Meet Our Therapists

WILA’s excellent training programs attract an impressively bright, curious, and motivated group of clinicians. Since our founding, over 650 graduate students, psychology interns, and postgraduate fellows have studied at WILA and become exceedingly competent and compassionate mental health professionals.

Camila Argueta, MA (SHE/HER)

MFT / PCC Postgraduate Fellow

Camila (AMFT 135990 and APCC 13295) earned her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles and her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University. Working in community and private practice mental health settings, she has gained experience treating anxiety, depression, trauma, relational challenges, grief and loss and life transitions. She strives to cultivate awareness around the mind-body connection, the fluid realm of emotions, and how childhood, culture and society shape experience.  Camila strongly believes everyone deserves a safe and non-judgmental space to explore and discover the deeper aspects of their lived experiences.

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Gregory Bendau, MA

PRE-DOCTORAL CAPIC PSYCHOLOGY INTERN

Gregory is earning his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, where he also completed his Master’s degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis on marriage and family therapy. Throughout his education and training, Gregory has concentrated on deepening his understanding of psychoanalytic theory and technique. He previously trained at Airport Marina Counseling Service and Pepperdine University West Los Angeles Community Counseling Center, where he treated a wide range of psychological difficulties including depression, anxiety, identity disturbance, relational issues, and self-esteem.

Gregory’s approach to treatment is grounded in a psychoanalytic model. He strives to help his patients come to know themselves and their minds more fully. By assisting patients in putting words to what was previously unsayable, Gregory aims to foster deeper understanding of unconscious thoughts and feelings, and to rework repetitive patterns and relational difficulties.

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Wendy Felson, MA (SHE/HER)

MFT POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Wendy (AMFT 146938) received her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, a Master’s of Public Health and a Master’s of Urban Planning from Columbia University and a B.S. in Social Work. Before joining WILA, Wendy provided psychotherapy at Counseling West.  Wendy takes a psychodynamic approach in helping patients gain greater self-understanding and embraces the unique opportunities at each stage of life to work with patients to face their unconscious fears, defenses, and learned behaviors that disrupt living a fuller, more enriched life. Wendy always strives to help patients achieve better self-acceptance, and through a trauma-informed, attachment-based lens, works to address relational issues, life transitions, depression, anxiety, recurring patterns, individuation and identity development.

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Emily Forche, MA (SHE/HER)

PRE-DOCTORAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERN

Bio coming soon…

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Alex Gigler, MA (HE/HIM)

Pre-doctoral Psychology Intern

Alex is a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, where he also earned his MA in Psychology. Previously, Alex received clinical training at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, the UCLA Psychosis Clinic, the UCLA Insomnia Clinic, the Downtown Los Angeles VA, and the Pepperdine University Community Counseling Center. His experience spans a wide spectrum of mental health concerns, from everyday life challenges to serious and persistent psychiatric conditions.

Alex’s approach to therapy is grounded in a belief that inner lives are shaped by forces not always seen or understood. Lifelong patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating can become an invisible current that carries one through each day, influencing movement through the world. When unaware of these patterns, he believes the past can quietly shape the present, limiting freedom, vitality, potential, and relationships. Alex aims to help patients deepen their self-understanding and liberate themselves from these self-limiting patterns, creating lasting change and a greater sense of meaning in their lives.

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Gisèle Goldwater-Feldman, MA (SHE/HER)

MFT Postgraduate Fellow

Gisèle (AMFT147533) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from Occidental College, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from American Jewish University, and a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Phillips Graduate Institute, where her Master’s thesis focused on the influence of couple therapy on individual psychotherapeutic progress. 

Prior to beginning at WILA, Gisèle trained at the California Family Counseling Center in Encino, treating adults and couples. Gisèle comes from a long line of psychoanalytically informed psychotherapists, including her paternal grandmother who studied Jungian psychology at the doctoral level in Mexico City.

Gisèle approaches psychotherapy from a multi-faceted lens characterized by creativity and collaboration, rooted in relational connection and depth. She provides therapy in both English and Spanish.

