Team

Séamus McKeon

Director of Admissions & Outreach

Séamus has been working in digital marketing in multiple industries for the past five years. He specializes in digital content strategy and organic, inbound marketing. He brings with him a wealth of previous non-profit youth experience and a background in behavioral health. He enjoys the social aspects of media and technology and is a huge fan of mindfulness, meditation, and holistic healing modalities.

Matt Metcalf, LCSW

Program Director

Matt Metcalf is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked with adolescents and their families for over 11 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Utah, a Master’s degree in Divinity from Amridge University’s Turner School of Theology, and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. He is a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification Certified Clinician, and he also has trained in CBT with the Beck Institute and DBT with Behavioral Tech. He has intensely studied and practiced these therapies in order to best support his clients with a variety of needs, such as social anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, Mood Disorders, and addictions.

Matt’s professional career includes serving as Clinical Director for a dual-diagnosis partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program; as well as serving as Primary Therapist for school-based programs, psychiatric hospitals, and residential treatment centers. He currently has a private practice with clients from Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles in which he specializes in providing comprehensive DBT to adolescents and their families.

Matt is personable, practical, and results-driven. He is diligent about creating a space for parents to build relationships with their adolescents, and he strives to assist families in finding the balance between maintaining structure and setting appropriate limits. Matt recognizes his role as a Program Director of residential programs as a calling, much more than a profession, and he brings immense passion and dedication to the position while always keeping the needs of the families he is supporting in mind.

Allison Welsh, LCSW

Interim Program Director

Allison has experience providing individual, group, and family therapy to adolescents and adults suffering from a variety of challenges. Furthermore, she has extensive experience treating mood disorders, trauma, depression, substance abuse, personality disorders, and dual diagnoses in various acute treatment settings. As a former Director of the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs with the adolescent population, she developed expertise in co-occurring disorders in the field of addiction and mental health utilizing a variety of evidence-based practices.

Allison is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from California State University Channel Islands. She furthered her education and earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Southern California.

Nathalie May, LMFT

Primary Therapist

Nathalie grew up in Paris, France and moved to New York City to pursue her love of dance. She made her way to the west coast where she continued her education and graduated with a Master of Science (MS) degree in Counseling with a focus in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University Northridge. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 11 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults, the elderly, and their families. Nathalie has worked in outpatient, educational, and in-home settings. She has extensive experience in treating children on the autism spectrum, crisis intervention, behavioral issues, trauma, family issues, and addiction.

Her therapeutic approach is solution-focused, using cognitive behavioral therapy, and she is trained and certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).

Nathalie is biracial and culturally competent. She can easily relate to clients from diverse backgrounds. She is also bilingual speaking English along with her native French.

Nathalie believes that by strengthening clients’ ability to take ownership of their own behaviors, they can improve their level of functioning, interpersonal relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Nathalie is highly trained in Structural Family Therapy and works to improve family functioning by increasing positive communication, building on family strengths, and defining and setting healthy boundaries.

She enjoys supporting both, parents and adolescents, in creating a healthy environment for everyone to thrive.

Madison Dennis, AMFT

Primary Therapist

Madison Dennis attended Furman University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minor degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and she then went on to earn her Master’s of Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Southern California. She has extensive experience working as a therapist in outpatient clinic and inpatient residential settings where she has treated adults, adolescents, and families who were struggling with issues ranging from trauma to depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, and disordered eating. Madison’s therapeutic approach is based in psychodynamic therapy and deep insight-oriented work.

She also utilizes behavioral therapies including DBT, CBT, ACT, FBT, and Seeking Safety to support this work and her interventions are aimed at promoting safety, distress tolerance, and self-management. All of Madison’s work is based in empathy and authenticity. She provides her clients with a safe space in which to explore life experiences, and how they impact current behaviors. Madison has a passion for helping her clients focus on integration, growth, and insight while establishing healing and recovery through empowerment.

Cynthia Kelvin, PsyD

Therapist

Cynthia received her doctorate in clinical psychology in 2014 and her registration in drama therapy in 2016. She is also currently in training to become a certified poetry therapist from the International Association for Biblio/Poetry Therapy.

Cynthia has worked in community mental health settings as well as in private rehabilitation with people in various stages of recovery. In her role as a drama therapist, she focuses on accessing deeper emotions by utilizing a safe distanced and playful approach. Her work is based on the belief that by exploring parts of self through creative activity, clients can heal trauma, cultivate mindfulness, and uncover & develop personal strengths. She facilitates groups with the overall goal of helping clients lead an inspired and healthy life.

Emily Skelton, LMFT

Art Therapist

Emily Skelton (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Registered Art Therapist with over a decade of experience working with teens and young adults. With a focus rooted in neuroscience and the mind-body connection, Emily has trained with the Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy in Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing, and received her training in Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with the Institute of Creative Mindfulness. Emily runs Art Therapy groups for Ascend, incorporating a myriad of media such as paint, oil pastels, fiber, collage, and 3-D art interventions to support teens in expressing their thoughts and feelings, creative problem-solving, distress tolerance, mindfulness, anxiety-reduction, and cultivating healthy coping strategies. In addition to her work with Ascend, Emily runs a private practice in Newhall, CA, where she uses art therapy, mindfulness, and EMDR to support clients on their path towards healing, acceptance and understanding. Emily is a member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) and provides gender affirming psychotherapy for transgender, gender diverse, and non-binary youth, adults, family members and partners.