master in Social Work from the University of Alabama. She has experience with inpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, drug court and mental health court programs as case manager and therapist. She has worked with adults and adolescents, in individual, group and family therapy settings, and with a wide range of psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses.

Since 2004, Reese has been the Birmingham PHP/IOP “floater” therapist. In this position, she works with adults, adolescents, and families in the mental health, chemical dependence, and adolescent programs. She coordinates patient care closely with the psychiatrists and therapists to ensure the seamless continuation of comprehensive therapeutic care in the event of a therapist’s absence or high census.

While her primary location is the Birmingham PHP/IOP, Reese is assigned by the Director of the PHP and IOP Programs to APS locations in Madison, Montgomery, and Mobile on an “as needed” basis to provide program quality and continuity of service.