PATCH Staff

Emily M. Becker-Haimes, Ph.D.

Emily M. Becker-Haimes, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the Clinical Director of the Pediatric Anxiety Treatment Center at Hall Mercer (PATCH) program. She is an implementation scientist and clinical psychologist dedicated to improving mental healthcare for youth. Clinically, Dr. Becker-Haimes is an expert in the treatment of anxiety disorders, with expertise in the application of exposure therapy for anxious youth with complex comorbidities. She has trained hundreds of clinicians in the application of exposure therapy and continues to advance the reach of exposure therapy through her extensive research and clinical work. Dr. Becker-Haimes conducts the initial diagnostic evaluations for youth receiving services through PATCH and provides clinical supervision to PATCH clinicians.

Dr. Becker-Haimes’ research focuses on treatment optimization for pediatric anxiety disorder. She is the author of the Resource for Exposures for Anxiety Disordered Youth (READY) Toolkit (www.bravepracticeforkids.com) and has developed and led research concerning the implementation and utilization of exposure therapy in diverse clinical settings. Dr. Becker-Haimes has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and her work is funded by organizations such as the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). She has received several national awards for her work, including the Future Directions Launch Award from the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and the Outstanding New Investigator Presentation Award from the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration.

Dr. Becker-Haimes received her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and her Ph. D in child clinical psychology from the University of Miami. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

For questions about The READY Toolkit or her work, she can be reached at embecker@upenn.edu.

Douglas Clapp, LMFT

Douglas Clapp, LMFT, is a Licensed Family Therapist and received his Master’s in Couples & Family Therapy from La Salle University. He worked as a lead clinician in family-based services for six years before becoming clinical supervisor for Hall Mercer’s trauma-focused family therapy program. His professional efforts focus on empowering children and families to overcome anxiety as well as improving life trajectories through evidence-based practices. He currently provides clinical oversight for an exploratory family-based program, PHIIPATCH, which provides exposure therapy for children across home, school, and community settings.

Julie Worley, PhD, BCBA

Dr. Worley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the Director of Philly AIMS (Autism Instructional Methods and Support) at the Penn Center for Mental Health. She is a clinical psychologist and a behavior analyst dedicated to increasing community access to evidence based interventions and assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities. Further, she is interested in facilitating community partnerships to help increase the quality of care for children receiving mental and behavioral health services.

Dr. Worley received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and her fellowship at the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has extensive training on the assessment and treatment of autism and often co-occurring disorders including anxiety. 

Dr. Worley provides clinical supervision to pre-doctoral interns and practicum students completing rotations through PATCH and the School District of Philadelphia.

Anika Khan, PhD

Anika Khan, PhD is a postdoctoral trainee at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Mental Health who is working full time as a clinician at the Pediatric Anxiety Treatment Center at Hall Mercer (PATCH) program. Dr. Khan completed her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her predoctoral internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Her research and clinical work focus on examining the effects of childhood adversity on the development of internalizing and externalizing disorders. She has experience in providing cognitive behavioral therapy to address anxiety, OCD and related disorders as well as in family work, working with disordered eating and practice in addressing anxiety symptoms which may be exacerbating medical concerns (e.g. GI distress).

Claire Picard, MA, LPC, ATR-BC

Claire Picard is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist working as a clinician in the PATCH program at Hall Mercer. Claire received her Bachelor’s degree from The

Pennsylvania State University and her Masters in Art Therapy and Counseling from Drexel University. Prior to joining the Outpatient team, Claire worked on the PHIIPATCH Family Based team at Hall Mercer, providing exposure therapy for children across home, school, and community settings. Claire specializes in working with children and their families to manage Anxiety, OCD, and related disorders.

Diondra Straiton, M.A

Diondra Straiton, M.A. (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology program at Michigan State University. She is currently completing her predoctoral internship in clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Psychiatry on the Child/Developmental Disabilities track. Diondra holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in psychology and educational studies. She has extensive clinical experience working with youth of color and autistic youth. At PATCH, Diondra provides cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy to youth with anxiety-related disorders, as well as anxiety assessments for autistic youth. Her research focuses on supporting clinicians to use evidence-based practices for autism in under-funded community settings, including community mental health agencies, urban public schools, and early intervention systems.

