Staff Psychologist

Andrea Lapomardo, Psy.D.

Dr. Andrea Lapomardo aims to cultivate a safe, supportive, and collaborative working environment with each client.  She uses a cognitive behavioral framework as a foundation from which personal strength and growth can build and believes in emphasizing the resources an individual already possesses.  Dr. Lapomardo has specialized training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and maintains a strong commitment to evidence-based care, integrating components of dialectical behavior, mindfulness-based, and acceptance/commitment therapies into her work.  She is thoughtful and flexible in her clinical approach and brings warmth, creativity, and curiosity to each session.  She tailors interventions to meet individuals’ unique needs and engages in respectful dialogue that fosters clinical success and allows individuals to carry insight into their lives.  Dr. Lapomardo has a specialization in children and adolescents and has devoted much of her clinical work to serving adolescents, young adults, and families.

Dr. Andrea Lapomardo received her BA in psychology from St. Bonaventure University.  She earned a MA in psychology from Southern Connecticut State University and was the principal investigator on a project examining the relationship between family dynamics and prosocial development among preschoolers.  Dr. Lapomardo also assisted with research at Yale University Child Study Center that investigated parenting beliefs, stress, and practices of fathers with young children and co-occurring intimate partner violence and substance abuse.  She completed an independent project with a subsample of these fathers and published an article in Advances in Dual Diagnosis that was chosen as the Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence. 

Dr. Lapomardo went on to earn a MA and PsyD in clinical psychology from University of Hartford and served as student representative to the Doctoral Training Committee.  Her dissertation research focused on examining the relationship between parenting factors and emotion regulation/recognition among college students.  She completed an APA-accredited doctoral internship at Community Healthlink (CHL), Youth and Family Services in Worcester, MA.  At CHL, she provided services for individuals, couples, and families across the lifespan and both developed and implemented a mindfulness-based group for middle school-aged children.  Dr. Lapomardo also completed an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University within Bradley Hospital, Adolescent Inpatient Units.  In addition to offering individual and brief family therapy, she facilitated a daily skills group utilizing evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).  At Brown, Dr. Lapomardo trained staff on empirically-informed CBT interventions for psychiatrically hospitalized youth and focused research efforts on implementation of brief motivational enhancement therapy for adolescents who endorse substance use.

Post-Doctoral Clinician

Annette McTague, Psy.D.

Dr. Annette McTague earned her doctorate from the University of Hartford, Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology. She specializes in the treatment of psychiatric illness presenting with alcohol and substance abuse, and, in addition to her role at Life Changes Group, maintains an active role with AdCare Outpatient Services, providing individual and family counseling as well as care coordination with social and legal services. Dr. McTague has extensive experience in behavioral therapy, including Motivational Interviewing, ACT, and CBT. She brings passion, commitment, and care to her clinical work with clients.

Staff Psychologist

Jodi Coochise, Ph.D.

Dr. Jodi Coochise is a licensed psychologist who grew up in the Seattle, WA area and received her BA in Psychology from Gonzaga University. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University where her research focused on exploring the process of grief with adult women. Her clinical training included work with college students, drug and alcohol abuse, grief, sexual assault, trauma, anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, relationship concerns and stress management.

She completed her doctoral internship at Suffolk University’s Counseling Center where she continued to develop expertise in grief counseling, sexual assault, anxiety, depression, identity development, and trauma. Upon completion of her internship Dr. Coochise worked at Bentley University as a staff clinician and Wheaton College as a therapist and Coordinator for the college’s Sexual Misconduct Response Team.

Dr. Coochise’s non-clinical work currently includes consulting for a Boston financial advising firm, where she coaches advisors to achieve their business development goals and integrate Behavioral Finance principles into their client interactions. She has presented on empirically supported treatments for grief and traumatic grief in hospitals, nursing homes, and college counseling centers. She has also presented to business professionals, organizations, and charitable foundations where the focus has been educating client service professionals on how to offer emotional support and help clients navigate difficult life choices while in the midst of transition.

Primarily drawing from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Dr. Coochise also utilizes Solution-Focused Treatment and Mindfulness-based strategies tailoring therapy to her client’s needs. She enjoys working with clients across the lifespan including young adults, adults, and couples and appreciates the opportunity to work with those from ethnic and culturally diverse backgrounds.

