Faculty + graduates+ Learners
Meet Our Faculty + Learners
Sharon Bernstein, PH.D.
Sharon Bernstein is a licensed private practice psychotherapist in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Sharon has been practicing psychotherapy for 40 years with people of all ages. Beginning in 1976 at St Francis Community Mental Health Center as a consultant and mental health educator to parents and teachers as part of the National Institute of Mental Health growth grant, where she spent 23 years in various roles, Sharon has evolved into an analytically oriented therapist for children, adolescents, and adults.
JAMES NOSEGAY BOWEN, MSW, LSW
James Nosegay Bowen is a clinical social worker, somatic practitioner, and herbalist in Pittsburgh, PA who is committed to individual and collective resilience and joy.
They see clinical practice as a way of deepening relationship to bodies, land, purpose, and each other.
BILL CORNELL, M.A., TSTA (P)
William F. Cornell, M.A., TSTA (P), has maintained an independent private practice of psychotherapy and consultation in Pittsburgh, PA for over 40 years. Having studied behavioral psychology at Reed College in Portland, Oregon and phenomenological psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he followed his graduate program with training in transactional analysis and body-centered psychotherapy and has studied with several mentors and consultants within diverse psychoanalytic perspectives.
PATRICIA DONOHUE, PH.D.
Patricia Donohue, Ph.D.: I think, teach, and learn at the intersections of feminist philosophy, gender studies, and psychology. I am preoccupied with themes of embodiment, social location, and enactments of power, and the ways these inform, enable, constrict, and deform knowing and feeling.
ADAM HAGLUND, LCSW
Adam Haglund is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker currently practicing in Pittsburgh within a private setting. He earned his bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and Religious Studies from The New School University in New York City.
George Herrity, Psy.D., MSW
George Herrity, PsyD, MSW is a licensed psychologist in private practice in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh providing individual psychotherapy to late adolescents and adults. Dr. Herrity received his MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work and his PsyD from Carlow University. Some of Dr. Herrity’s training background includes wilderness therapy, combat-related PTSD, and college counseling.
KATIE KEARNS, LCSW
Katie Kearns is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice at 3Rivers Therapists in Squirrel Hill. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. Katie has a true passion for treating eating disorders and helping individuals develop a healthy, normalized relationship with food, weight, and shape.
Colleen Peddycord, LCSW
Colleen Peddycord is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with experience working with adults, adolescents, and children from diverse backgrounds. Her practice is grounded in an appreciation for the complexity of each person's emotional life, relationships, and history.
Her clinical background includes community mental health work with sexual assault survivors at Oregon’s Sexual Assault Resource Center, children and families through The Matilda Theiss Childhood Trauma Treatment Center, and adults with chronic health conditions in integrated healthcare settings.
In her private practice, Colleen works with adults, adolescents, and children navigating life transitions, academic and professional stress, chronic illness, anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties. She has a particular interest in feminist perspectives and strives to create an environment where clients feel genuinely seen, understood, and respected. She welcomes work that explores questions of identity, including race, gender, and sexuality.
Colleen is a graduate of the inaugural 2021–2023 Two-Year Program.
Contact: colleenplcsw@gmail.com
Her clinical background includes community mental health work with sexual assault survivors at Oregon’s Sexual Assault Resource Center, children and families through The Matilda Theiss Childhood Trauma Treatment Center, and adults with chronic health conditions in integrated healthcare settings.
In her private practice, Colleen works with adults, adolescents, and children navigating life transitions, academic and professional stress, chronic illness, anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties. She has a particular interest in feminist perspectives and strives to create an environment where clients feel genuinely seen, understood, and respected. She welcomes work that explores questions of identity, including race, gender, and sexuality.
Colleen is a graduate of the inaugural 2021–2023 Two-Year Program.
Contact: colleenplcsw@gmail.com
Alyson Kepple, M.D.
Dr. Alyson Kepple earned her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed her psychiatry residency at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh where she served as Chief Resident for Psychotherapy Training supervising and teaching psychiatry residents and medical students.
She is completing her psychoanalytic training at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis (ICP+P) in Washington, DC and is a recipient of the 2021 Early Career Professional Award presented by The International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP).
Michael Mervosh, Ph.D.
