Caleb Cuthbertson
MFT-Trainee
Caleb Cuthbertson, M.S. (he/him/his), is a first-year PhD student in Human Development and Family Sciences specializing in Couple and Family Therapy at The Ohio State University. Caleb graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with his M.S. in Rehabilitation Mental Health Counseling and certification in Behavioral Addictions in 2021. Caleb also received his B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from UNC Greensboro.
Caleb believes in creating space for individuals, couples, and families to heal in authenticity; be true to yourself and others. Caleb collaborates with the client(s) to support their needs and challenge them in order to illicit change and solutions.
Caleb’s research interests include:
- Medical Family Therapy
- Attachment Style
- Sexual, Racial and Violent Trauma
- Behavioral Addictions
Jaclyn Comisar
MFT-Trainee
Originally from Pittsburgh, Jackie has called Columbus home for the past 15 years. Jackie holds a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Michigan and has worked as a theatre professional for over twenty years both on and off the stage. Jackie’s clinical interests focus on working with couples and families from a structural family perspective. She is interested in the integration of the theatrical arts into the therapeutic setting and task-oriented grieving.
Jasmine Denofsky
MFT-Trainee
Jasmine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Miami University. She is currently working towards a Master of Science in Couple and Family Therapy. Jasmine plans on studying how anxiety affects parenting for her thesis.
Jasmine creates an inclusive, collaborative space for clients to work towards their goals. She wishes to help clients navigate through the challenges life throws at them. She is interested in helping individuals, couples, and families while looking through a systemic lens.
Jasmine’s interests include:
- Anxiety disorders
- Immigrant and multicultural families
Caroline Feldkamp
MFT-Trainee
Caroline is a first year CFT Master’s student and trainee. Prior to her time at Ohio State, she attained her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami Univeristy in 2017. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked as a special education teacher in an early elementary-age unit for children with behavioral concerns. In addition to her Master’s degree, Caroline is pursuing a certification through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). Her areas of interest include issues of intimacy, communication, families with young children and teenagers, and trauma. In her free time, Caroline enjoys tending to her many plants, spending time with loved ones, and trying new coffee shops.
Gina Howard
MFT-Trainee
Gina received her B.A. in Child and Family Studies from Berea College, a private liberal arts college with a no-tuition promise for all enrolled students. Born and raised in Ohio, she loves being outdoors and spending time with family and friends. Gina has a love for relationships and a desire to strengthen them. She has a committment to diversity, including people from different cultural, ethical, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds and identities.
One interesting fact about her is that she studied abroad in Ghana, Africa upon graduating with her bachelor’s to learn about West African spirituality and Afrofuturism.
Emily Kattner
MFT-Trainee
Emily received her bachelor’s degree at The Ohio State University in Psychology and Creative Writing. She decided to return to OSU to pursue her master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy.
Emily also works in childcare and is interested in continuing to work with children and their families in a clinical environment. Specifically, she is interested in parenting and in how mental health affects the family. She is also interested in working with LGBTQ couples and families.
Natalie LaCava
MFT-Trainee
Natalie is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Work, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Natalie is pursuing her Master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy at The Ohio State University. Previously, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Sciences from The Ohio State University.
Natalie works to create a safe and healing space for everyone as they work through life’s difficulties. Natalie strives to create a collaborative, strengths-based approach to therapy and works hard to empower her clients to become the best version of themselves. She believes that everyone has their own, unique story that has shaped what they are currently going through. She strives to create a space in which everyone’s experiences can be heard, gain insight into how it has shaped them, and then create a new, more fulfilling reality.
Natalie’s interests include:
- Relationship Concerns
- Grief & Loss
- Addiction
- Medical Family Therapy
- Eating Disorders
Mina Lee
MFT-Trainee
Mina earned her B.A. in Arts Management at The Ohio State University. Her previous focus and interest on community wellness has brought her to pursue her Master’s in Couple and Family Therapy as a returning Buckeye. Mina is dedicated to serving couples and families as a means to positively impact the communities they make up. She believes in therapy as a collaboration between clients and therapists and strives to establish her practice as a judgment-free and empathetic space. She credits her current clinical interests to her cultural upbringing as a first-generation Korean American citizen and hopes to pay homage to her community with her work.
Mina’s current clinical and research interests include:
- Acculturation and culture gaps in Asian-American families
- Elder family members and their families/social networks
Tiara Malbrue
MFT-Trainee
Tiara is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Work, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Tiara received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Mental Health Science and Global Studies from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy at The Ohio State University.
Tiara is dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive, and equitable space for her clients. She desires to create a strong therapeutic alliance through affirmation, support and commitment to client goals. She uses sensitivity and active listening to deepen her clients’ relational connections and broaden their understanding.
