Meet Our Team

Brandon Simpson is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who received their Master of Arts degree from Antioch University. Brandon is knowledgeable in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy, and trauma-informed care. He believes that therapy is a safe space to open up about your concerns and that you are the driver on the road to self-discovery and recovery. Brandon believes in creating space for people to be their authentic selves without judgment or stigma. 

Brandon supports individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, out-of-control sexual behavior and porn use, sexuality, and men’s issues.

Brandon is an LGBTQIA+, poly, and kink-affirming therapist.

Supervisor: Duane Osterlind, LMFT #44567

Krystal Faust is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who has broad experience helping clients struggling with concerns such as depression, anxiety, stress and communication.  She can be a resource for clients seeking support and healing from trauma and abuse. 

Krystal is sensitive to each client and their own unique ways of being in the world. She provides treatment that is tailored to a client’s lived experiences, interests and perspectives in hopes of cultivating the changes in their lives that they feel ready to make. 

Krystal Faust provides non-judgmental counseling for individuals navigating the diversity of consensual adult relationships, identities and relationship structures. Her work centers around collaborating with clients in creating compassion and acceptance for self and others.  She has experiance in the Helping Couples Heal trauma-informed treatment model.

Working with Krystal can allow you to explore how your life and general ways of being serve you or fail to do so and what you can do about it. Krystal believes that we have the capacity to change patterns that no longer serve us and that we can utilize our experiences, identities and openness as sources of strength to do so. 

Supervisor: Duane Osterlind, LMFT #44567

Mateo Leonardo is a bilingual Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Cal State Long Beach. He specializes in working with addiction, trauma, and men’s issues, and understands the complexity of relationships between caretakers and their loved ones during a crisis.

Mateo’s objective is to work with individuals, couples, and families to help them minimize suffering and optimize their personal and interpersonal wellbeing. Having migrated from Spain at a young age, he brings a unique cultural sensitivity to his work and is eager to help people from all cultural backgrounds.

Mateo’s approach integrates psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies to increase awareness of maladaptive patterns, and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Supervisor: Duane Osterlind, LMFT #44567

Breanna Lynn is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. She received her Masters of Arts at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is currently pursuing her Doctoric at the same university. Breanna is an expert in the treatment of sexual behaviors, eating disorders, generalized anxiety, stress, depression, and crisis. She is trained in CBT, DBT, and EMDR modalities. Breanna specializes in helping clients with values work, boundary setting, and assertive communication.

Breanna supports individuals and couples struggling with anxiety, depression, compulsive sex and sex offending, porn use, eating disorders, and couples working through conflict.

Dr. Christian has 28 + years in various settings and experiences helping clients develop positive and healthy sexuality. Her clinical focus is on working with multiple clients, including individuals establishing and sustaining recovery from addictions, partners of addicts, grief and loss, and goal setting. Barbara’s therapy methods include but are not limited to EMDR, Mindfulness, Meditation, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Emotion Regulation.

Dr. Christian earned her Doctorate of Psychology degree with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She also holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Antioch in California and a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Sexuality, Life, and Psychology. She is trained with the Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS).

Barbara supports individuals and couples struggling with sex addiction, couples healing from betrayal, porn addiction, trauma and abuse recovery, couples counseling, sexual identity, and PTSD.

Curtis Coronado received his undergraduate degree, and master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from San Diego State University. He has years of experience working with diverse populations of clients with different backgrounds, cultures, belief systems, and ideologies.

Curtis’ approach to therapy is collaborative and transparent. He focuses on using a mindfulness approach in addition to emotionally focused therapy that helps individuals and couples ground themselves in their fundamental need for a deep and meaningful connection.

Curtis looks forward and welcomes couples and individuals as they are. Navigating the complexities of life’s many ups and downs can be overwhelming, but Curtis believes in supporting the individual just as they are.

Curtis supports individuals and couples struggling with couples, couples dealing with communication, intimacy, and betrayal, and individuals dealing with anxiety, stress, everyday issues, porn addiction, and sex addiction.

