Suzanne M. Wallach

Sarah Gordis

MA, LCSW

Staff Therapist

Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who uses a reciprocal, non-judgmental, and motivational approach to therapy with her clients. Sarah specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy with adults experiencing personality disorders, depression, anxiety, chemical dependency, and eating disorders.

Sarah received her master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University in New York and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Linguistics from Emory University in Atlanta. While at Columbia University, she participated in the DBT Training Program and Lab under the supervision of Dr. André Ivanoff, president of Behavioral Tech, and completed her intensive DBT training in 2019 with Randy Wolbert and Gwen Abney-Cunningham. She enjoys practicing DBT because of its commitment to a dialectical worldview, mindfulness, and the use of the therapist’s genuine self to assist individuals in cultivating a life worth living.

Sarah received additional clinical training in exposure therapy, motivational interviewing, and cognitive-behavioral advanced clinical methods. Sarah also participated

in specialized training in Radically Open DBT for disorders of overcontrol through Radically Open Blended Learning Ltd. and DBT for eating disorders through Oshawa Psychotherapy Training Institute. Sarah has significant experience providing individual therapy, leading groups, and providing coaching in outpatient and residential settings. While completing her masters, she worked as a DBT therapist at Brooklyn Heights Behavioral Associates, providing individual psychotherapy, group skills training, and phone coaching to individual struggling with emotion dysregulation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and interper

sonal conflict. Sarah also worked for the NYC Department of Education as a school social worker for middle school students who had been suspended from school. Prior to being a team member at SoCal DBT, Sarah most recently worked as a primary DBT therapist at Clearview Treatment Program’s Dual Diagnosis residential program for adults with co-occuring mental health and substance use disorders during which she received monthly consultations with Charlie Swenson, MD to ensure adherence to the DBT model.

Sarah is a primary DBT therapist at SoCal DBT, and a DBT skills class leader.  She is available to see comprehensive DBT clients ages 15 and up, and available to meet with parents or loved ones of clients in our comprehensive programs for adolescents and adults.

Sarah is passionate about providing effective, evidence-based treatment for clients using warmth, respect, and honesty, and enjoys helping clients create and maintain their lives worth living.

Emily LaMear

LMFT

Staff Therapist

Emily La Mear is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provides compassionate, evidence-based care to individuals and families navigating emotional and behavioral challenges. Her clinical work is rooted in creating a safe, collaborative space where clients feel supported in building insight, developing effective coping skills, and fostering deeper connections in their lives.  Emily is primarily based in our Calabasas office, with additional presence in Beverly Hills, and is available for virtual clients.

Emily supports clients in DBT ages 12 through the lifespan, specializing in emotional dysregulation, self-harm, suicidality, trauma, and relationship issues.  She is foundationally trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) through Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Tech, the gold standard of training for a DBT therapist. She draws from additional modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, and trauma-informed care. Her integrative approach allows her to tailor treatment to the unique needs, values, and goals of each client.  In Dr. Wallach’s comprehensive program, Emily sees adolescents, adults, parents, families, and is also a skills group leader.

In her private practice, Emily’s therapeutic style is warm, nonjudgmental, and strength-based. She sees clients as young as six through the lifespan, and she believes that meaningful change occurs when clients feel seen, understood, and empowered in the therapeutic process. In her work with individuals and families, she brings a thoughtful balance of structure and flexibility, helping clients not only stabilize but grow toward lasting wellness.

In addition to providing individual therapy, Emily has extensive experience with family systems work, psychoeducation, and skills-based group facilitation. She values working closely with clients’ support systems and collaborating with multidisciplinary care teams when appropriate to ensure continuity of care.

Whether you’re seeking support through a period of crisis or hoping to build a stronger foundation for emotional resilience, Emily brings clinical expertise and genuine care to help you move forward.