Staff Psychologist

Lisa Cohen, Psy.D.

Dr. Lisa Cohen is originally from the Boston area. She earned her BA in Psychology and earned a certification in Human Services from Clark University. She earned her MA in Professional Psychology and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in Boston, MA. Her predoctoral training included school-based counseling, college counseling, working with medically challenged individuals and in outpatient counseling working with multi-cultural and diverse populations. She also completed a predoctoral fellowship in Solution Focused Therapy at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.

Dr. Cohen’s postdoctoral training occurred at Arbour Counseling services where she received training in working with depression, anxiety, panic disorders, trauma, general life issues, self-esteem, emotional development in adolescence and early adulthood, as well as extensive training in substance abuse/dependence and addiction disorders. In addition to her work at the Life Changes Group, Dr. Cohen has a position as a Staff Psychologist at a community health center north of Boston.

Dr. Cohen believes that through the collaborative work in therapy, a person can achieve the personal goals they set for themselves. She primarily uses a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment modality, but also draws on aspects of interpersonal therapy, narrative therapy and psychodynamic therapy to help individuals identify strengths and weaknesses in their lives, as well as identifying healthy ways to make positive changes in their lives. She works with individuals of all ages including children, adolescents and adults.

Staff Psychologist

Martha Bestebreurtje, Ph.D.

Dr. Martha Bestebreurtje has worked as a teacher, clinician, and school consultant for many years. She is a strong believer in a person’s capacity to grow and change when given time, empathy, and the opportunity to learn new skills and ways of thinking. Martha was an English major at Williams College. She earned her Ed. M. in Counseling Psychology from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at B.U. She trained in child, group, and adult psychotherapy at the Brookline Center and Massachusetts Mental Health Center and was a staff psychologist at Brighton Allston Mental Health, where she taught the child therapy and psychological testing seminars. She has taught elementary students as well as graduate level psychology students. She was the Consulting Psychologist at the Pike School in Andover for many years and continues to consult to area schools regarding students’ learning profiles. Her professional interests include insight-oriented therapy, CBT, parenting, and a person’s cognitive profile and how it affects their experience of school and view of themselves. 

Staff Psychologist

Robert Sardy, Ph.D.

I have helped children and adults as they have learned to manage very difficult times in their lives such as identifying and developing additional skills for managing stress and sadness; shaping a more satisfying, meaningful life; and learning how to cope with difficult life events such as loss of a loved one or job and incarceration. I have worked with couples and families as they managed conflict and repaired damaged relationships. I have coached parents and children on how to more effectively communicate with each other while reducing conflict between them. I have worked with people as they forged their identity based on awareness of their gender identity and sexual orientation.  Finally, I have worked with people who have needed to better manage their anger As a solution-focused therapist, my goal is to help you uncover your true potential and identify your best approach to address the problems that you have identified. While we can’t change difficult events or situations of our past, we can work together to help you better understand and resolve challenges in your life.

I am eclectic in my approach to therapy-although I am grounded in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Family Systems. Starting with evidence based practices, we will work together to identify long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be impacting your relationships or holding you back from a satisfying life. To help you, I draw upon my training as a psychologist, health educator, and organizational development and change/leadership development consultant. Many of my patients have told me that they enjoyed working with me as I use everyday language, am approachable and direct, and have a sense of humor.

I earned my Doctorate in Organizational Psychology in 2000 from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and a Doctoral Respecialization Certificate in Clinical Psychology from CSPP in 2006. I hold a Masters in Education from University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelors of Science in Health Education from University of Lowell. I completed additional training as a psychologist with the San Mateo County Department of Mental Health-North County Mental Health Program in Daly City, CA and the Psychological Services Center in Oakland, CA. In addition to the private practice that I had in San Francisco for several years, I worked in the California Prison system at San Quentin State Prison and Salinas Valley State Prison. In addition, I have worked in corporations, non profit organizations, and in government agencies such as NASA.

Finally, I am a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists.

Staff Psychologist

Ryan Gazzola, Psy.D.

Dr. Ryan Gazzola was born and raised in the Boston area. He received his BA in Psychology from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. His advanced clinical training consists of an MA in Counseling Psychology from Antioch New England University in Keene, New Hampshire and his Psy.D. at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in Boston, MA.

