A. Steven Frankel Ph.D., JD, ABPP (Clinical and Forensic), is founding President and Curriculum Director of the Steve Frankel Group (SFG). He is a Clinical Psychologist (PSY3354) and an Attorney at Law (SBN192014), and is a Diplomate in both Clinical and Forensic Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. at Indiana University, and interned at the Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University. He then joined the full-time faculty of the University of Southern California, where he served for eleven years, including five years as the Chair of Clinical Psychology (Director of Clinical Training). Although he is no longer full-time, he remains a Clinical Professor of Psychology at USC.

Ben Garber is a New Hampshire licensed psychologist. In the role of clinician, Dr. Garber provides systemically-informed, child-centered therapies, focusing on services intended to help separated, divorcing and divorced parents to keep their kids out of the middle of their conflicts. As family law professional, Dr. Garber conducts Child-Centered Family Evaluations (Child Custody Evaluations) and provides both testamentary and non-testamentary expert consultation to counsel and the courts across North America. Dr. Garber is a prolific author and a highly respected family law trainer. He is the author of hundreds of popular press articles, twenty peer reviewed professional publications, several book chapters and seven acclaimed books, most recently, “Holding Tight/Letting Go: Raising Healthy Kids In Anxious Times (Unhooked Books, 2017). Learn more at www.HealthyParent.com and www.FamilyLawConsulting.org.

See Dr. Garber’s CV here >

Highly-qualified certified management professional with extensive experience and formal training in research, information- gathering and investigative techniques. Over 34 years of practical experience in law enforcement is enhanced with extensive professional training and higher education. Proven analytical expertise and excellent organizational skills provide a keen ability to investigate and solve complex traumatic relationships. High proficiency in; Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Rorschach administration with Intermediate Level Training through Michigan Psychological Association, Thematic Apperception Test procedures, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – IV, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – V, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – III, Conner’s Continuous Performance Test – III, Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, Draw-A-Person (DAP) House, Tree, Person (HTP), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and skilled in psychoanalytical theoretical therapy. Consistently strives for excellence and is a positive attribute to any organization.

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Lawrence E. Hedges, Ph.D., Psy.D., ABPP is a psychologist-psychoanalyst in private practice in Orange, California, specializing in the training of psychotherapists and psychoanalysts. He is director of the Listening Perspectives Study Center and the founding director of the Newport Psychoanalytic Institute in Tustin, California where he is a supervising and training psychoanalyst. He has been awarded honorary membership in the American Psychoanalytic Association. Dr. Hedges is author of numerous papers and books including Cross- cultural Encounters: Bridging Worlds of Difference (2013), Listening Perspectives in Psychotherapy (1983 & 2003), Interpreting the Countertransference (1992), Strategic Emotional Involvement (1996), and Facing the Challenge of Liability in Psychotherapy: Practicing Defensively (2000 & 2007). To learn more about Dr. Hedges and his work, go to www.listeningperspectives.com

The Hon. Margo Lewis Hoy (Ret.) joined Signature Resolution after 18 years of private practice and 11 years on the San Diego Superior Court. Known for her approachable demeanor, Judge Hoy mediates disputes concerning all areas of family law.  As a Superior Court judge, Judge Hoy served as the supervising judge of the family law division and oversaw 26 family law departments. To better serve parents and children, she pioneered the use of child custody parenting plans in the San Diego Superior Court. She also served on the court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and chaired its Family Law Policy Committee. Before being appointed to the bench, Judge Hoy founded the premier family law practice in San Diego County and handled thousands of complex cases involving child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, and more. She was certified as a Family Law Specialist in 2000. Judge Hoy has been honored by legal organizations throughout California, including multiple Judicial Officer of the Year awards and inclusion in the Top 25 Women Lawyers in San Diego.

David Ibrahim is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. David has a dual Masters in Trauma and Marriage and Family Therapy. He has worked successfully with over 1000 patients. He is a certified EMDR Therapist and a specialist in Trauma and Addiction. He is also a E-500 Yoga teacher and Yoga Therapist. David has trained extensively with Dr. Arlene Drake, Dr. Nicole Gilbert, Dr. Stephen Dansiger, Dr. John Rathauser, Laura Dickson, and most recently with Dr. Andrew Leeds. And has had multiple consultation and advanced trainings with other experts in the field of trauma and addiction. He is trained and experienced in 8 forms of EMDR Therapy (OCD, PTSD, Depression, Addiction, Borderline Personality, Dissociative Identity Disorders, and Early attachment and implicit memory protocols). Additionally, David has trained and worked with many forms of therapy ranging from DBT, CBT, Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Inner child work, somatic therapies, and Certified in ISTDP.

David’s experience as a Yoga and Meditation teacher (as well as other trainings in psychotherapy practices) add a unique set of skills that include the body in the psychotherapy process. When the body becomes a component of psychotherapy deeper healing can occur.

David’s experience has given him the opportunity to work with diverse types of people. He has worked with famous actors, directors, major league athletes, Grammy award winners, scholars, scientists, studio executives, engineers, and many other high performing and successful individuals.

David also has experience working with clients from diverse cultures, age groups, sexual orientations, and spiritual beliefs.