Nikki Guzofsky

MA, LCMFT

Staff Therapist

Nikki is a licensed marriage and family therapist who uses a culturally sensitive, behavioral, and insight-oriented approach to help clients develop a deeper understanding of themselves, improve relationships, heal from trauma, navigate challenges more successfully, and find a life worth living. Nikki is foundationally trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy through Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Tech, and treats adults, teens, parents, and families at SoCal DBT. In addition to individual work, Nikki is a skills class leader for two skills classes at SoCal DBT and continues to deepen her DBT knowledge through weekly trainings with Sarah Gordis, LCSW, and Dr. Suzanne Wallach. Nikki is currently available to see clients virtually and in person at our Beverly Hills offices.

With private clients, in addition to behavioral work, Nikki uses a systemic, psychodynamic lens and incorporates dialectical techniques to help clients feel more empowered to assert themselves, foster congruent self-expression, set healthy boundaries, communicate more effectively, and break unhealthy patterns. In these efforts, clients experience relief from a range of symptoms and diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, addiction, familial dysfunction, personality disorders, self-harm, and disordered eating.

After graduating from the University of Denver with degrees in communications and psychology, she earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. She completed extensive psychodynamic training at the reputable Maple Counseling Center, taking advantage of three specialized programs, which enabled her to gain comprehensive experience working with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and families. Nikki has also completed EMDRIA-approved training in EMDR with Dr. Stephen Dansiger in 2020 and additional coursework in mindfulness, OCD, LGBTQIA+ affirmation, self-injury, disordered eating, emotion-focused couples therapy, and co-parenting.e-based treatment.

Ryan Perry

MA, AMFT

Staff Therapist

Ryan is a Registered Associate Marriage and Family therapist who uses a curious, compassionate, and warm approach to therapy. Ryan views therapy as a collaborative process in which clients can explore their values and make meaningful change that aligns with their most whole selves. Ryan works from a trauma-informed lens and centers social justice in her work.

Ryan offers supportive and affirming therapy to children 9+, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. She is passionate about supporting LGBTQ+ folks, people with chronic and/or life-threatening illnesses, religious trauma, personality disorders, body image issues, mood disorders, and suicidality.

Ryan has a bachelor’s degree from Biola University, where she majored in Psychology and Literature. In her undergraduate studies, she developed a love of storytelling and clinical work. She then obtained her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Southern California.

Ryan began her clinical training at the Ronald McDonald House, where she worked with children, families, couples, and individuals affected by life-threatening childhood illnesses. She provided long-term therapy rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and grief work for over a year. Following graduation, Ryan joined a private practice in Pasadena, CA, where she provided psychodynamic and depth- oriented therapy to children and adults navigating chronic illness, religious trauma, complex trauma, and LGBTQ+ related issues before joining Suzanne Wallach and Associates and SoCal DBT.

Ryan is foundationally trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy through Marsha Linehan’s Behavioral Tech and is completing her prelicensure hours under the supervision of Sarah Gordis, LCSW, at SoCal DBT, where she is also receiving training as an individual therapist, DBT skills group leader, and team member of the SoCal DBT program. In the DBT program, Ryan sees teens 13+, adults, couples, and families. She also provides parents and partners with DBT skills training to support their family members. Ryan receives weekly additional DBT training from Dr. Wallach.

In private practice at Suzanne Wallach and Associates, Ryan utilizes a holistic, trauma-informed lens and pays special attention to how one’s unique experiences and identities shape the healing process. Ryan prioritizes creating a safe and exploratory space for her clients and brings a calm, humorous, and healing energy to her work.

Ruby Schiff

LMFT

Staff Therapist

Ruby Schiff is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who is passionate about providing therapy to people across the lifespan, from young children to adults and families. Ruby works with a variety of mental health issues, including personality disorders, relationship challenges, anxiety, depression, trauma, sexuality, grief, life transitions, and body image issues.

Ruby earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and Gender Studies from Kenyon College in Ohio and holds a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While at USC, she concentrated on treating low-income young adults at Pelican Cove Counseling Center, a psychodynamic training center in Alhambra, California.  After graduation, she worked in community mental health at The Village Family Services in North Hollywood, California.  While employed there, she provided therapy intake assessments, ran groups for underserved youth and families in the community, and coordinated with treatment teams to provide wraparound care for acute client cases.