Tiara’s areas of interests include: Black families and mental health, the minority experience, parent/child relationships, intergenerational trauma
Meg Perez
MFT-Trainee
Meg is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Work, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Meg received her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Science from Oklahoma State University. She is continuing her education at Ohio State and is working toward her master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy.
Meg is passionate about serving others and helping them reach their maximum potential. She highly values transparency and honesty within the therapy room. Meg strives to make her clients feel welcomed and appreciated throughout their time together. Meg’s goal is to create a safe and collaborative space for clients to share their own goals and wishes without the presence of judgement or criticism.
Meg’s research interests include:
- Medical Family Therapy
- Substance use disorders in the adolescent population
- Intergenerational trauma
Alexis Pizzulo
MFT-Trainee
Alexis is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Alexis is a PhD student in the Human Development and Family Science program specializing in Couple and Family Therapy. She is a returning Buckeye, having previously received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science specializing in Intimacy and Sexuality Studies and minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Clinically, Alexis is interested in utilizing a systemic perspective to treat individuals, couples, and families through solution-focused and narrative therapy models. She seeks to provide a supportive environment through authentic alliances balanced with motivational consultation.
Alexis’s research interests include:
- Familial alcoholism and substance use
- Communication styles and their implications
- Adolescent and early-adulthood development
- Systems theory
Rachel Ryan
MFT-Trainee
Rachel is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Rachel is a Ph.D. Student in Human Development and Family Science with a specialization in Couple and Family Therapy at The Ohio State University. She is from St. Louis, Missouri, and received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Drury University as well as a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
Rachel strives to create a warm and supportive space for clients to be their most authentic selves. Rachel values the importance of the past, present, and future in therapy. She takes a genuine interest in hearing clients’ perspectives on all three with the goal of helping clients develop and reconstruct the stories surrounding their problems.
Her research interests include:
- LGBTQIA-inclusive relationship and sex education
- Maintenance of healthy relationships
- The impact of involving partners and family members in treatment for mental illness
Adalie Schmidt
MFT-Trainee
Adalie is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Work, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Adalie earned her bachelor’s degree at The Ohio State University in Medical Anthropology and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy.
Adalie seeks to get to know her clients as whole people to truly understand how they relate with the world and how they see their place within it. She believes in collaborating with her clients to create definitions of health that align with their own beliefs and values, and then together finding ways to live out those definitions. She aims to foster a sense of hope and agency in her clients through open and compassionate dialogue.
Adalie’s research interests include:
- Complex trauma
- The embodiment of trauma and chronic stress
Annie Stout
MFT-Trainee
Annie was born and raised outside of Cleveland in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Annie graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Annie’s passion for psychology and the human condition ultimately led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Annie hopes to continue on to get her Ph.D. Annie’s research interests include helicopter parenting and attachment styles. Annie plans to focus her thesis on how these two topics relate to one another as well as examining how both impact mental health in a general sense.
Annie used her certification as a Chemical Dependency Counseling Assistant at Alvis 180 Degree Impact by providing psychological counseling to clients who have recently been released from incarceration. At Alvis 180 Degree Impact, Annie led clients in making adjustments with regards to behavior management, cognitive errors, and substance abuse treatment. Annie hopes to bring her writing background into her work at The Ohio State University Couples & Family Therapy Clinic by utilizing narrative therapy to help clients rewrite their stories. Annie also plans to focus on client’s strengths by implementing tools from the solution-focused therapy model. As a therapist, Annie applies an integrative therapeutic approach which allows her to apply a personalized intervention to best promote her client’s goals.
Hailey Stroup
MFT-Trainee
Hailey is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Work, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Hailey earned her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and spent several years working at nonprofit organizations in roles spanning direct service, program development, and grantmaking. She is thrilled to be back at Ohio State pursuing her Master’s in Couple and Family Therapy.
Hailey approaches her clients with curiosity, kindness, and compassion. She works collaboratively with her clients to explore their goals for therapy and chart a path forward. Hailey seeks to create an atmosphere where clients feel supported and challenged to make meaningful changes in their lives.
Hailey’s research interests include families impacted by disabilities, family resilience, and strengths-based therapeutic interventions.
Julia Swallows
MFT-Trainee
Julia graduated with her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Science.
She is interested in working with athletes who have dealt with the trauma of an injury, but also
interested in the family dynamic.
Riley Whiting
MFT-Trainee
Riley is registered with the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, & Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee.
Riley is a Ph.D. Student in Human Development and Family Science with a specialization in Couple and Family Therapy from The Ohio State University.
Riley enjoys helping clients from all walks of life and is focused on creating a safe environment for self-discovery and growth. He is calm and kind as he works with clients to identify intergenerational patterns to help them develop perspective and form stable relationships.
His research interests include:
- Relationship stability
- Intergenerational healing
- The relationship between physical and mental health in families