Grace Kinkler, LSW

Grace Kinkler, LSW, is a staff therapist at PATCH and a Licensed Social Worker. She received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 and has an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University. She has been working with children, adolescents, and their families at PATCH for over two years. Using cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and other interventions, Grace collaborates with her clients to aid the treatment and management of anxiety, OCD, and related disorders. Grace brings a strength-based, client-centered, and relational approach to her work. Prior to joining PATCH, she trained at Penn Integrated Care (PIC) in collaborative care and Salvation Army’s New Day New Home Center, providing services to survivors of human trafficking. She is also trained in Contextual Family Therapy. Outside of work, Grace enjoys being outdoors, crafting, and reading.

Jesslyn Jamison, PhD

Jesslyn Jamison, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow at the Penn Center for Mental Health and a licensed psychologist at the Pediatric Anxiety Treatment Center at Hall Mercer (PATCH) program. She received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin in their School/Clinical Child Psychology Program and completed her predoctoral internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research focuses on determining how to best transport evidence-based practices (EBPs) in mental health into community settings. Dr. Jamison has experience working with children and families with a range of presenting concerns across a variety of clinical settings including schools, hospitals, and primary care settings. Her clinical expertise is in working with children with anxiety and OCD and their families.

Megan Brady

Megan Brady is a Project Manager at the Penn Center for Mental Health (CMH) where she provides operational and administrative research support across projects which focus on mental health quality improvement and implementation research, including projects aimed at improving services within the PATCH program. Megan graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in psychology. Prior to working at CMH, Megan worked as a research assistant at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, PA, focusing on underlying mechanisms of mood disorders. She is currently working on obtaining a Master’s in Public Health degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sara Rothschild, PsyD

Sara Rothschild, PsyD is a licensed psychologist and supervisor at PATCH. Additionally, Dr. Rothschild is an instructor at the Penn Collaborative for CBT and Implementation Science. Dr. Rothschild completed her undergraduate training at New York University before earning her doctoral degree from Yeshiva University in 2018. While at Yeshiva she gained experience across New York City working with children, adolescents, and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and trauma across a multitude of settings. After completing her APA internship at Northwell Health, Dr. Rothschild moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia where she completed her Postdoctoral training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at the CARES Institute. Dr. Rothschild is passionate about training others in and providing CBT to children, adolescents, and families in need.

Siedah Cazaubon, M.A.

Siedah Cazaubon, M.A. is a graduate student clinician at the PATCH program. She is a third year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Child Clinical Psychology at La Salle University. Siedah received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Public

Health from Muhlenberg College, her master’s degree in Psychology from Marywood University, and a second master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from La Salle University. Through her role at PATCH, Siedah provides cognitive-behavioral therapy to children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related disorders.

Wendy Huerta 

Wendy Huerta is a Clinical Science Ph.D. student at the University of Delaware. Wendy received her B.A. with Highest Honors in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Following graduation, she worked as a research coordinator at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center under the direction of Dr. Michelle Craske where she learned about exposure-based treatment approaches such as inhibitory learning for anxiety-related disorders. Broadly, she is interested in delivering evidence-based treatments that span across various disorders given the high comorbidity among psychiatric populations. Specifically, Wendy is interested in working with individuals who suffer from a range of psychopathology, including anxiety disorders, across the lifespan. Through her role at PATCH, Wendy provides cognitive-behavioral therapy to children and adolescents with anxiety-related disorders. Outside of PATCH, Wendy conducts research on the psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of psychopathology, aggression, and self-harmful behavior at the Personality & Dysregulation Lab at UD. 

Kennedy Chatman

Kennedy Chatman is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Penn Center for Mental Health (CMH) contributing to projects focusing on the implementation of evidence-based treatment in community mental health settings as well as projects aimed at improving services within the PATCH Program. She provides administrative support to the PATCH Program as Intake Coordinator. Kennedy graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.S. in psychology where she conducted independent research on factors associated with sexual revictimization.