Scott Leenan is a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia and a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. He received his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Georgia State University and his professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, American Counseling Association and the Professional Counselors Association of Georgia. Prior to Intown Psychological Associates, Mr. Leenan worked at Peachford Behavioral Hospital in Dunwoody and Talbott Recovery Campus, a local alcohol and drug rehabilitation center for impaired professionals. His primary philosophy of psychotherapy is existential and person-centered therapy; although, he pulls from a variety of therapeutic techniques. He believes that becoming human is a project, and our task is not so much to discover who we are, as to create ourselves. During therapy he works with clients to examine one’s personal values, beliefs, goals, interests, attitude and perceptions of reality.

Mr. Leenan enjoys working with a diverse clientele including medical and business professionals, college students and the LGBT community. Mr. Leenan assists his clients with stress management, personal growth, balance, career development, motivation and time management. He also specializes in mood stabilization for individuals struggling with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Mr. Leenan also assists with a variety of child and adult psychological evaluations and interventions for ADHD, learning disabilities and emotional/ behavioral issues. He also enjoys preparing individuals preparing for weight loss bariatric surgery and he helps arrange the initial psychological evaluation needed for surgery.

Dr. Gersh completed his doctorate degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in psychodynamic psychotherapy. He received his training in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked with a diverse clientele of varying family compositions and individuals from all walks of life and backgrounds. Dr. Gersh relocated back to his hometown, Atlanta, and has been practicing in the downtown area since 2007. Dr. Gersh works with adolescents, adults, and families with a focus on depression, anxiety, and various other psychological phenomenon that prevent individuals from maximizing their potential. Working on transitional issues with young adult and professionals are also strong areas of interest. He also offers consultation to families and children on complex behavioral issues, ADHD, adoption/foster placement issues, learning difficulties, and other various clinical issues. Dr. Gersh also provides a wide array of psychological and intellectual assessments to help his clients determine learning disabilities, personality functions, accurate diagnosis, and current level of functioning. Dr. Gersh has experience working with many community mental health agencies, including CORE/IFI providers, the Georgia Department of Labor, Disability Adjudication Services and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and Department of Family and Children’s Services in various roles.

Valerie Besses is licensed as a Psychologist in the state of Georgia. She earned a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Besses has a background treating a range of problems including eating disorders, women’s issues, divorce, self-esteem, body image, anxiety disorders, depression, cultural issues, relationship and family problems, stress management and career/academic issues. In addition to psychotherapy, Dr. Besses is experienced in conducting a wide array of psychological evaluations.

Dr. Besses’ approach to psychotherapy is integrative, and includes cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal interventions. As part of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), clients learn to tolerate negative emotion, solve problems, manage stress and become more self-aware. CBT involves developing a better understanding the interaction between one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Dr. Besses has helped clients develop practical solutions to real-life issues. She makes an effort to customize treatment to fit her clients’ individual needs and strives to help individuals learn the skills to ultimately cope with any challenges on one’s own.

Dr. McCurdy has been licensed as a Psychologist in the state of Georgia since 1991. She received her Master’s degree from Auburn University and her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. She has extensive experience assisting people facing various life challenges such as surviving loss of family and friends, (including our furry friends), health challenges, maintaining spiritual contact through the dark times, providing care for the caregiver, and embracing life at any age. Additionally, Dr. McCurdy has experience working with survivors of trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, crime, domestic violence, combat, etc.

Dr. McCurdy also provides distance counseling through IPA via the telephone and internet, for individuals who may be too busy to come to the office. In addition, she is quite experienced in providing psychological evaluations utilizing a wide array of psychological tests and assessment procedures. She recently participated in the standardization process for several psychological instruments including the current Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS—4th ed.) She has led numerous seminars and conferences, was a featured guest on a local television program, published a number of articles, and is currently working on publishing her first book. On a personal note, Dr. McCurdy is an avid animal-lover, has traveled extensively, is a 21-year cancer survivor, and enjoys celebrating life.

Brooke Bucholtz received a Master's degree and a Specialist in Education degree (Ed.S.) in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University. She offers therapy for a variety of issues; however, her specialty is working with adults who are struggling with depression and/or anxiety. She is open to your preference for whether you would like to try medication in addition to counseling, or not. Brooke also works with couples in therapy, whether they are working through difficult times, or simply looking to improve their relationship.

In addition to counseling, Brooke's background includes working with children with autism and conducting research in areas including clinical psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, psychophysiology, and behavioral interventions for children with developmental disabilities. Brooke is a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC) in the state of Georgia. She is also a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and her professional memberships include the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Licensed Professional Counselor Association of Georgia (LPCA).

Amber received a Master's degree and Specialist in Education degree (Ed.S.) in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University. Amber’s clinical experience includes individual, group and couples therapy. She previously worked with Veterans and their family at the Atlanta Veteran’s Center. She also served as a survivor advocate at Dekalb Rape Crisis Center and worked with children and adolescents in the custody of the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Her areas of specialization include couples/relationship issues and women’s empowerment. She also provides counseling for stress management, anxiety and depression.

Before becoming a professional counselor, Amber worked in the Event planning industry for 5 years. She planned, coordinated and directed over 100 events; the majority were weddings. This allowed her to hone her communication and stress management skills while learning about the dynamics of relationships. She is currently working on the Women’s Empowerment Project, a web-based program to assist women in gaining confidence, creating awareness and realizing the potential in themselves.

Joshua Castleberry is a counselor at Intown Psychological Associates. Joshua obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Berry College in May 2006 and he received his Masters in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University in May 2010. Having been a part of multiple research projects involving false memory and estimation, vice-president of the Psychology Society, and a contributor to Berry College’s Psychology Newsletter, he was very involved with his department. Joshua has had the opportunity to present his research involving the complex relationships between current attachment styles and representations of others and their prediction of PTSD symptoms, post traumatic stress symptoms as a mediator between child abuse and violent behavior, and the effects of childhood physical, sexual and emotional abuse on the development of PTSD on the national level.

Joshua’s clinical interests evolved at Grady Hospital where he served as a research assistant for Emory University. He was a part of an NIMH funded research study looking at genetic and environmental risk factors for post traumatic stress disorder. Here he was exposed to a number of cultures and populations, and developed an interest in trauma and personality. He has also received training in Neuro/Biofeedback. Joshua uses Neuro/Biofeedback with his clients to help manage attention and concentration, improve sleep patterns, and help with anxiety and depression symptoms. Joshua has also done work with addiction and has published a paper dealing with patterns and trends of drug use in the Atlanta area. Joshua also spent time at Floyd Behavioral Health as a Mental Health Tech where he was trained to lead groups centered on relapse prevention as well as stress and anger management.

Joshua has also spent the past year facilitating an outdoor adventure program. He is familiar with wilderness safety, leading wilderness adventure and outdoor education groups on backpacking trips, rock climbing trips and clinics, and guided rafts trips. Joshua also facilitates high and low rope challenge courses for Georgia State University.

Carole Johnston works with Intown Psychological Associates as a psychometrist. She has a B.A. degree from Presbyterian College and an M.Ed. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Georgia. She has taken extensive continuing education courses in the medical and psychological aspects of disability. In addition, she completed a Disability Hearing course at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, in Sacramento, California. Ms. Johnston worked with the State agency that makes medical eligibility decisions for both Social Security disability benefits and SSI disability benefits before coming to IPA. She brings expertise about the rules and regulations of the Disability program to her work in providing assessments of individuals who are applying for benefits and enjoys working with children and adults with all types of disabling physical and psychological challenges. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, gardening, and reading.