Dr. Gazzola completed a master’s level internship at the New England College counseling center in Henniker, New Hampshire working with an adolescent and young adulthood population with a variety of mental health concerns, including eating disorders, anxiety, depression and relational issues. He also completed an internship at the Capital Region Family Health Center, working with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock family residents around patient care. This internship included intensive practice around family therapy systems. Dr. Gazzola’s predoctoral training included work at a private practice doing psychological and neuropsychological testing with children and adolescents. Additionally, Dr. Gazzola completed pre- and postdoctoral internship training at Lynn Community Health Center, servicing a wide range of multicultural clientele. He received training with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance abuse/dependence and addiction disorders, adjustment disorders, as well as general life issues. Dr. Gazzola also has experience working in schools, residential treatment facilities, and group practice settings.

Dr. Gazzola has been an instructor of Social Psychology for several years at Boston Architectural College.

Dr Gazzola uses a person-centered approach that is humanistic in nature. He also utilizes psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) to assist clients in promoting a fuller sense of self and overall life satisfaction. Dr. Gazzola does therapy with adolescents and adults and psychological/neuropsychological testing with children.

Staff Psychologist

Taylor Dunlap, Psy.D.

Dr. Taylor Dunlap is originally from Yorktown, Virginia. She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and later earned her MA in Professional Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from William James College in Newton, MA. Dr. Dunlap has also taken part in research examining both major mental illness as well as infectious disease. Most recently she co-authored a study examining the effects of HIV on cognition.

Her predoctoral training included school-based counseling, neuropsychological testing with children, adolescents, adults and the geriatric population, working within a medical setting with individuals suffering from chronic pain and severe medical issues, end of life counseling with hospice patients and bereavement counseling with their families, supportive therapy within the department of corrections. She completed her predoctoral internship at Tufts Medical Center providing outpatient counseling to a multi-cultural and diverse population of all ages.

Dr. Dunlap completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Lynn Community Health Center. During her fellowship year, she received training in working with depression, anxiety, panic disorders, trauma, general life issues, as well as extensive training in substance abuse/dependence and addiction disorders as a member of the complex addiction treatment team.

In addition to her work at Life Changes Group, Dr. Dunlap holds a position as a Staff Psychologist at IPC Healthcare where she serves as a behavioral health consultant to multiple post-acute rehabilitation facilities in the Boston area.

Dr. Dunlap believes that therapy is a collaborative experience in which both client and therapist work together equally in order to achieve the desired outcome. She strongly believes in a relational treatment approach and primarily utilizes a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treatment modality, but also incorporates interpersonal therapy, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy and motivational interviewing to help individuals identify areas of their life in need of change.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Devon Carroll, APRN-BC

Ms. Devon Carroll is a board certified Family Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She received her master’s degree in nursing from Yale University and maintains an active position at Children’s Hospital Boston performing outpatient psychiatry and research within the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience. Devon has researched and published extensively on mental health topics, including childhood onset psychosis, self-injury in children with ASD, and the psychobiology of purging disorder. She brings tremendous clinical and practice knowledge to her work with children, adolescents, and adults at LCG.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Joseph Lavoie, APRN-BC

Joseph Lavoie is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. He received his Master of Science in Nursing at Northeastern University and completed undergraduate study at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. His training stressed the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to providing individualized care to patients of all ages. He finds a great sense of privilege and satisfaction in helping clients overcome personal struggles and achieve their optimal potential for mental and physical health. His experience includes providing medical and psychiatric nursing care for patients in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings, Director of Education for an acute care inpatient hospital, and as a Clinical Instructor for Northeastern University’s undergraduate nursing programs while working toward his own graduate degree. Through these experiences, he has found that therapy along with medication, when appropriate, provides the best outcome for patients.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Colleen Madden, APRN-BC

Ms. Colleen Madden is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. As an RN, Colleen worked in triage and the inpatient bipolar and schizophrenia unit at McLean Hospital. Prior to coming to Life Changes Group, Colleen worked as a psychiatric NP in community mental health and forensic settings. Colleen’s professional interests include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and adverse childhood experiences.