While we won’t know your exact supervisor assignments until the internship starts, these are examples of some of the individuals you may work with over the course of your year at the site.

Debbie Walker, Psy.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Debbie Walker received a Psy.D. from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 1998 and is a Licensed Psychologist in Missouri. Areas of interest include LGBTQIA+, neuro-atypical children and adults, emerging adults, college athletes, couples, formerly incarcerated and chronic and persistent mental illness. Dr. Walker’s experience has been in a private practice setting, community mental health setting and a university counseling center setting.

Molly Six, Ph.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Dr. Molly Six earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Central Michigan University. She earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University. Dr. Six completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Ball State University Counseling Center. Dr. Six has been fully licensed as a psychologist in Missouri since 2018. Dr. Six’s clinical and research interests include: eating disorders, the psychological impact of racism, racial identity development, LGBTQ concerns, women’s issues, trauma, interpersonal attachment, and interpersonal therapy. Dr. Six currently provides outpatient therapy services to adolescents and adults (ages 12+). Dr. Six provides clinical supervision to both pre-doctoral interns, and provisionally licensed psychologists.

Savannah Brown, Ph.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Dr. Brown obtained her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2022, where her dissertation focused on the role of social-evolutionary motives (i.e., mate-seeking, status acquisition) and personality in predicting aggression. She completed her doctoral internship at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, then served as a postdoctoral fellow in forensic psychology at Netcare Forensic Center, where she received specialized training in conducting criminal forensic evaluations, including evaluations of competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and determinations of least restrictive placements. At Burrell, Dr. Brown conducts diagnostic and forensic evaluations, primarily with adults. 

Crystal Beckham, Psy.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Dr. Crystal Beckham is a Licensed Psychologist who earned her degree in Clinical Psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 2006. She completed her APA-approved doctoral internship at a forensic hospital and correctional facility as part of the Northeastern Oklahoma Psychology Internship Program. Her post-doctoral residency was with Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in Farmington, MO, on a long-term care/forensic unit. She spent over a decade working in forensics and corrections before developing a specific interest in pain psychology. Her training includes designation as a Stanford University Empowered Relief certified instructor, as well as treating chronic pain through cognitive-behavioral and acceptance and commitment techniques. Dr. Beckham currently conducts adult presurgical evaluations and supports the chronic pain service line she assisted in developing. Her primary role is Vice President of Outpatient Services in the Southwest Region at Burrell Behavioral Health.

Michael Leftwich, Ph.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Dr. Leftwich obtained his PhD in Clinical Psychology (Health Psychology sub-specialty) from Oklahoma State University in 1999, and completed 3 additional years of fellowship training in Chemical Dependency/Clinical Psychopharmacology at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center. He received specialized training in CBT (including ACT), MI, and Marriage/Family Therapy (including SFBT and Strategic approaches). He has worked as a Licensed Psychologist for close to 25 years total (the past 16 in Missouri), in a variety of settings/roles and with a diverse mix of clients and presenting conditions. He has taught and supervised students at all levels of development (including post-docs.). He takes pride in the fact that the majority of his career has focused on trying to meet the needs (directly or indirectly) of underserved populations. This includes serving 8 years in the Missouri Army National Guard as a Behavioral Sciences Officer (0-4, Major) helping soldiers identify behavioral health issues and treatment options to support overall mission/troop readiness. He is currently a Clinical Provider Supervisor at Burrell in the Kingsley Clinic, supervising the team that conducts psychological evaluations.

Chelsie Black, Psy.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Dr. Chelsie Black, PsyD earned her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from The Wright Institute in California in 2016 and her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Missouri in 2013. She completed her pre-doctoral internship through Frontier Health in Tennessee/Virginia in 2016 working with young children and adolescents providing individual and family therapy as well as psychological evaluations in a rural community. She completed her post-doctoral residency at Burrell Behavioral Health in 2018, providing autism evaluations, individual therapy, and working alongside other providers in the Children’s Day Treatment program. She continues to provide services through Burrell Behavioral Health in the Burrell Autism Center. Dr. Black has an interest in working with toddlers and young children providing comprehensive autism evaluations on a multidisciplinary diagnostics team and helping families connect with services that will meet the child and family’s needs. Dr. Black primarily provides developmental assessment services to children ages 18 months to 9 years of age. In addition, Dr. Black provides family centered therapy for toddlers and young children ages 1-4 with a diagnosis of Autism and their parents. This consists of parent coaching sessions targeting social communication delays, emotional regulation, adaptive functioning, and behavioral problems.

