PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Laura McCormick, Ph.D. the Executive and Clinical Director has specialized in working with persons with serious mental illness since 1988. She was awarded her Ph.D. in 1997 from the California School of Professional Psychology, and is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Her leadership role at Elpida House began in 2002, following many years of providing direct service and supervision in a variety of mental health organizations. Dr. McCormick also has extensive training in Jungian approaches to working with the unconscious, including dream work, sand play, and music therapy. Her experience includes work with groups and individuals in residential settings, as well as in-patient psychiatric hospitals, partial hospitalization programs, and community-based clinics. She continues to maintain a part-time private practice in San Rafael, where she sees adults and adolescents with a broad range of mental health issues. Dr. McCormick brings extensive management, consulting, and supervisory experience to her role at Elpida House, and is a graduate of the Supervisory Study Program at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley.

Nikki N. Sachs, LCSW, the Program Director, has been a social worker and psychotherapist since1968, when she received her MSW from Columbia University. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 1972 in California. She has worked with children and adults with serious mental illness since she began her career in many different settings, including day treatment, homeless shelters and transitional housing programs, as well as community-based clinics. She has extensive supervisory experience with both interns working on hours for their license and para-professionals. She brings to her work at Elpida House a deep understanding of psychodynamic work with character-disordered clients as well as an interest in organizational dynamics. Her other experiences include a private practice in Berkeley that she has maintained since 1972 and many experiences with groups, including organizational consultation, working as a Group Relations Consultant at Tavistock Group Relations Conferences and working as a facilitator for Critical Incident Stress Debriefing sessions at many organizations. She is working with a multi-generational group of people to create co-housing, a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods.

Lily Lynch, Case Manager, received her B.A. with High Honors from UC Berkeley. While studying there, she participated in the Stiles Hall psychology internship program at Napa State hospital. Her other experience includes facilitating Hospice grief support groups and an academic year with Americorps working with at-risk youth and families, as well as academic and internship experience in Germany and the former Yugoslavia. With the direct experience gained from working at Elpida House, Lily plans to attend law school and participate in a mental health legal aid clinic.

Jonathan Kabat, Case Manager, is currently a Trainee in Practicum receiving his M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Dominican University of California, graduating Cum Laude, honored as an Academic Scholar, and is a member of the honor societies Psi Chi and Alpha Sigma Lamda. His profession background includes providing vocational support for individuals recovering from psychiatric disabilities in numerous settings. His orientation toward positive psychology and transpersonal psychology influences his conviction that individuals can leverage their strengths to heal and live fulfilling lives. As a past member of the Marin County Wellness Recovery Task Force, he embraces the wellness recovery model by supporting each individual’s recovery and self-determination.