Ruby was comprehensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy by Dr. Shari Manning at Treatment Implementation Collaborative.  Dr. Manning is one of the nation’s leading DBT experts and SoCal DBT’s expert consultant.  Ruby is completing her DBT mentorship and prelicensure hours under the supervision of Dr. Suzanne Wallach at SoCal DBT, where she is also receiving comprehensive training as a DBT skills group leader, primary therapist, and team member within the SoCal DBT program.  At SoCal DBT, Ruby sees children ages 4 to 12, teens, adults, parents, partners, and families.

Ruby has also completed Dr. Melanie Harned’s Prolonged Exposure for DBT, which is a specific model of Prolonged Exposure adapted to DBT to treat PTSD among high-risk and multi-problem clients who are receiving DBT. The DBT PE protocol is based on Prolonged Exposure therapy and was adapted to fit the needs of this complex client population. DBT with the DBT PE protocol is a comprehensive treatment designed to help these tremendously suffering individuals recover from trauma and build lives they experience as worth living.  Ruby has also completed DBT for Parents, Couples, and Families taught by Dr. Alan Fruzzetti of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  She has received onsite training from Dr. Wallach in DBT for Children and plans to be formally trained in 2026.

Ruby’s approach to non-DBT cases is integrative, and she draws from a multitude of therapeutic modalities to best serve the individual needs of her clients.   She sees ages 6 through adults, as well as families, and each session is uniquely tailored to the individual or family. She uses a socioculturally attuned lens to address not only the client but also their cultural context. Through creating a warm environment and a safe space to foster an authentic therapeutic alliance together, Ruby believes that therapy can provide a warm environment for clients to begin to heal their inner worlds and discover their emotional needs.

Ruby is available for sessions primarily in our Beverly Hills location and in Calabasas on Thursdays.

Lindsey Cooper

MA, LMFT

Staff Therapist

Lindsey Cooper is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who uses a warm, relational, and non-judgmental approach to support teens, adults, and the queer community, providing a safe space to explore their authentic selves and create meaningful change. Lindsey utilizes various evidence-based approaches including Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Brainspotting, Mindfulness, and Humanistic Therapy. Her approach includes a feminist, LGBTQ+ affirmative, and culturally responsive approach.

Lindsey holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Services from Mount Saint Mary’s University. While at Antioch, Lindsey trained at Airport Marina Counseling Services and helped to create and implement the LGBTQ track. She was originally trained and supervised in DBT by Erin Lotz, LCSW and Pam Jacobson, LMFT in 2018 and completed level one and two Brainspotting training with Steve Sawyer, LCSW, and Dr. Pie Frey. She has additional training in ADHD and neurodiversity-affirming therapy from Bobbi-Jo Molokken (LISW, CCTP, ADHD-CCSP) and Margaret Proctor (MS, OTR/L) from Learn, Play Thrive, LLC.  Lindsey completed her DBT Foundational Training in 2024 through Behavioral Tech, the DBT training site founded by Dr. Linehan and the gold standard for training clinicians in DBT.

Lindsey has eight years of experience working as a therapist in residential, outpatient, and PHP settings specializing in addiction and trauma. She served as the Clinical Director of Lakehouse Recovery Center (2022). She worked with Finney Consulting as an Associate Therapeutic Placement Consultant from 2017 to 2020 helping individuals and families navigate therapeutic options for children, adolescents, and adults in crisis. She has served as a primary therapist in another Los Angeles comprehensive DBT program and as a trauma specialist at Serenity Trauma Treatment Center. At SoCal DBT, Lindsey is a primary DBT therapist on Dr. Wallach’s comprehensive DBT team, working with adults, teens, and parents, and also is available to see non-DBT clients upon request.  She works primarily in the Calabasas location but is available to all clients through virtual sessions.