Staff

Director: Moshe Shtuhl, Ph.D. - Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Moshe Shtuhl worked as a psychologist in his native Israel before arriving in the U.S. to pursue doctoral studies in 1987. During a three year internship at the University of California in San Francisco, he specialized in working with children and families.� In 1990 he was one of fifteen health professionals nationwide to be recognized for exceptional work with children by Zero to Three, a Washington, D.C. based organization focusing on the needs of�young children. In 1992, Dr. Shtuhl founded the Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program, a training program for mental health professionals at the Washington School of Psychiatry in Washington, D.C. He served as its chairman until 1998, when he stepped down to pursue concentrated studies in neuropsychology at the Fielding Institute, which he completed in 2000. He has been on the Faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council of Learning and Developmental Disorders since 2003. Dr. Shtuhl has worked with children of all ages and their families in his private practice since 1993.

Joy Granetz, Ph.D, Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Joy Granetz received a Bachelors degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Boston University, a Masters degree in Psychology from American University, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from George Mason University. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialization in clinical neuropsychology.

Dr. Granetz came to Family Compass in 2000 from the National Institutes of Health, where she worked in the Cognitive Neuroscience Section administering neuropsychological tests to a broad spectrum of patients. Throughout her training, she completed externships at INOVA Fairfax Hospital and George Washington University Medical Center. During a two year internship, she worked at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she performed neuropsychological assessments of soldiers with acquired brain injury. She has published research on the neuropsychological effects of brain injury and learning disorders.

Dr. Granetz has extensive experience in neuropsychological testing with a special interest in working with children and adolescents with learning disorders, attention related problems, and head injury. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. At Family Compass, Dr. Granetz currently serves as Coordinator of the Attention and Learning Challenges Team.

Alison Krowinski Gardner, Psy.D. - Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Gardner completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh then gained experience in mental health crisis intervention and conducted research with the University of Pittsburgh. In 1998, Dr. Gardner sought her doctoral degree from the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology which is jointly sponsored by the College of William and Mary, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University, and Norfolk State University. She received training in psychological assessment and family and individual therapy before coming to Northern Virginia in 2001 to complete her pre-doctoral internship with the Fairfax - Falls Church Community Services Board. During her internship, Dr.Gardner received advanced training in play therapy and became a member of the Infancy and Early Childhood Team. After receiving her Psy.D. in 2002, she stayed on to work full time with this team where she has gained a great deal of experience working with families and young children with emotional and developmental challenges. Dr. Gardner has been working with Family Compass since February, 2004, and is now specializing in treating childhood anxiety.

Mark Gardner, LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Mr. Gardner has been working as a social worker with children and families for thirteen years and specializes in treating infants, toddlers, preschoolers, elementary-school-aged children and their parents. In 1997, he completed his Master of Social Work degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University, which included training and postgraduate work at the Inova Kellar Center. Thereafter, he spent six years working as a psychotherapist with the Infancy and Early Childhood Program, part of Fairfax County's community mental health system. In addition to expertise in play and family therapy, Mr. Gardner is a certified trauma and loss specialist. Mr. Gardner has provided family therapy and grief groups to children whose parents have died and for two years co-led a grief group for children who lost a parent in the 9/11 attacks.

Dan Dinsmoor, Ph.D. - Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Dinsmoor received his B.A. in psychology from Oberlin College, and his Ph. D. from the American University in Washington D.C. During the early 70s, Dr. Dinsmoor created an outpatient program for young autistic children at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents in Baltimore.

During the early 1980�s Dr. Dinsmoor completed extensive post doctoral work in family therapy at the Georgetown Family Center, Georgetown University Dept. of Psychiatry.

From 1983-1993 he was the Coordinator of Child and Adolescent Mental Health for Charles County Maryland. He was also the staff psychologist for the Community Mental Health Program at Liberty Hospital in Baltimore.�

For the past 8 years Dr. Dinsmoor has provided neurofeedback services to a variety of clinical populations. This includes using neurofeedback to treat adults with Schizophrenia at the Springfield Hospital Center in Maryland, and children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Depression, Bipolar disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and other psychiatric disorders at Arlington County Department of Human Services.

Karla Fife, LCSW, BCBA - Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Board Certified Behavior Analyst  

Karla joined Family Compass in January 2006 to develop and coordinate the Social Skills Training program, which provides small group instruction to children with social-skills deficits. In September 2006, Karla developed, and now coordinates, the In-Home Behavior Support program. This unique service, for families struggling to support children with behavioral problems, brings assessment, treatment, and parental guidance into the home environment. Karla also provides individual and family therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. For over seven years, Karla has worked with individuals with autism spectrum disorders and also has experience with individuals with ADD/ADHD, emotional disabilities, social-skills deficits, and mental retardation. She�s provided individual and group services to children, adolescents, and adults in home, school and residential settings. Most recently, she worked as an ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) Coach for Fairfax County public schools. Karla Fife is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She received a Masters in Social Work, with a focus in mental health, health and disabilities, from Columbia University in NY.

