Meet Our Staff
Counseling and Psychological Service's staff is helpful, open, and experienced. In addition to our professional staff, graduate students from the departments of Psychology, Social Work, and Leadership and Counseling are also available to work with clients.
Lisa Lauterbach, Ph.D., Director
Lisa is a licensed clinical psychologist who began working at EMU in 2002 as a staff psychologist. She became director of CAPS in 2007. Lisa returned to college mental health after working for nine years in veterans hospitals and community mental health agencies. Her interests include working with students with sexual trauma, depression, anxiety, and dissociation.
Oscar Alcaine, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist
Oscar is a licensed clinical psychologist who started working at EMU in 2006 after moving from New York where he worked at SUNY Purchase’s Counseling Center and previous to that, completed a clinical fellowship at Columbia University Counseling and Psychological Services. His interests include working with students who present with anxiety and depression, multicultural issues in therapy, interpersonal processes in treatment, and the integration of eclectic perspectives in psychotherapy. Oscar is currently the CAPS training coordinator.
Sharon Carney, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist
Sharon is a licensed psychologist and a licensed professional counselor. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. Sharon completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and worked as a clinician at the University of Notre Dame and Valparaiso University prior to joining EMU Counseling and Psychological Services in April 2008. Her areas of clinical interest include women’s issues; multicultural and feminist psychology; trauma and abuse recovery; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues; spirituality; and use of creative arts in counseling.
Amy Collins, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist
Amy is a licensed counseling psychologist. She joined CAPS in 2010 after completing her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and her internship and post-doctoral residency at the University of Missouri. She has experience working with clients who have a wide range of concerns and backgrounds. Amy especially loves incorporating mindfulness into therapy and helping students with issues related to trauma, self-growth, all aspects of diversity, spirituality, family of origin concerns, and interpersonal problems. She is also passionate about using a collaborative, individualized approach and providing group, couples, and crisis treatment.
Melissa Rosenblum, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist
Melissa is a licensed psychologist that joined the EMU team in 2008 following her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan Psychological Clinic. She earned her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Prior to working in university counseling, Melissa was employed as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in community mental health settings in rural Kentucky. Her areas of clinical interest include experiential approaches to treatment (i.e., Gestalt Therapy); couples therapy; supervision and training; interpersonal process groups; women’s issues and trauma; and multicultural concerns.
Lourdes Mir-Orrange, LMSW, Clinical Social Worker
Lourdes is a licensed clinical social worker who joined the EMU Counseling and Psychological Services team in 2007. She comes to EMU with 18 years of clinical experience after having worked in several outpatient mental health clinics, public health clinics, and at Cornell Counseling and Psychological Services. Her experience includes working with clients with depression and anxiety, intimate relationship conflict, domestic violence, grief/loss issues, chronic illness, and phase of life problems. Lourdes is especially interested in working with international students around acculturation issues and working with multicultural issues in therapy.
Stephanie Tandy, Senior Secretary
Stephanie has worked at Eastern Michigan University since 1999 and joined the Counseling and Psychological Services team in 2001.
Lauren McSweeney, B.A., Graduate Assistant
Lauren is a graduate student in the department of psychology at EMU and the Graduate Assistant at Counseling and Psychological Services. Prior to coming to EMU, Lauren worked at the National Center for PTSD where she assisted with research focused on PTSD, trauma, and borderline personality disorder. Her clinical and research interests include investigating factors, mechanisms, and processes underlying anxiety disorder, specifically PTSD.
Chelsea Cawood, 5th Year Doctoral Student
Chelsea is a fifth year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. She has previously worked at the EMU Psychology Clinic and in a community mental health setting. She has extensive experience in the areas of cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based treatments, including dialectical behavior therapy. Her clinical interests include mood and anxiety disorders, borderline personality disorder, self-harm, and eating disorders/issues of body image. She has presented workshops on coping skills and body image to college students.