Kristen Parker received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Towson University, went on to earn her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Tulane University, and ended her educational endeavors with a Doctorate in Psychoanalysis from the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. In addition to her extensive education, she has additional training with the Masters and Johnson Clinic of Relational Therapy, EMDR, and DBT.

Kristen spent over 17 years as the Program Director for the National Treatment Center at the Del Amo Hospital, providing the foundation of work in PTSD, Dissociative Disorders, Borderline Personality Disorder, Military Trauma, Eating Disorders, and Sexual Addiction. She has worked with couples in private practice, relationship coaching, and treatment for anxiety and depression.

Kristen believes that every person is fascinating and complex. That therapy needs to support each individual’s unique story. She believes that the relationship between therapist and client is one that co-collaborators and problem solve.

Kristen supports individuals and couples struggling with couples, couples dealing with communication, intimacy, and betrayal, and individuals dealing with anxiety, stress, everyday issues, porn addiction, and sex addiction.

Chisato became a therapist after twenty years of corporate experience and life challenges, such as divorce, blended family issues, professional burnout, and cultural issues. Chisato earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science and a Master’s Degree in Marital Family Therapy from California State University Dominguez Hills.

She has clinical experience in community mental health clinics, residential rehabilitation facilities for chemical dependency, and partial hospitalization/intensive outpatient programs. She has also worked in a private practice providing individual, couple, and family therapy focusing on multi-ethnic and multi-generation issues.

She is currently working on an advanced study in Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

Chisato supports individuals and couples struggling with multi-ethnic stress management, addictions, relationship issues, depression, newlywed couples, young couples, and anxiety.

Laurel Lass has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for many years. She has worked in school systems, hospitals, and as a counselor. Before her time in the mental health field, Laurel was a high school and college teacher that focused on Linguistics and English.

After some significant life events, which included: marriage, the birth of a child, and a divorce, she decided to shift her focus to social work to create more joy, peace, and acceptance in her life journey.

Particular areas of interest are the study and practice of spiritual disciplines such as Buddhism and Christianity and fields of psychology including psychodynamic, Jungian, and transpersonal. Other training areas include non-violent communication, skillful parenting, and recovery from the impact of addiction.

Laurel’s post-graduate training also focused on Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). GIM derives from music therapy. It uses music and imagery to enhance self-knowledge, deal with loss and trauma, and create meaning in life.

Laurel supports individuals and couples struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, healing from betrayal, couples, divorce, and everyday stress.

Earl has been working in the substance abuse and sex addiction field for over ten years and has extensive experience treating addictions in various settings working both in inpatient and outpatient environments. He earned his Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland and is licensed to practice in California and Maryland. In addition to his experience in substance addiction, Earl is a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist (CSAT).

Earl is committed to supporting his clients through education and compassion. He spends time outside of his practice educating in human services at the university level and continuing to study.

Earl supports individuals and couples struggling with men, sex addiction, porn addiction, substance addiction, OCD treatment, men’s divorce, relationship experience, trauma, and substance/abuse recovery.

Duane received his Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University, Long Beach, and trained with Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., specializing in sexual addiction issues. Duane has spent over a decade helping individuals find hope and healing. His clinical focus is on treating individuals and couples struggling with process addictions using a mindfulness and task-centered approach.

Duane approaches his client from a place of empathy, understanding, and softness. He believes that couples and individuals can heal profoundly and meaningfully with the proper support.

Duane supports individuals and couples struggling with sex addiction, porn addiction, deep trauma, couples, and betrayal.

Danielle’s formal education in Sociology from UCLA gained her experience working in a professional setting in which she developed strong organizational skills, administrative management, and accounting experience.

After working in the corporate space, she decided to go back to school for her Masters in Business Administration and Organizational Psychology to help support Novus and its team.

While at Novus, she hopes to successfully ensure all aspects of the business function to allow individuals to feel at ease while going through therapy.