THERAPIST

Hallie Fliesch, LCSW

Hallie Fleisch, LCSW, graduated from The Ohio State University with her Bachelor’s in Social Work and Washington University with her Master’s in Social Work. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and a Primary Therapist for Center for Discovery, Hallie comes with extensive experience in the mental health field. Hallie has worked with children and adolescents in hospital settings, partial-hospital and intensive out patient facilities, and schools. She has worked with families on improving communication, educated them on a variety of mental health issues, and provided them tools to support their loved ones. Hallie has experience working with depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviors, and distorted body image concerns that are often times co-occurring with eating disorders. She has experience providing meal support and community based assistance to individuals with eating disorders. Hallie is passionate about helping individuals struggling with eating disorders and other mental health issues improve their self-esteem and address underlying issues in order to be healthy. She is very excited to be part of the Discovery Difference® and to use her expertise in the Alexandria, VA program.

MILIEU MANAGER

Sabrina Paulsen

Sabrina graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science in psychology with minors in criminal justice. Sabrina began working as an Eating Disorder Technician at an eating disorder treatment center in Seattle, Washington. After working as a Tech for 9 months, Sabrina decided to move back to the East Coast and continuing to provide support and care to those with struggling with eating disorders and other mental health concerns. She plans to continue pursuing her career in eating disorder treatment at Center for Discovery and by returning to school for a master’s degree to obtain her licensure as a therapist.

THERAPIST

Holly Serrano, MA, NCC

Holly Serrano has a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regent University. Practicing since 2015, Holly is a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Licensed Mental Health Professional-Resident in Virginia. Holly has worked with women, children, teens and families to address a range of concerns such as anxiety, body image, crisis intervention, disordered eating/eating disorders, healthy relationships, family dynamics and self- harm. She has seen how eating disorders in particular signal deeper concerns for clients that tie into questions of identity and purpose. Holly enjoys coming alongside clients as they learn skills to overcome their eating disorder and reconnect with joy in their lives.

REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Ashley Balderson, RDN

Ashley is a Registered Dietitian at Center for Discovery, Alexandria Outpatient. Ashley received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Maryland, College Park. During her time at the University of Maryland, Ashley worked with both adolescents and adults in various settings, such as leading a cooking camp for adolescents and providing nutrition education to adults with prediabetes. Following her degree, Ashley completed her dietetic internship at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore, Maryland. During this internship, Ashley gained experience in nutrition counseling with a wide variety of populations, both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Ashley is delighted to be part of the team at Center for Discovery. She is truly passionate about helping others develop a positive relationship with food and emphasizing the “all foods fit” philosophy at Center for Discovery.

PRIMARY THERAPIST

Michaela Heckman

Michaela is a therapist at Center for Discovery in Alexandria, Virginia. She received both her bachelor’s in psychology and her master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. Michaela has experience working with women, adolescents and children, providing both early intervention services and mental health counseling in a variety of settings. She has provided home-based services while working with children on the autism spectrum, and prior to joining the Center for Discovery team, was working in a residential treatment center for individuals diagnosed with substance use disorders. She has worked with a wide range of concerns including crisis intervention, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and substance use. Michaela firmly believes in creating a safe space for her patients to work on their most authentic, whole and healthy self. She is excited to work with patients in this step of their recovery journey. 

PRIMARY THERAPIST

Kelsey West, MSW

Kelsey West received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Religion from Augustana College, and continued on to complete her Master of Social Work from Loyola University in Chicago. Kelsey has had several work and internship experiences where she led group and individual therapy with clients as they navigate substance abuse, the criminal justice system, and various mental health concerns including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. She also has extensive experience working with survivors of interpersonal violence. Kelsey is dedicated to providing trauma informed care and understanding how experiences can impact an individual’s behaviors and identity.

Kelsey supports individuals through client-centered therapeutic techniques tailored to individual needs, and driven by the therapeutic relationship. She is passionate about empowering clients and their loved ones as they navigate the road to recovery together. Kelsey aims to create a safe and supportive environment where clients can be heard without judgment.

COUNSELOR

Morgan Canner

Morgan is a counselor at Center for Discovery Alexandria Outpatient. Morgan is very excited to be a part of the amazing team at Alexandria. As a counselor, Morgan helps with meal support for meals and snacks and leads groups in various topics such as DBT, Soul Hunger, and Mindfulness. Morgan comes to CFD after completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from High Point University. She is currently working to obtain her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The George Washington University with the goal of becoming a licensed clinical mental health counselor. Morgan is very passionate about helping others in their recovery journey and supports philosophies associated with eating disorder treatment like Health at Every Size, Intuitive Eating, and All Foods Fit. Morgan hopes that in working with clients, she will be able to support their journey toward recovery and provide an atmosphere of acceptance in which they are able to share their true selves without fear of judgement.

REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Taylor Merloni, MS, RD

Taylor is a Registered Dietitian at Center for Discovery Alexandria Outpatient. Taylor received her Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Physiology from Lynchburg College. After working in the fitness industry, Taylor realized her true passions were aligned with Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating and so she decided to go on and complete her Master’s Degree in Food and Nutrition at Framingham State University.   While completing her dietetic internship, Taylor worked with adults and adolescents in both clinical and community settings where she was able to fine tune her motivational interview skills. Taylor is excited to be a part of the Center for Discovery team and help her client’s in their eating disorder recovery.

PRIMARY THERAPIST

Kathryn Mullins

Kate Mullins (MA) graduated from the George Washington University with a Master’s in Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. She has years of experience working with children, adolescents and adults within psychiatric, school-based and private-practice settings. 

As a trauma-informed therapist, Kate recognizes that trauma compromises a survivors’ capacity for pleasure, self-control, engagement, and trust. We do not always have words for these experiences, but art can unlock and heal the parts of ourselves that remain misunderstood. Kate offers art therapy interventions that may help you improve relationships, navigate internal conflict, reduce anxiety and depression, manage behaviors, and develop insight and self-awareness. 

Kate is passionate about helping clients visualize and reevaluate their relationship with their body, and begin cultivating a renewed sense of self. She is thrilled to be a part of the team at Center for Discovery, and looks forward to walking alongside clients on their recovery journey.  

DIET TECH

Emma Norman

Emma is delighted to join the team with Center for Discovery’s Alexandria outpatient eating disorder and mental health program. Emma is working as a Diet Tech, where her primary role is to support clients during their meals and during the preparation process. Emma is from Canada and received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Prince Edward Island. In addition to her degree, Emma completed her dietetic internship and worked in inpatient, outpatient, and community practices. During this time, she experienced individual counseling and led classes aimed towards a range of different populations. Emma started her dietetic career in Canada at a health clinic and will continue her credentialing to become a Registered Dietitian in America. Emma truly believes in “Health at Every Size”, “All Foods Fit”, and “Intuitive Eating”. Emma believes recovery from an eating disorder is possible and is passionate about supporting the clients on their journey to recovery.

REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Maria Kim, RDN

Maria Kim is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences and received her Master of Science with New York Institute of Technology. She has extensive experience counseling families on nutrition and feeding for pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children with the WIC program. Maria completed her internship with Sodexo Dietetic Internships in Los Angeles, where she spent considerable time working in clinical pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, outpatient feeding therapy for children with feeding challenges at Professional Child Development Associates, and eating disorders and substance abuse recovery. It was through her internship experience with residential, PHP and IOP level of care at an eating disorder and substance use recovery facility where Maria discovered her passion in behavioral health nutrition.

Maria aims to use evidenced-based practices through the lens of the All Foods Fit philosophy, Intuitive Eating, and Health at Every Size®, and attends group supervision with Elyse Resch, one of the founders of the Intuitive Eating principles. Maria is passionate about food and body liberation, helping others find peace and rediscover their joy of food and eating.

COUNSELOR

Paige Settle

Paige is a counselor at Center for Discovery in Alexandria, Virginia. She received her bachelor’s in psychology from West Virginia University and her master’s in counseling specializing in clinical mental health from Barry University. While working toward her master’s degree, Paige worked as a counselor for a youth development program in Miami, Florida, and would conduct psychoeducation groups with students in grades 6-12. In her internship, Paige provided group counseling services to adults diagnosed with substance use disorder. She also gained experience in her internship by providing individual mental health services to adolescent and adult patients. Paige hopes to help others by creating a space of empathy and acceptance that will assist them in their journey toward recovery.

COUNSELOR

Fiola Castelino

Fiola graduated from Concordia College New York with her bachelor of arts degree (Counseling Psychology major) and is working towards her MBA & MHRM degrees at Marymount University. She has experience working with high-risk adolescents in a residential setting. She is very passionate about working with both adolescents and adults in the eating disorder field.

REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Janny Cho, RD

Janny is a registered dietitian nutritionist who graduated from University of Maryland College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics and biology. She completed her dietetic internship with Virginia/Maryland WIC Dietetic Internship Program. Janny has a wide-range of experiences working with pregnant and postpartum women, infants, teens and children in the WIC program and the adult populations in the long-term care, assisted living and hospice care settings. While working for the WIC Program, she obtained a certified lactation certification (CLC) to provide additional support to breastfeeding mothers. She is an advocate and supporter for women who want to give their babies a healthy start at infancy. Janny is passionate about helping individuals using patient-centered nutritional counseling. She helps patients to develop a positive relationship with food and encourages others to follow the All Foods Fit philosophy. Janny is excited to be part of the Center for Discovery Alexandria outpatient center. 

RESIDENT IN COUNSELING

Jenifer Smith, MHC, MFT

Jenifer Smith recently relocated to the Virginia area from Miami, Florida. She has a double Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling from Barry University. Jenifer is a Certified Trauma Professional and Board-Certified Sex Therapist. Jenifer also has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For the past 7 years Jenifer has been working with clients with substance abuse, trauma, LGBTQ and PTSD issues.

A fun fact about Jenifer is she is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and is a huge Steelers fan.