Joshua Metz, MSW, Clinical Social Work

Mr. Metz joins Family Compass (following a clinical internship in 2007-2008) as the program coordinator and therapist for the new Child Development Team, providing services and support to families of young children with developmental delays and challenges in engaging, relating and communicating. Mr. Metz has received a masters of social work from the National Catholic School of Social Service, Catholic University of America, concentrating his studies on infant and early childhood development. Mr. Metz is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) Fellowship program located at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Metz brings several years of experience working with parents and young children, using play-based, developmentally-grounded strategies to foster interaction and engagement (DIR/Floortime, RDI, SCERTS).

Rona Benhorin, Ph.D. - Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Rona Benhorin obtained a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2000. She then continued to work as a research assistant at UMBC and at John�s Hopkins school of Hygiene and Public Health for a year. In 2001, Dr. Benhorin sought her doctoral degree from UMBC. She graduated in 2007 with a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and community psychology. Throughout her graduate school training, Dr. Benhorin completed externship placements at the University of Maryland School Based Mental Health Program, the Baltimore City Diagnostic Center, and at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. Benhorin completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Child and Family Therapy Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/John�s Hopkins School of Medicine (in 2006-2007), and her post-doctoral fellowship at the Behavior Management Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/John�s Hopkins School of Medicine (in 2007-2008). Dr. Benhorin specializes in working with toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and adolescents presenting with a wide range of developmental, behavioral, and emotional concerns. She conducts individual therapy, family therapy, and parent training.

Ruthie Dearson, M.A., CCC-SLP - Speech-Language Pathologist

Ruthie Dearson joins Family Compass Group as Speech-Language Pathologist for the Child Development Team. She received her B.A. in English at Mary Washington College in 1997 where her interest in language development and linguistics began. Ms. Dearson attended the University of Vermont as a Continuing Education student where she completed pre-requisite coursework for graduate studies in communication disorders. She received her M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001 with a specialization in medical speech-language pathology. Her Master's Thesis, Typical Development in the First Year of Life, a Family Resource Manual, helped lay the groundwork for her career helping children with developmental delays and disorders. After successful completion of her clinical fellowship year, Ms. Dearson received her Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association) in 2002. Her experience includes providing evaluations, diagnosis and treatment of children with a variety of communication delays and disorders in Early Head Start and Head Start programs, Fairfax County Public Schools, and private practice. Ms. Dearson works with young children with language delays, developmental language disorders, articulation and phonological disorders, pragmatic language deficits, and fluency disorders (stuttering). She believes firmly in evidenced-based treatment and making parents partners in the therapy process.

Mecca Burns, RDT-BCT�- �Drama Therapist 

Mecca Burns received her�undergraduate degree�in both Psychology and Performing Arts from Washington University in 1984, and her master's degree� in Counseling Psychology (Emphasis: Drama and Movement Therapy) from Lindenwood University in 1992,� She is a Registered Drama Therapist and a Board-Certified Drama Therapy Trainer, and has served on the Board of the National Association for Drama Therapy as Standards & Ethics Chair. For over twenty years she has taught creative drama and movement, written and directed plays for children, and provided drama therapy for both adults and children. She lives in Charlottesville, Va. where she maintains a private practice in drama�therapy�for children with special needs. She is also co-director of PRESENCE Center for Applied Theatre Arts, which applies theatre to social issues. She has raised two�daughters and a stepdaughter.

Brad Stoller, Drama Therapist

Brad Stoller received his BA in Theatre Arts and Dance from Sonoma State University and his MFA in Drama from the University of Virginia. He has worked with youth and adults with drama and dance for over twenty years. He is an award winning playwright and teaches playwriting in the Young Writers' summer program at UVA. He has been a secondary school theatre director as well as a university professor in theatre and dance. He was drama and music director at the Charlottesville Center for Dyslexia. Brad is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique (a movement re-education work) and holds a black belt in Aikido. He teaches Aikido and Alexander Technique to youths and adults in Charlottesville. Brad has co-presented with Mecca Burns at four National Association for Drama Therapy conferences. He has a daughter and two stepdaughters who are all musicians.

Christie Russo, B.A. - Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology, Cogmed Working Memory Coach

Christie Russo received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Spanish at Vanderbilt University in 2002. Upon commencement, she assumed a position as an intramural research assistant in the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. There she helped conduct mental health research through the administration of neuropsychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging. She is currently a student at The George Washington University where she is pursuing her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. Her doctoral candidacy concentrations are child and adolescent therapy and assessment.