Seth Allen, Ed.D.

Burrell Behavioral Health

Seth Allen is a Psychologist and Director of the Autism Center at Burrell Behavioral Health. He received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Boston University in 2007, and has been working as a psychologist in Missouri since 2007. Seth has worked with a variety of populations and ages in multiple settings, including at various outpatient community counseling locations at Burrell, and the inpatient psychiatric and medical hospital at Mercy. Over the years, he has provided outpatient counseling services to individuals with a wide range of diagnoses and conditions, including those with psychiatric, developmental, and substance abuse diagnoses. Also, Seth has extensive experience providing comprehensive psychological evaluations, with a sub-specialty in Autism Evaluations for youth through adulthood. He became the Director of the Burrell Autism Center in April of 2019, where he helps operate a diagnosis team as well as groups of treatment providers, which include Applied Behavior Analysis, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists.

Dr. Bralin Barnes

CoxHealth

Bralin Barnes started her education in counseling psychology by obtaining her bachelor’s in psychology at Hope International University in Fullerton, California. She continued the counseling psychology track and earned her master’s and doctorate at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington. Her graduate clinical experience included working with college students at the local university counseling center, providing group intervention to families with children struggling with emotional/behavioral concerns, and providing psychotherapy to adults with an emphasis on sexual health. While working with patient populations struggling with eating disorders and sexual health concerns, she grew an appreciation for the integration of medicine and psychology. Her dissertation explored ‘orthorexia nervosa’, a proposed pattern of disordered eating, severity of symptom impairment, prevalence rate, and future directions needed. She completed her doctoral internship through NPTC as a Burrell/Cox dual track intern. Her growing interest in integrative care led her to complete a residency at CoxHealth Medical Center where she worked with a diverse range of patients with acute and chronic medical conditions. At present, Dr. Barnes primarily works in the rehabilitation setting at Meyer Orthopedic Rehabilitation Hospital seeing patients in recovery from stroke, neurological conditions, TBI, spinal cord injury, amputation, and other medical conditions. She also sees consults at the main hospital, Cox South, and enjoys spending time with interns for didactics and consultation.

Dr. A.J. Whitmire

CoxHealth

Dr. Whitmire’s education covers a broad range of disciplines. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Birmingham-Southern College, a M.Div. in the ministry from Duke University, a M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Whitmire’s career spans broad areas as well and includes several years as a cardiovascular perfusionist in open heart surgery, work as a medical librarian at a medical school, several years teaching and supervising doctoral students in clinical psychology at a school of professional psychology, some time as director of a training clinic that was part of a school of professional psychology, a short time in a large group private practice as a licensed psychologist, and many years practicing as an outpatient and inpatient adult psychologist. He has worked for the last 5 years as a psychologist on one of the two adult inpatient psychiatric units at Cox Health. Dr. Whitmire particularly enjoys clinical supervision and has supervised clinical psychology graduate students at all levels from beginning practicum students to psychological residents. In the past, he has functioned as the director of clinical training at another internship site within the NPTC. The challenges and rewards of working with the diversity of chronically mentally ill clients on an inpatient psychiatric unit as part of a treatment team create an ideal learning environment often difficult to find. It is within that environment that Dr. Whitmire finds a home applying the diversity of his education and experience in clinical practice in a local clinical scientist model of care.

Dr. Karla Daniel

CoxHealth

Dr. Karla Daniel is a Licensed Psychologist and Health Service Provider in Missouri. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Southwest Missouri State University (MSU). She then obtained Master and Doctorate Degrees in Clinical Psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. She has worked in private practice for 15 years providing individual, family, and couples counseling in addition to teaching college psychology courses for 10 years. In her practice, she worked with a wide range of clinical presentations, including mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, relationship distress, bereavement, as well as severe and persistent disorders such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Dr. Daniel has also had extensive experience in providing care to hospitalized patients in an acute inpatient psychiatric facility offering individual therapy, group psychotherapy, and psychoeducation groups. She also has experience in working with medically hospitalized patients struggling with psychological distress related to their medical conditions. Among the most rewarding aspects of her career has been supervising students at various levels of education including master’s level psychology practicum students; doctoral-level interns and post-doctorate residents seeking licensure; master’s level professionals seeking licensure; and serving as psychotherapy proctor for Nurse Practitioner Students seeking their Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree. In her role at Cox Health, she will work with medically admitted patients, as well as supervise interns and post-doctorate residents who are a part of the National Psychology Training Consortium. She will be a primary supervisor for the acute medical rotation.