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Nikki Gruver, MA (SHE/HER)

PCC Postgraduate Fellow

Nikki (APCC #15531) earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Palo Alto University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. She has experience working with a diverse population facing various challenges such as trauma, depression, loss, anxiety, self-esteem, life transitions, and navigating relationships with others. Nikki is passionate about collaboratively discovering with clients how their past, culture, and relationships have impacted their strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between. Nikki strives to provide a safe, warm, nonjudgmental space for clients to process and understand feelings, heal wounds, make life-enhancing decisions, and connect with the deepest part of themselves.

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Russell Hart, AMFT (PRONOUNS HE/HIM)

MFT POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Russell (AMFT152351) endeavors to journey alongside his clients, exploring the experiences that have shaped and continue to influence their lives and choices. His goal is to be a fellow traveler, regardless of where the path toward growth and change leads, helping to dispel judgment and foster acceptance along the way. He received his training and experience working with individuals, couples, and groups at Maple Counseling, completed a one-year course in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at LAISPS, earned his MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, and completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA.

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Aila Hauru, MA (SHE/HER)

PRE-DOCTORAL CAPIC PSYCHOLOGY INTERN

Aila Hauru is a Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She holds master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology and Public Administration and is interested in the intersection between mental wellbeing and broader issues related to social, economic, and environmental justice. Aila previously trained at Valley Community Counseling Clinic in North Hollywood, where she provided psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy for individuals dealing with various mental health challenges. As a therapist, Aila helps patients gain deeper self-awareness, uncover unconscious fears and motivations, explore relational patterns, and derive meaning from their life experiences.

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Cat Lake, MSW (SHE/HER)

SOCIAL WORK Postgraduate Fellow

Cat (ACSW122799) completed her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Southern California.  She has previous experience working with diverse populations across multiple settings and believes that the intersecting layers of our identities play a role in how we experience the world.  Most recently, she worked at USC Telehealth, providing psychotherapy to adults and adolescents working through relationship issues, intergenerational trauma, anxiety, depression, addiction, sexuality, and life transitions.  Using an integrative approach informed by psychoanalytic, attachment, and cognitive behavioral theories, Cat offers a nonjudgemental and collaborative space that allows for reflection on experiences and relationships, with the goal of developing insights that provide clients more agency and freedom in their lives.

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Martín Lasa, MSW (HE/HIM)

social work POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Martín (ACSW122827) is a Social Work postgraduate fellow with a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California. He also holds an MBA. With a multicultural background, Martín’s diverse experience includes providing individual and group therapy to vulnerable populations and offering psychotherapy in both English and Spanish to adults and adolescents at the USC Telebehavioral Health Clinic. He has worked with individuals facing depression, anxiety, PTSD, life transitions, addiction, identity and relationship issues.

Martín’s therapeutic approach is trauma-informed and emphasizes building a strong, trusting relationship to foster growth and openness. He provides a contained, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore challenges, gain insight, and develop coping skills. Taking into account the intersecting identities of each client, Martín integrates psychodynamic and behavioral methods to address immediate struggles while exploring deeper, unconscious influences, guiding clients toward healthier, more fulfilling lives. In his words, “let’s talk.”

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Alex Lee, MA (HE/HIM)

MFT POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Alex Lee (AMFT148863) earned his master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in depth psychology, from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He previously trained at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, where he worked with individuals experiencing PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and substance use issues.

Alex approaches therapy as a space to explore the deeper stories, images, and longings that shape people’s lives. Influenced by psychoanalytic and archetypal traditions, he believes that symptoms carry meaning and often reflect something seeking expression. His work invites curiosity about the unconscious—how past relationships, cultural histories, and forgotten parts the self continue to echo in the present. He often attends to dreams, recurring patterns, and the subtle language of the body, trusting that the psyche speaks in many voices.

As a bilingual, second-generation Korean American, Alex brings a culturally attuned lens to questions of identity, belonging, and intergenerational experience. He offers therapy in both English and Korean.

