Sheena Friesen

Sheena Friesen, PhD (she/her), is the attending psychologist for the Child Program on the inpatient Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She has clinical expertise in disruptive behavior disorders, comprehensive assessment, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Exposure Therapies, Parent Training, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Dr. Friesen’s research interests broadly focus on advancing knowledge of least restrictive interventions in acute and complex care contexts, trauma-informed care, and interventions designed to address children’s disruptive behavior problems. She has collaborated on and co-led efforts to design and implement a multi-tiered, Modified Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (M-PBIS) model of care aimed at increasing positive behavior interventions, reducing restraint and PRN use, and ameliorating racial gaps in care delivery. 

Dr. Friesen received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She completed her pre-doctoral internship training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute and went on to complete her postdoctoral fellowship in acute care and clinical psychology at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Tessa Frohe

I am a trained Behavioral Scientist with a PhD in Health & Human Performance. The main goal of my work is to reduce substance-related harms and improve quality of life for people experiencing problems related to their substance use. I work closely with community members who use drugs to inform my line of research and address key needs identified. My primary appointment is at the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center within the UW School of Medicine and hold an Affiliate Faculty appointment within the School of Public Health.​ My aim is to adapt, refine, and disseminate harm reduction programs through digital health interventions to empower individuals and ameliorate substance-related harms.

Bill O’Connell

As part of my faculty appointment, I am Director of the Behavioral Health Support Specialist (BHSS) Workforce Development Project.  My responsibilities include oversight of curriculum development, practicum guidelines, development of community partnerships, and advocacy for employment integration.

Behavioral Health Support Specialist (BHSS) Workforce Development Project

A BHSS is a state certified bachelor-level mental and behavioral health provider working under the supervision of a person licensed to assess, diagnose, and treat mental and behavioral health conditions. As part of task sharing, the BHSS delivers brief, culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions for common mental and behavioral health conditions in a team-based setting. Crisis services, integrated care and specialty behavioral healthcare are examples of work environments that may benefit from BHSS services. A project goal is to support higher educational programs across the state implement the BHSS clinical training program, including practicum. To date, five higher education institutions in Washington state have been approved by the Department of Health to offer BHSS clinical training, while five more have applied for approval. By continuing to develop innovative models of education, training, and supervision, this project strives to improve access to care through bachelor-level workforce expansion.

Scholarship

My current scholarship focuses on behavioral health workforce development and best practices in teaching and training bachelor level intervention specialists for behavioral health settings. Past experience includes principal investigator for a philanthropic gift from Robert Craves to expand access to school counseling services at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood of Seattle. I also engaged in community-based research with Village Spirit Center for Community Change and Healing located in the Central District to produce a mental health needs assessment for residents who had experienced homelessness prior to obtaining secure housing. Previous peer reviewed publications focused on counselor preparation for employment in behavioral health agencies, best practices in counselor preparation and ethical dilemmas in counselor practice.

Certification and Licensure

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the State of Washington and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Colorado.  Additionally, I am a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) through the National Board of Certified Counselors and the Center for Credentialing and Education.

Career Roles

  • Associate Professor (WOT), Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (2022-Present)
  • Regional Director of Behavioral Health and Primary Care Behavioral Health Consultant for One Medical Seniors, Washington and Colorado Markets (2018-2021)
  • Founding Chair, Department of Leadership and Professional Studies, Seattle University, Seattle, Washington (2014-2017)
  • Associate Professor with Tenure of Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling,  Seattle University, Seattle, Washington (2010-2019)
  • Associate Professor with Tenure of Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling at Xavier University in Ohio (2006-2010)
  • Assistant Professor, Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio (2001-2006)
  • Past President of the Ohio Counseling Association (2006-2009)
  • Continuous Adjunct Instructor, Community and School Counseling at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio (1994-2001)
  • Founding Assistant Clinical Director for Talbert House Inc. (1998-2001)
  • *Private Practice Therapist and Consultant, Cincinnati, Ohio (1997-2010)
  • Adjunct Instructor, University of Cincinnati College of Evening and Continuing Education (1997-2000)
  • Adult Therapist, Clermont Counseling Center in Milford, Ohio (1994-1997)
  • Crisis Intervention Specialist for Talbert House Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio (1990-1993)
  • Adult Therapist, Care Unit Chemical Dependency Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio (1988-1990)
  • Clinical Pastoral Education Intern, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (1988)

*I owned a private practice in the Greater Cincinnati Area for twelve years providing behavioral medicine consultation in an integrated pain management practice, clinical consultation to behavioral health organizations, and training and education on ethical and professional issues for mental health providers.  Additionally, I provided individual, couple and family counseling in a group psychology practice with a special focus on serving the LGBTQI+ community and persons with trauma history.

Katherine Walukevich-Dienst

Dr. Walukevich-Dienst (hear my name) is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington.

Her research is focused on identifying psychosocial and contextual factors associated with alcohol and cannabis misuse and co-use among young adults, including social influences (e.g., romantic partners, use partnerships), affect management motives, co-occurring mental health concerns, and high-risk substance use events and contexts.

Dr. Walukevich-Dienst aims to leverage this information to develop and test innovative, technology-informed prevention and intervention efforts to  disseminate in real world settings.

She also provides psychotherapy to patients at the University of Washington’s Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic and provides supervision and training to psychology graduate students and psychiatry residents in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Link to Dr. Walukevich-Dienst’s CV.

Nathan Sackett

Nathan Sackett, MD, MS  is trained as an addiction psychiatrist, focusing on the intersection between substance use and psychiatric disorders. He attended medical school and nursing school at UCSF, graduate school at UC Berkeley and completed his adult psychiatry residency and addiction psychiatry fellowship at the University of Washington. He is now a junior faculty at the University of Washington in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where he splits his time between seeing patients and research. Clinically, he works primarily outpatient seeing a range of patients with primary psychiatric issues and substance use disorders. His research focuses on the use of psychedelics to treat substance use disorders with a particular interest in how psychedelics can augment the psychotherapeutic process and facilitate behavioral change. When he is not working, he is spending time with his family and playing in the ocean.

Douglas Lane

I am a clinical psychologist with board certification in geriatric psychology.  I am based in the Geriatrics and Extended Care Service of the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System.