Interns
Madison Boeh, MA
Major Rotation: Depot Hill
Madison Boeh is a clinical psychology doctoral intern at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is finishing her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Pacific University in Oregon. Madison earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology at Pacific University in 2020. Previously she graduated in 2016 with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biomedical Science. Madison loves working with children, families, and emerging adults. Her clinical and research interests include pediatric psychology (acute psychiatric and health-related), complex childhood and intergenerational trauma, pediatric psychological assessment, integrated primary care, and pediatric preventative care. Madison uses an integrated lens with a Rogerian client-centered foundation to meet her clients where they are in their journey and support their needs and goals. Madison enjoys traveling with her family, reading, and checking out local cafes.
Tessa Clarkson, MA
Major Rotation: JFK
Tessa joined JFK Partners in July of 2022 as a psychology predoctoral intern/LEND fellow and is completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the Temple University. Her dissertation pairs computational modeling with neuroimaging (fMRI) to examine the neural basis of social learning about peers in youth with social anxiety disorder. She completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Stony Brook University focusing on assessing co-occurring anxiety in youth with ASD. Tessa has experience working with youth with developmental and socio-emotional disabilities and physical impairments in a variety of clinical settings, including hospitals, clinical research trials, in-home therapy, and out-patient treatment facilities using evidenced-based interventions. She has also developed and validated an adaptive cognitive and developmental assessment for girls with Rett Syndrome using eye-tracking technology. Tessa has also been certified in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule- 2 (ADOS-2) and has over ten years of experience working with youth with ASD, TSC, Downs Syndrome, 16p, and 15q. Tessa is interested in understanding more about mental health policies and supports for youth and their families with developmental disabilities. She would like to use data science and evidence-based police approaches to address gaps in care.
Kyle Frost, MA
Major Rotation: JFK
Kyle’s clinical interests include working with youth on the autism spectrum or with other developmental disabilities to support adaptive, emotion regulation, and coping skills. She uses individualized, family-centered approaches and particularly enjoys parent training. When not at work, Kyle enjoys cooking, kayaking, board games, and playing with her dog and cat.
Tal Ginsburg, MA
Major Rotation: Reaching Hope
Tal Ginsburg is a Doctoral Candidate of Clinical Psychology at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology. She currently has her Masters in Clinical Psychology. Her clinical interests include infant and early childhood mental health, complex trauma, and Latinx psychology. She is currently completing her doctoral internship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz campus. Her experiences include working with survivors of sexual abuse, new mothers struggling with postpartum depression, and children struggling with severe anxiety. She provides individual, group, and family therapy, and uses an integrative approach that includes intersubjectivity, attachment theory, family systems, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
Dustin Goerlitz, MA
Major Rotation: Depot Hill
Dustin Goerlitz is a psychology intern at the UC Health Depot Hill and Westminster clinics. He is a Clinical Health Psychology doctoral student at CU Denver. He graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) with a BA in Psychology in 2013. He received his MA in psychology from CU Denver in 2021. Dustin’s clinical interests include working with those with chronic, acute, and post-surgical pain, health conditions, diverse backgrounds, and marginalized groups. He is well-versed in ACT, CBT, and mindfulness-oriented interventions, taking an overall person-centered approach to his clinical work. Across research and clinical training Dustin has over 8 years of experience in biopsychosocial chronic and acute pain management. In his spare time, he enjoys getting outside, baking calzones, and having a good cup of tea.
Alisa Karmel, MA
Major Rotation: A.F. Williams
Alisa Karmel has clinical interests in health psychology, body positivity, integrated primary care, weight management, and assessments. In her free time, she likes all things outdoors with her husband and she has a lab, running or HIIT workouts, trying out new recipes, and exploring new neighborhood for real estate and awesome yards.
Sarah Kassabian Downey, MA
Major Rotation: A.F. Williams
Sarah Kassabian Downey is a doctoral student in Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Virginia. Her clinical interests include utilizing evidence-based treatments in integrated care settings to increase access to mental health care. She enjoys working with children and their families from a strengths-based lens to promote adaptive coping. She grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Boston College before working as a research coordinator in pediatric psychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital prior to attending graduate school.
Maeve O'Leary Sloan, MA
Major Rotation: Reaching Hope
Maeve is honored to join the University of Colorado School of Medicine doctoral psychology internship team this year. Her prior experience working in inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and primary care settings with children, adolescents, and adults ultimately drew Maeve to seek advanced training in how best to serve those impacted by trauma throughout her doctoral internship year. Through a major rotation at Reaching HOPE and minor rotations at the Attention, Behavior & Learning clinic and CeDAR substance use center, Maeve looks forward to deepening her ability to serve those with developmental, attentional, and behavioral challenges, those experiencing acute, chronic, and relapsing mental health crises, and those struggling to manage symptoms relating to co-occurring trauma and substance use diagnoses. Maeve is devoted to advocacy and research efforts aimed at reducing barriers to mental health services and improving mental health systems and looks forward to continuing this work alongside the greater Denver community. When Maeve isn't hiding behind her laptop or immersed in a clinical setting, you can probably find her aggressively singing karaoke, attempting to lift really heavy weights, or planning overly-themed get-togethers for her friends. On rare occasions, Maeve has also been known to go backpacking with llamas, attempt to sew her own clothes (quite poorly), and partake in competitive Cup Stacking.
Meghan Paynter, MA
Major Rotation: A.F. Williams
I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Denver. I am interested in understanding the therapeutic alliance between counselor and client and how this can have an impact on targeted interventions used for physical and emotional health. I am also interested in understanding how various factors such a grief, chronic illness, or other compounding factors in a person’s life impact mental health and behavior. I grew up in California, where I played many sports, my favorite being soccer. Prior to my doctoral program, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and her Masters of Arts degree in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University. Previously, I also served as a City Year Los Angeles Americorps member for two years, and also worked for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a nonprofit working with/for patients and caregivers of the disease.
Bahroze Rakeen, MA
Major Rotation: Depot Hill
Bahroze Rakeen is a doctoral candidate from CU Denver’s Clinical Health Psychology program. He is interested in studying cognitive impairments associated with chronic health conditions, health policy research on gaps in accessing care, and the health implications of displacement due to climate change. He enjoys traveling, photography, and hiking.
Cody Weeks, MA
Major Rotation: CeDAR
Cody Weeks has clinical interests in interventions for substance use and co-occurring disorders. Originally from California he enjoys watching and playing sports, running, hiking, and playing Texas Hold’em, and enjoys live music.