Sarah Katz, MPH is resident of northern Sonoma County and a Healthcare Foundation - Northern Sonoma County Board Member. As a public health epidemiologist, Ms. Katz has spent the last ten years in local and state health departments, academia, and hospital settings in California. Ms. Katz currently manages the Sonoma County Department of Health Services’ Assessment & Epidemiology Unit. In this role, Ms. Katz and her team work to ensure the availability of high-quality and comprehensive health data on Sonoma County residents and to facilitate its use for public health assessment, policy development, and program planning and evaluation in order to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality and achieve health equity. Most recently, Ms. Katz has had an active role in health department’s medical/health operations center in response to the October wildfires. In the summer, she facilitated increased data support to the Department’s Behavioral Health Division. Prior to her work in Sonoma County, she specialized in cross-border surveillance for the California Office of Binational Border Health, conducted public health research with UC San Diego and the Berkeley Survey Research Center, and supported emergency operations at the UC Davis Medical Center. Ms. Katz obtained a Master in Public Health degree in Epidemiology from San Diego State University and Bachelor’s degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies (in Health and Place) and Geography from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gerald P. Koocher, PhD, ABPP earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri.  He previously served as Chief of Psychology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and as health sciences dean at Simmons and DePaul Universities. He remains a Senior Associate in Psychology at Children’s Hospital and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and at the Harvard Bioethics Center.

Dr. Koocher is the founding Editor of the journal Ethics & Behavior, and previously served as Editor of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and The Clinical Psychologist. He is currently Associate Editor of Practice Innovations. He has published more than 350 articles and book chapters and authored or edited 17 books including Ethics in Psychology and the Mental Health Professions, the Psychologists’ Desk Reference, and The Parent’s Guide to Psychological First Aid.

Allen Levy, MS, LPA is a masters level psychologist in Anchorage, Alaska with a particular interest in the intersection of psychology and law. He has been practicing as a therapist since 2001. His therapy practice focuses on family dynamics and complex family issues. He created a post-separation parenting curriculum teaching rules, tools, and strategies for separated/divorced parents to share the job of parenting. In addition to providing therapy, Al offers a range of forensic services: custody evaluations, expert witness, and consultation. He also does Continuing Education for therapists on a number of topics. He is an adjunct professor teaching family therapy at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA in the psychology department graduate program. Al served on Alaska's Psychologist and Psychological Associates Licensing Board from 2012 2021. He served for nearly 5 years as board chair.

He paid for his Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College by playing Ferryboat Music. Al published a memoir of his time as an ‘outlaw musician’: Blue Water Bluegrass: The Ferryboat Musicians. Al is known for his musical abilities. He plays banjo, guitar, ukelele, and fiddle. He plays “music for young people of all ages.” He has a unique show in which he encourages and invites children from the audience to join him on stage. They help him with his show by playing rhythm instruments or the wash-tub bass.

Although born in Landstuhl Germany, Al grew up in Alaska. As a lifelong Alaskan, Al is an avid outdoorsman—fishing, hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, and gathering edible mushrooms. He speaks Russian and Hebrew and enjoys travel. Because of his language abilities and travel experiences he enjoys working with people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds.

Lori A. Love, Ph.D. has worked almost exclusively in the field of divorce and child custody for over 22 years. She is licensed in the states of California and Hawaii. She has also enjoyed working as a school psychologist and an adjunct faculty member of the Child Development Department at San Diego State University where she taught Divorce and Remarriage and Family Interaction Patterns.

Dr. Love has been an AFCC presenter on Parent Coordination, a regular speaker at The San Diego Family Law Bar continuing education seminars, and has enjoyed being on the faculty of the Family Law College of Trial Advocacy.

Dr. Love is a founding executive board member of Kathy’s Legacy, a charity that assists children and adult victims of domestic violence. She also serves on the advisory board of Kid’s Turn, an organization dedicated to assisting and empowering children of divorce in navigating the process.

Stacey White Kinney (MFC35122) is a licensed marriage & family therapist who specializes in individual and family therapy and child custody issues. She maintains a private practice in Newport Beach, CA. With over 30 years of experience working with families in Orange County, CA, Stacey currently interacts with a broad spectrum of clients. Her areas of expertise include child sexual abuse, trauma, domestic violence, divorce/separation, child custody, anxiety, and depression. She is a graduate of California State University Fullerton with a M.S. in clinical psychology and University of California Santa Barbara where she received a B.A. in liberal studies. She is in the process of earning her Psy.D. at California Southern University.

Dominic “Nick” Lucia, Ed.D. has a combined total of 30-years’ experience working in law enforcement, the fire service, and in emergency medical/rescue response. He served culturally and economically diverse communities and learned quickly that regardless of culture, beliefs, or socioeconomic status, people face similar challenges in life that can lead to psychological or emotional distress. Dr. Lucia has a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and is working with Synde Acks, Pys.D., as a Psychologist Assistant (P.A.). He also works with Dr. Ive Eicken, Ph.D., at West Coast Trauma Retreat (WCPR), a five-day inpatient treatment program that is supported entirely by volunteers. First Responder peers and clinicians volunteer what time they can by conducting intakes or supporting treatment.