Michael Mervosh is a licensed clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and founder of MGM Psychological Associates, located in Pittsburgh, PA. He has been devoted to full-time private practice, providing intensive individual and group psychotherapy for 30 years.
andi pilecki eliza-christie, lpc (she/they)
andi pilecki eliza-christie (she/they) is a psychoanalyst and licensed professional counselor with a practice in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to WPCPT, Andi is a faculty member with the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI) and its psychoanalytic training program, IIPT. In their writing, Andi has explored the role of the internet as a transitional space for trans and gender diverse adolescents and adults, the impact of familial and sociocultural contexts on LGBTQ+ identities, and the interplay between social and psychic structures in the pandemic era. Andi was the recipient of the 2024 Ralph E. Roughton Award for their paper, "Surviving Charitable Hatred: Spiritual violence and queer resilience." Andi is an editorial associate with the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JAPA) and on the editorial board of Psychoanalytic Inquiry, co-chair of APsA’s Committee on Gender and Sexuality (COGS) and chair of the North American subcommittee of the Sexual and Gender Diversities Study Group of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA).
Aedamar Grant, Ph.D.
Dr. Grant is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist who has been in private practice in the Pittsburgh area for more than 25 years. She received her undergraduate degree at University College Dublin, her post graduate teaching degree at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland and her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She has previously worked in several of the counseling centers at local universities in Pittsburgh. She was also a supervising clinician at the outpatient Eating Disorders outpatient at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic for some years.
Dr. Grant has received training in Jungian psychoanalysis and in more recent years has participated in training seminars and clinical consultation groups at the International Psychotherapy Institute in Washington, DC in object relations focused psychotherapy. Her work is also influenced by some trainings in Buddhist meditation practices and more specifically by the work of Thich Nhat Hanh. She also engages in various other trainings (Restorative Justice seminars, mindfulness trainings) related to her own personal development and to inform her clinical work.
She is very pleased to join the Western PA Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies and, in particular, to have the opportunity to offer a clinical group supervision given that her many years of personal experience in clinical consultation groups have been foundational in the growth and development of her own clinical understanding and skill.
David Silvasy, Psy.D.
Dr. David Silvasy is a licensed psychologist. He received his Doctoral degree from Carlow University in Counseling Psychology where he also received his Master of Science degree in Professional Counseling. Dr. Silvasy completed his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh in Philosophy and Psychology, and he completed his doctoral internship at the University of Pittsburgh Counseling Center.
Catherine Maihoefer, LPC
Catherine Maihoefer, LPC is a licensed professional counselor in private practice. She earned her degree in Counseling Psychology from Chatham University. She is a graduate analyst and faculty member at the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center. She has been a full-time clinician for over 20 years and has worked in a variety of clinical settings: research (evaluations and therapies), community mental health, university counseling, and consulting.
Steven Hesky, Ph.D.
Steven Hesky, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice with 50 years of experiences in psychoanalytic approaches to psychotherapy. He has trained in Freudian psychoanalysis, Jungian psychoanalysis, Existential psychoanalysis, and Object Relations approaches. At Point Park College, he taught Theories of Personality, Theories of Psychotherapy, Techniques of Psychotherapy, and Psychological Research. He graduated from Lake Forest College in 1972 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in religion. In 1984, he graduated from the clinical track in Existential Phenomenological Psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. His dissertation was on Effective and Ineffective Insight. Though he started out working with children and adolescents, his current work is entirely in psychotherapy with adults and supervision of other psychotherapists.
Lorrie Rabin, Ph.D.
Dr. Rabin is a psychodynamic psychotherapist and consultant in private practice. She previously worked as director of the Counseling and Psychological Services at Carnegie Mellon University, Senior Clinician at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at CMU, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Counseling Psychology Department at the University of Pittsburgh.
Noah Rahm, Psy.D., FIPA
Dr. Rahm is a psychoanalyst in private practice, with over 20 years of clinical experience. He has experience working in community mental health, university counseling, adult psychiatric inpatient and outpatient, disability determination services of state government, providing health psychology consultations for patient care, and teaching graduate-level courses in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis.
Heather Walker, LPC
Heather Walker, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor currently in private practice. She has experience working with diverse clients in a variety of mental health settings including residential facilities, UPMC Center for Eating Disorders, Allegheny County Jail, in-home family based services, and Penn Avenue Place Clubhouse. She works with couples and individuals aged 14 and over dealing with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, identity issues, difficult transitions, self-esteem, and relationship issues.
Learner 2023–2025 Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Practice Program.
