Our Team

Debbie Jason, PhD

UCLA TRAINER & LICENSED CBT & DBT PSYCHOLOGIST

Dr. Jason is the co-founder and Clinical Director of Trauma Therapy CA. She also serves as a clinical psychologist for Orange County and a trainer for University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA)’s Center of Excellence.

Dr. Jason recognizes that relationships are challenging – even in the best circumstances. This is certainly true of parenting, which can be even more difficult when building a relationship with a young child who is oppositional or a teenager who may feel stressed, sad, or angry. Many parents blame themselves, feel isolated, and are unsure of what to do. Many teenagers feel alone, judged, overwhelmed or misunderstood. There is hope, though, in that you can be the solution! Through a unique approach, Dr. Jason works with people of all ages to help them develop their sense of selves, decrease stress, and establish rewarding relationships. Simultaneously, Dr. Jason coaches you to develop the necessary tools for promoting healthy relationships based on mutual love and respect. Having this space has helped many individuals understand and manage their lives better and allowed children to feel more secure and less interested in testing boundaries.

Your therapy experience with Dr. Jason will always be tailored individually to you and your strengths, with private sessions and distinct goals for each individual and/or family member as appropriate. The evidenced based practices drawn from, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), have strong scientific support for treating depression and anxiety, strengthening healthy family bonds, improving emotional control and coping skills, and increasing positive relationships.

Dr. Jason received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and completed postdoctoral training at UCLA TIES for Families. She began her post-doctoral training at UCLA in 2015 before being promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor at UCLA where she provided clinical supervision to PhD students. (UCLA is consistently ranked as one of the top psychology schools in the country) She currently works as a Clinical Psychologist II for Orange County, serving children and adolescents in foster care, residential placements and juvenile hall. She also serves as a consultant for The DMH-UCLA Prevention Center of Excellence, providing bi-weekly trainings with a joint vision to help educate every single clinician and staff serving Los Angeles (LA) County’s Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) on Trauma and Resilience Informed Care. Dr. Jason is also an approved EMDR therapist through EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) and Foundationally Trained in DBT by Behavioral Tech.

Dr. Jason’s specialty is working with children and families who have been exposed to trauma or are currently experiencing stress of any kind. At Trauma Therapy CA, you can meet with Dr. Jason for individual therapy to address a wide range of concerns. Dr. Jason also provides superior cognitive, developmental, psychological and personality testing to help differentiate between conditions that have similar symptoms but very different treatments, such as trauma responses vs. ADHD vs. learning disabilities vs. anxiety.

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Hannah Jason

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Hannah Jason is the Managing Director and co-founder at Trauma Therapy CA. Hannah not only believes in, but truly embodies, the power of the creative mind. She is dually trained in counseling and design with certifications from the William Glasser Reality Therapy Institute and Parsons School of Design. Hannah’s passion is in using her exquisite sensitivity and creative application of advanced therapy techniques to support your individual strengths.

Before Trauma Therapy CA, Hannah worked at Didi Hirsch’s Crisis Residential Treatment Program for adults in acute psychiatric crisis. The diagnoses of the residents Hannah served ranged from mild anxiety and depression to severe psychosis and Bipolar Disorder. She used her knowledge of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills when counseling and leading groups for this population. Hannah has also worked as a counselor for at-risk teenagers and young adults with Autism and other developmental disabilities. Hannah is extraordinarily tenacious and believes in her client’s resilience, especially after her experiences in homeless shelters and on suicide hotlines. If you are looking for counseling that is sensitive, individualized and fearless, Hannah is the coach for you.

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Erin Madden, LCSW, ICADC

LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

Erin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a certified EMDR Therapist and an Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is Trauma Therapy CA’s most experienced supervising therapist with nearly 20 years of clinical experience. Erin will work collaboratively with you to determine and achieve your unique therapy goals. She assists clients in resolving underlying issues that too often interfere with quality of life. Erin practices non-judgement in allowing clients to share and create their ideal life. Erin specializes in treating trauma, anxiety, depression, codependency, anger management, grief, addictions including overeating, pornography, substance abuse, divorce and toxic relationship patterns. She typically works with adults, teens, couples, and families. Erin has advanced training in Motivational Interviewing, DBT, CBT, EMDR and Solution Focused therapies.

Prior to joining Trauma Therapy CA, she recently worked as a Clinical Director and Trauma Therapy Specialist supervising about 100 other clinicians. Earlier in her career, Erin served as a Program Coordinator at the Palo Alto VA, a teaching hospital for Stanford University where she used her expertise to help numerous military veterans find freedom from trauma-related symptoms. She has been a member of Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Veterans Treatment Court clinical teams. She continues to help her clients move past shame that occurred in the context of practicing harmful coping mechanisms including alcohol and other substance use. She assists them in learning healthier ways to cope, avoiding future problems.