Kristine Cramer, B.A., Student Therapist
Kristine is a second-year master’s student in the General Clinical Psychology program at EMU. She has experience working with college populations, both as a small group facilitator and a wellness educator. Her clinical interests also include working with children; she has worked in a partial hospitalization program with children experiencing a range of behavioral and emotional difficulties. Kristine’s research interests include marriage, parenting, and attachment.
Erin Gallagher, 5th Year Doctoral Student
Erin is a fifth year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. Prior to joining EMU Counseling and Psychological Services, she worked at the EMU Psychology Clinic, University of Michigan Counseling and Psychological Services, and Hawthorn Center. She has extensive experience in the areas of family therapy, parent management training, and behavioral treatments for young children. Her clinical interests include anxiety, depression, substance use, intimate relationship problems, couples therapy, grief/loss, trauma, domestic violence, women's issues, and the integration of eclectic perspectives in psychotherapy. She also has experience with acceptance and commitment therapy, and the cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.
Katherine Guyon , B.A., Student Therapist
Katherine is a second-year master's student in the General Clinical Psychology program at EMU, and has experience working with children and adolescents with various behavioral and mental health difficulties. Her clinical interests include interpersonal processes, especially in families, children and adolescents, as well as adjustment to phase of life changes and women’s issues. Her current research focuses on investigating the factors responsible for disrupting the attachment relationship between mother and child as well as the effects of parenting on child development.
Valentina Ivezaj, M.S., 3rd Year Doctoral Student
Valentina is a third year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at EMU, serving as the Counselor-In-Residence for the 2010-2011 academic school year. Her clinical interests include eating, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Her previous clinical experiences include working with college students at EMU's Counseling and Psychological Services, primarily focusing on depression and stress management. In addition, she continues to work at EMU's Psychology Clinic treating a broad range of mental health issues. Finally, she has worked at Henry Ford Health System conducting psychological evaluations for bariatric surgery candidates. Her research interests include obesity, disordered eating behaviors (e.g. binge eating), and psychological risk factors for the development of substance use disorders following bariatric surgery.
Emily Kavanagh, 3rd Year Doctoral Student
Emily is a third year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program. Prior to joining EMU Counseling and Psychological Services, she worked at the EMU Psychology Clinic where she gained experience working with a diverse group of clients. She has had experience working with children, adolescents, and adults dealing with a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder. Her current research interests include childhood disruptive behaviors, parent training and the application of parent training techniques by both trained and untrained parents, as well as, the parenting practices of fathers.
Andrea Kiss, Student Therapist
Andrea is a second year master's student in the General Clinical Psychology program at Eastern Michigan University. Her clinical interests include working with adults who present with diverse developmental, diagnostic, and interpersonal issues. Andrea's research interests include the psychological assessment of personality disorders with an emphasis on Borderline Personality Disorder.
Natalie Nugent, 3rd Year Doctoral Student
Natalie is a third year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Eastern Michigan University. Prior to joining EMU Counseling and Psychological Services, she worked at the EMU Psychology Clinic, where she continues to maintain a limited case-load. Natalie has experience in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and borderline personality disorder. Clinically, her interests include trauma, women’s issues such as physical and sexual violence, and feminist psychology. Additionally, Natalie has a strong interest in mindfulness based treatment interventions and incorporates these frequently into her clinical work.
Rachel Sienko, B.A., Student Therapist
Rachel is a second-year master's student in the General Clinical Psychology program at EMU. She has internship experience working with domestic violence survivors and adults with chronic mental illness. Her clinical interests include domestic violence, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders. Her current research focuses on the relationship between identity impairment, interpersonal sensitivity, and Binge Eating Disorder.
Melissa Swartzmiller, Student Therapist
Melissa is a second-year master’s student in the General Clinical Psychology program at EMU. She has previous experience working with maltreated children and adolescents as well as children with autism. Her clinical interests include anxiety, adjustment, and relationship issues. Her research interests focus on parent-child relationships, separation anxiety, child maltreatment, and emotion recognition.