Contact: Heather@cedaravepsych.com
Learner 2023–2025 Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Practice Program.
Contact: Heather@cedaravepsych.com
ANNA SHAW, LCSW
Anna Shaw (they/them) is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice located in Pittsburgh, PA. Anna specializes in working with the LGBTQ+ community. Anna has studied and received supervision in EMDR, ERP, and psychodynamic techniques.
Jess Keys, LPC, M.Ed., M.A.
Jess Keys is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice at Today Has Purpose, LLC, in Pittsburgh, PA, seeing clients both in-person and virtually. She holds an M.Ed. from Penn West University and an M.A. from California University of Pennsylvania. Her work is grounded in a psychodynamic and attachment-based approach, and integrates elements of CBT, DBT, and Existential Therapy to help clients understand not just what they feel, but why they feel it.
Diane Dolata, LCSW
Diane Dolata is an LCSW in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. She treats traumatized individuals and has a special interest in relational work with couples. She is a member of the 2025–27 cohort at the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies.
Phone: 412-551-4433
Contact: Dolatadh@icloud.com
Phone: 412-551-4433
Contact: Dolatadh@icloud.com
David Keys, Ph.D
David is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Board Certified Diplomate, Psychotherapist and founder of Today Has Purpose, LLC, located in Pittsburgh, PA. He completed his Master’s in Business Administration at Robert Morris University and is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist and Consultant in Training. He is also a student in The Institute for Modern Psychoanalysis of Philadelphia’s Modern Psychoanalysis and Organizational Life program and is a former Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor.
In addition, David is a student in the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies' two-year program, following his completion of the Community's one-year program. He has served in diverse settings throughout his career, ranging from work with inmates and adjudicated youth to intensive outpatient drug and alcohol treatment and private practice. He engages patients through a trauma-informed, psychodynamic lens and has an ongoing curiosity about the intersection of organizational consultation, professional coaching, and psychoanalytic thought.
Contact: david@todayhaspurpose.com
In addition, David is a student in the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies' two-year program, following his completion of the Community's one-year program. He has served in diverse settings throughout his career, ranging from work with inmates and adjudicated youth to intensive outpatient drug and alcohol treatment and private practice. He engages patients through a trauma-informed, psychodynamic lens and has an ongoing curiosity about the intersection of organizational consultation, professional coaching, and psychoanalytic thought.
Contact: david@todayhaspurpose.com
Whitney Sigall, LCSW
Whitney Sigall is a licensed clinical social worker who recently started a private practice in Squirrel Hill. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Florida State University and her master’s in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh.
Kevin R. Smith, Ph.D.
Dr. Smith is a psychodynamic psychotherapist in independent practice and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology at Duquesne University. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including as a therapist in multi-site studies on the efficacy of psychotherapy. He currently supervises the psychotherapy training of psychiatry residents and doctoral students in clinical psychology.
Tova Tarr
Dr. Tova Tarr is a licensed psychologist in private practice working in Pittsburgh for over 40 years. She studied art history and geography at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and then received a Master’s Degree in Development and Educational Psychology from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She began her psychology career as a child and family psychologist working at the Child Development Unit of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Jewish Family and Children’s Services, and she worked with adults on the psychiatric unit of Forbes Regional Hospital while starting her private practice.
Over the years she has studied various modalities of psychotherapy, including Group Therapy, Psychodrama, Family Therapy, Body Psychotherapy, and, for the last 30 years, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. She has focused on Object Relations, Kleinian, and Relational Psychoanalytic Theories and Practices, as well as Jungian Psychology.
Dr. Tarr graduated from the three-year program New Directions: A Program of the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis, developing a critical perspective on psychoanalytic thinking and skills as a psychoanalytic writer. She has served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Pittsburgh Jung Society. She has lectured on the relationships among art, spirituality, and psychoanalysis at the Jung Society and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. She also supervised psychiatric residents through the Clinic Without Walls. She enjoys working with multicultural patients in her private practice.
Dr. Tarr is delighted with the opportunity to serve as a faculty member of the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies.
Active Member Faculty
Contact: tovatarr@hotmail.com
Over the years she has studied various modalities of psychotherapy, including Group Therapy, Psychodrama, Family Therapy, Body Psychotherapy, and, for the last 30 years, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. She has focused on Object Relations, Kleinian, and Relational Psychoanalytic Theories and Practices, as well as Jungian Psychology.