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Jessie Leider, MA (SHE/HER)

MFT POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Bio coming soon…

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Anna Lipton, MA (SHE/HER)

MFT POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Anna received her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in psychological trauma from Antioch University Los Angeles and holds a B.A. in sociology from Occidental College. Prior to joining WILA, Anna worked as a high school mental health counselor and provided psychotherapy at ACTS (Antioch Community Therapy Services). Her clinical areas of interests include anxiety and depression, trauma/abuse/PTSD, relationship issues, substance abuse, grief and bereavement, phase of life transitions and identity issues. Anna encourages her clients to replace their self-judgment with curiosity and compassion. She believes that therapy is most effective when it is collaborative and supportive. 

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Ryan Lipton, MSW (HE/HIM)

SOCIAL WORK POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Ryan holds an MSW from Smith College School of Social Work. True to the field of social work, his understanding of the ‘self’ acknowledges that we all exist in relationship- to others, to our histories and present contexts, to the political and economic structures of our world, and to the systems of belief that we exist within. Ryan’s approach to the clinical relationship honors the gravity of each person’s experiences and seeks to create an environment that is open, creative, and curious. He believes that acknowledging the ways external forces shape our internal world can free up space to become curious about our own feelings and beliefs. In that process, we might discover that even those we cling to tightly we may no longer need— and may have never been ‘ours’ to begin with.

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Jade Forrest Marks (SHE/THEY)

MFT/PCC PrACTICUM TRAINEE

Bio coming soon…

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Jennie Ostendorf, MSW (SHE/HER)

social work POSTGRADUATE FELLOW

Jennie (ASW122859) completed her Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in adult mental health and wellness at the University of Southern California. Before WILA, she trained at USC’s Counseling and Mental Health center and St. Joseph Center’s access center for individuals experiencing homelessness. In addition to her clinical practice with adults, Jennie works at Experience Camps, a non-profit organization supporting children who have experienced the death of a primary caregiver or sibling. Offering a safe, collaborative therapeutic space, Jennie supports clients in exploring emotions, processing trauma, making meaningful change, growing in relationship with themselves and others, and navigating pivotal life transitions and challenges. Jennie believes that therapy is a place for self-exploration and discovery, which can ultimately help us better understand and cope with the world around us. Jennie brings a culturally humble approach to therapy and has experience working with diverse client populations ranging in age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. 

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Abigail Palkowitz (SHE/HER)

MFT PrACTICUM TRAINEE

Bio coming soon…

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Erika Recordon (SHE/HER)

MFT PrACTICUM TRAINEE

Erika Recordon is currently pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Antioch University Los Angeles. She practices from a psychoanalytic and psychodynamic framework, believing that we have all been shaped by our early emotional experiences. Her goal is always to support her clients with compassionate curiosity, helping them to mine their unconscious materials on the path to personal growth. Erika has a special interest in working with couples in crisis, those who work in creative fields, and new parents. With a longstanding love of the literary arts, she is passionate about the power of stories and looks forward to helping you to tell yours.

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Joan Rodney, MSW (SHE/HER)

MSW Postgraduate Fellow

Joan (ACSW 120486) earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and holds a B.A in Sociology and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. She has worked in development and fundraising for various non-profits as well as in grant management for a family foundation focused on supporting social justice initiatives. Joan also comes from a diverse clinical background having worked in psychiatric in-patient and out-patient community mental health settings, the Veterans Hospital, and more recently, at a psychotherapy private practice in Manhattan. Her experience working with multicultural populations informs her approach to therapy and is one that is non-judgmental and collaborative, helping to create an environment where one can feel safe to be their true self, tell their story, and explore new ways of being.

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Moshé Sayada (HE/HIM)

MFT PrACTICUM TRAINEE

Bio coming soon…

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Zoë Virant, MSW (SHE/HER)

SOCIAL WORK Postgraduate fellow

Bio coming soon…

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Genevieve Winters (SHE/HER)

MFT/PCC PrACTICUM TRAINEE

Bio coming soon…

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All therapists at the Hedda Bolgar Psychotherapy Clinic at Wright Institute Los Angeles are pre-licensed Psychology Interns and Postgraduate Fellows under the supervision of licensed mental health professionals on the WILA Faculty. Our therapists hold either a Doctorate in Psychology or a Master’s degree in Psychology, Social Work, or Marriage and Family Therapy. All therapists are registered with the California Board of Psychology or the California Board of Behavioral Sciences or at WILA as part of a CAPIC Accredited Internship.