Erin is an Alumni of Florida Atlantic University, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work. She served as Adjunct Professor at Indian River State College and is also passionate about teaching cutting edge mental health research, mentoring and supervising new therapists. Personally, Erin is a yogi, a runner and loves being in nature. Erin’s extraordinary knowledge, experience and genuine relatability can help you achieve your therapeutic goals to move past trauma and into effective coping toward your future.

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Crystal Kim, ACSW

ASSOCIATE CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

Crystal is a deeply caring therapist, who thinks about her clients in the context of their experiences. She will create and maintain a safe therapeutic space for each individual’s healing journey.

Crystal received her Master of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach and is a registered Associate Clinical Social Worker. She has experience with complex trauma and individuals with multiple diagnoses, which allows her to create therapy treatments that work for the entire person. Crystal is fully trained in EMDR and continues to have much success treating clients at Trauma Therapy CA with EMDR to resolve PTSD and other trauma-related symptoms. She has worked in a Partial Hospitalization Program, serving adults with varying diagnoses including Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar I & II, Substance Use Disorders and Personality Disorders. Through a strengths-based and person-centered approach, she led individual and group therapeutic sessions with her patients at this program. Prior to this, Crystal also served as a Youth Specialist at a Children’s Crisis Residential Program, providing support to a diverse population of youth who stepped down from psychiatric hospitalizations. She is qualified to treat all ages to overcome challenges ranging from stress and mild anxiety to severe and complex mental health disorders.

Crystal approaches her sessions with a compassion-led and culturally competent approach, focusing on each individual’s unique strengths. She is passionate in guiding each individual to discover a deeper understanding of their unhealthy tendencies and helping them find the root of their issues. Crystal firmly believes that self-awareness makes room for self-compassion, and that in turn makes room for healing. Crystal continues to work with individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, history of abuse, difficulty with anger management, grief and loss, self-esteem issues, relationship issues, family conflict, and life transitions. Crystal worked with many individuals who believed their traumatic experiences permanently robbed them of their hope. Throughout her professional experience, she has had the honor of guiding many of these same individuals to reclaim their hope and create a new meaning to their life story. Crystal would be grateful to work with each individual in their unique healing journey.

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Kelly Sorace, ACSW

ASSOCIATE CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER

Kelly Sorace, ASW is not only knowledgeable about treating trauma, but also has a sincere capacity for empathy and caring. She understands the challenge that therapy brings and has a unique ability to create the safety necessary for this journey. Kelly works with individuals to create goals and treatment plans that lead to healing and growth through built insight and compassion. Kelly is well versed in working with children and families who have been impacted by complex trauma, including abuse, neglect, grief and loss. Kelly has worked with individuals with an array of diagnoses including PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, substance use disorders and is also skilled in working with individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. Kelly is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) by Behavioral Tech and currently co-leads the DBT group at Trauma Therapy CA.

Kelly received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California with a focus in Children, Youth, and Families. Kelly started her career at a foster care and adoption agency providing support to children and families. She continued into a day treatment center where she empowered individuals to form community connections while also ensuring that their physical, emotional, and physiological needs were being met. She is truly a therapist who thinks widely and supports each client’s specific needs and strengths.

Being vulnerable is hard. Change is hard. Kelly’s sessions examine the entire person, past and present, to assist clients in creating a brighter present and future. Kelly uses a partnership approach where clients will feel heard and validated.

Kelly is trained in specialized evidence-based techniques including Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), DBT and Motivational Interviewing (MI) for substance use and other addiction-related disorders, and CBT which provides a framework to nurture resilience in clients. If you are looking to improve your relationships, challenge thinking that is no longer working and move forward in your life with a non-judgmental and creative therapist, reach out to Kelly today.

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Aysia Buendia

CLINICAL OPERATIONS MANAGER

Aysia Buendia is the Clinical Operations Manager at Trauma Therapy CA. Aysia graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences in the spring of 2021 from the University of California Irvine. Before transferring to UCI, she attended Irvine Valley College and completed her Associates in Arts degree in Psychology and in Social and Behavioral Sciences. She has experience working in psychological research labs and some of her individual research projects focused on adverse childhood experiences, social relationships, culture, and well-being. Aysia plans to one day achieve a Master’s degree in Social Psychology, and possibly a PsyD in the future. In the meantime, she hopes to provide a helping hand to the clients at Trauma Therapy CA.

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Zoe Shehan

CLINICAL OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE

Zoe Shehan is a Clinical Operations Associate at Trauma Therapy CA. Zoe graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in spring 2022 from Boston University. As a research assistant in her undergraduate career, Zoe explored topics such as maternal depression, psychological experience of cancer, family experience of mental illness, and how race and gender impact psychological well being. She also volunteered at the Boston University Sexual Assault Response and Prevention center, where she conducted trainings on consent and bystander awareness, along with promoting sexual well being for the student population. Currently, Zoe is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. When licensed, she wants to work with adolescents, adults, and families struggling with anxiety, depression, and other unresolved issues. In the meantime, Zoe looks forward to supporting your journey at Trauma Therapy CA.

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