Dr. Tarr graduated from the three-year program New Directions: A Program of the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis, developing a critical perspective on psychoanalytic thinking and skills as a psychoanalytic writer. She has served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Pittsburgh Jung Society. She has lectured on the relationships among art, spirituality, and psychoanalysis at the Jung Society and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. She also supervised psychiatric residents through the Clinic Without Walls. She enjoys working with multicultural patients in her private practice.
Dr. Tarr is delighted with the opportunity to serve as a faculty member of the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies.
Active Member Faculty
Contact: tovatarr@hotmail.com
Loren Sobel, M.D.
Dr. Loren Sobel earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry residency at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh where he served as Chief Resident for Psychotherapy Training. He is a Faculty-by-Invitation at the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center, volunteer Clinical Faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, and an active Faculty member at the Western Pennsylvania Community for Psychoanalytic Therapies where he teaches psychoanalytic theory and technique.
Tamires “Tami” Tiburtino, PsyD
Tamires “Tami” Tiburtino, PsyD is a licensed clinical psychologist in the East End of Pittsburgh. Tami has her Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Hartford in Connecticut. Tami trained primarily in college mental health and completed her postdoctoral studies at Yale University’s Mental Health and Counseling Center. There she focused on working with trauma and multicultural populations. Tami currently runs a women’s process group and has a profound interest in working psychodynamically with adult patients in individual and group settings. As a certified yoga instructor, Tami also incorporates somatic centered work and mindfulness into therapy.
Jay Wiggin, LCSW
Jay Wiggin, LCSW is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist who works for the University of Pittsburgh Counseling Center and maintains a small, private practice. He is in his fifth year of work as a therapist and has practiced in many different settings including at a crisis line, in a residential treatment facility, and for college counseling centers. He studied philosophy at Rutgers University and received his master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. Jay greatly enjoyed his experience as a learner with the community and continues to explore psychoanalytic concepts and ideas.
Learner 2023–2025 Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Practice Program.
Learner 2023–2025 Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Practice Program.
Stefan Edemobi, MD (He/Him)
Dr. Edemobi currently works as a fourth-year psychiatric resident at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. He completed his medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School. His interests include psychodynamic therapy, group therapy, and interventional psychiatry.
Maria (Masha) Puzanov, M.D.
Dr. Maria (Masha) Puzanov earned her medical degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt residency program. During residency she pursued additional training with experts in women’s mental health and psychodynamic psychotherapy. She completed a Psychoanalytic Fellowship Program at the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis. While in residency she was awarded the Clarence G. Schulz Prize for psychotherapy.
Following training, Dr. Puzanov worked as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where she specialized in caring for the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women. She now maintains a private practice, Embark Psychiatry. Her clinical areas of interest include treating women across the reproductive lifespan as well as psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Contact: drpuzanov@embarkpsyatry.com
Following training, Dr. Puzanov worked as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where she specialized in caring for the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women. She now maintains a private practice, Embark Psychiatry. Her clinical areas of interest include treating women across the reproductive lifespan as well as psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Contact: drpuzanov@embarkpsyatry.com
Laure Swearingen, PH.D.
Laure Swearingen is a 67-year-old woman who returned to school at 35 and has been practicing since 2002, first as an LPC and then as a psychologist. Interested in the puzzles of treating trauma, including the continuous traumatic stress experienced by refugees and residents of dangerous communities here. Lives with her husband of 38 years (!) and another old dog. Enjoys swimming and seeing grandchildren (5) and children (3). Vegetarian.
Dylan Toda
Dylan Toda is a prelicensed therapist working at LJS Psychiatry in Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, Otani University, and Chatham University. In addition to psychoanalytic therapy and support for expecting and new parents, Dylan has a background in Japanese translation and Buddhist studies.
Ann Adams, LCSW
Ann Adams is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice in Regent Square. She received her Master of Public Health from West Virginia University and her Master of Social Work from Columbia University. She began her clinical career several years ago, working with survivors of sexual trauma. Here, she was trained in modalities most often used to treat PTSD, including EMDR.
Prior to working clinically, Ann spent 15 years working domestically and internationally in the non-profit and non-government sector, focusing on capacity building and resource development.
Ann is both honored and excited to be a part of this community, learning through a new, psychoanalytic lens.
Get In Touch
Reach us at – inquiries@wpacommunity.org