Meet Our Therapists

Student Therapists

Marina is a counseling intern under the supervision of Dr. Klein. As a member of the Centered Ground team Marina assists with skills training, individual therapy sessions, and coaching focused on DBT.. Marina is currently completing her Master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Concordia University Irvine, Marina holds a strong commitment to providing compassionate and client-centered care. She brings a thoughtful and empathetic approach to her work. While early in her clinical journey, Marina is grounded in evidence-based practices and focused on creating a safe, welcoming environment for each client. She is especially interested in life transitions and values building genuine, trusting connections with clients as they navigate life's challenges and work toward meaningful change. In her free time she enjoys reading, crocheting, and camping with her sisters and friends. Her favorite national parks are Zion, Yosemite, and Glacier.

Jennifer O'Grady, BSN, RN, is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner student at Walden University. Her 25-year nursing career began in Chicago and has spanned ICU, ER, cardiac procedural, and perioperative care, including travel nursing assignments across the country. She continues to practice as a registered nurse while completing the clinical phase of her training. Jennifer's approach is shaped by years at the bedside: a steady presence in difficult moments, real curiosity about what each person is carrying, and a belief that mental health care works best when it attends to the whole person. At Centered Ground Jennifer currently provides skills training for teens and adults in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and radically open dialectical behavior therapy (RO DBT). Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys golfing, spending time with my dogs, and being in nature.

Staff Therapist

Deborah Bothun, MA, APCC, is an experienced coach with over 25 years of experience supporting the health and well-being of corporate professionals and private clients. At Centered Ground Deborah is currently supervised by Dr. Klein as she completes her licensure requirements for professional counseling. Deborah’s philosophy is around what she calls “Whole Life Development”. She has a Masters in finance, a Masters in accounting (from Northwestern University), and a Masters in Clinical Psychology (from New York University). She provides a combination of corporate “warrior experience” with education and experience around depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and related issues to support growth in individuals seeking a better way of life.

Deborah’s experience includes working with adults, teens, and families across a wide variety of socioeconomic categories and genders. She also has extensive training in modalities that support growth relative to trauma including EMDR, brain spotting, and Psychodrama..

When she is not working with clients, she plays the piano, works on complex jigsaw puzzles, and spends time walking on the beach with her therapy dog, Myrtle Ann.

This is your journey and it will be explored as a team to support your “whole life”goals. Deborah will help you fight back against the challenges in your life with empathy and integrated therapeutic approaches customized to your specific situation and goals.

Independent Contractor

CHRIS MCDUFFIE COUNSELING, A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER CORPORATION, A CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

Offering Teletherapy across CA and In-Person at Centered Ground

Chris McDuffie is a licensed psychotherapist and a retired high school principal. He has worked extensively in the field of co-occurring disorders at residential treatment centers and in private practice.  Chris is proficient in applying secular, spiritual, and Buddhist psychology to enhance DBT, ACT, CBT and MBRP to help those suffering from substance abuse and/or mental health issues.

Chris has lectured for the following national and international programs to coach therapists and medical professionals on how to offer Mindfulness and Buddhist psychology: Behavioral Health Association of Providers, the University of Illinois Common Ground Research Network, the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals, NACCME’s Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, and APA Approved CEU trainings held at the AToN Center. You may also be interested in following Chris’ Insight Timer App podcast show, “Spiritual Sobriety” to learn more about how to incorporate Buddhist psychology with the 12 Steps.

Chris holds a Masters of Social Work from Fordham University and has completed training in Compassion-Based Psychotherapy and Embodied Transformation at Nalanda Institute's Contemplative Psychotherapy Program. Chris also holds a CADC-II for Chemical Dependency Counseling, is a SMART trained facilitator, and works with clients who may be struggling with depression or trauma related to their relationships or family.

Chris offers highly personalized and individualized, concierge counseling for individuals, couples, and corporate teams. During initial sessions, Chris invites his clients to begin looking at difficult situations and collaborate to create a plan for addressing them in ways that helps clients feel empowered. Chris offers a free 15-minute consultation and may be reached at - (858) 461-6921.