Our Staff
Highly qualified, competent, compassionate, biligual and diverse are adjectives used to describe the staff at Psynergy Programs, Inc. Together, they possess the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to help clients live successfully in a residential community. Psynergy continually seeks out innovative and evolving strategies to enhance client development and wellness. Our staff travels worldwide to network and share information with other programs who have a reputation for excellence and a commitment to client care.
Jane Wong, Director of Medication Services
Jane Wong has been working in the mental health field for the past 18 years. She enjoys this career path because she has the ability to make a real difference in client’s lives, giving her a sense of fulfillment at work.
"Medication is one of the important parts of treatment for our
population at Psynergy Programs. My role is to provide medication support
services to increase their insight and compliance. I also coordinate the
medical care with the primary care physicians so our clients can receive
total care in both psychiatric and medical aspects during their stay at
Psynergy." --Jane Wong
Carlos Leglu, LMFT, Director of Clinical Services
Carlos Leglu obtained a BA degree from the University of California Santa Cruz (double major in psychology and literature) and a MA in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from Santa Clara University. He has 20 years experience working in the counseling field. He became licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1993. Carlos has expertise in systems theory, narrative therapy and behavior modification. He specializes in working with young adults and creating treatment models for co-occurring disorders within various residential treatment settings. His role at Psynergy Programs includes the supervision and training of new Associates and Interns.
Adam Dick, Administrator, Cielo Vista
After completing a Bachelor of Sciences in biological sciences, Adam Dick worked at a locked psychiatric facility for seven years, the first three as a counselor followed by four years in management. He served for three years as Group Manager and then worked for a year as the Assistant Program Director, working with clients whose grave disability or severe mental illness posed a danger to themselves or others. His goal during this period was to help patients move back to an unlocked setting.
Formerly Assistant Administrator at Nueva Vista, Adam Dick has been part of the Psynergy team for nearly three years, and is now in charge of client health and welfare at the 40-bed Cielo Vista facility in Greenfield. He is resposible for the implementation of activity programs, medication management and assistance, and staff hiring and training. Adam is committed to making sure client needs are met, and is dedicated to the development of personal growth and independence among the residents. His forte lies in creating a dynaic that will allow clients to develop the independent skills needed to live in the community.
J. Randy Mervis, M.D. , Psychiatrist
Dr. Mervis is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is active in the training of students, residents and fellows. He is the Clinical Site Director for UCLA medical students during their 3rd year clinical rotation in psychiatry in the San Fernando Valley. He has been an examiner for the Part II Oral Examinations for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has done research in the areas of treating the cognitive, behavioral and mood components of Alzheimer’s Disease. In terms of community service, Dr. Mervis has been a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Red Cross Mental Health Disaster Response Team for 15 years.
Dr. Jeffery Buenjemia, Medical Director
Dr. Buenjemia participated in the UCLA Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program in Los Angeles, which followed completion of his psychiatric residency program at the Veteran’s Administration at UCLA/Sepulveda. He has presented papers on multiple Psychiatric issues including Schizophrenia, Bipolar Affective Disorder, PSTD, and combined field topics of religion and psychiatry, and race as it affects mental health.
At Psynergy Programs, Dr. Buenjemia is involved in interviewing patients, pharmacology, psychotherapy, and actively pursues use of community resources to benefit patient care, documentation, and diagnosis. In the California mental health community, Dr. Buenjemia has done presentations on barriers and risk factors for violent youth, religion in psychiatry, delirium, and use of games to connect with the elderly.
Dr. Buenjemia enjoys playing and watching tennis, reading, and spending altogether too much time on the world wide web. He is an avid Los Angeles Laker fan.
Stephanie Short, Dental Hygienist
Stephanie Short has been a practicing dental hygienist for over 20 years. Her involvement at Psynergy breaks new ground to provide comprehensive care for mentally challenged clients. She was previously with the Laguna Honda hospital working with dental and dental hygiene students. Her role at Psynergy goes beyond teaching dental hygiene. She helps clients navigate the DentiCal system to get the best possible treatment for periodontal disease, schedule root cleanings and to protect against unnecessary extractions. She understands the profound impact that dental health can have on a client’s overall physical and mental prognosis, and helps clients work toward a successful outcome.
Melissa Black, Residential Program Manager
As Psynergy’s Residential Program Manager, Melissa Black helps clients manage their day in a positive way. She creates the residential program and develops a calendar of group activities that help clients become motivated, and gets them out of their rooms to engage in activities and interact with each other. These groups help residents learn about symptoms and behaviors that they have in common, and develop coping solutions. She also assists clients with monetary issues such as budgeting for pocket and clothing money each month. Melissa is also responsible for planning the logistics for group outings offsite, and special events at the facility. Her responsibilities also overlap in the rehabilitative area, as she handles personal needs accounting, program involvement and case management.
Lynna Hilts, Animal Assisted Therapy Programs
Lynna Hilts has been involved with Animal Assisted Therapy for eight years, working in nursing homes, private homes, elementary schools, hospitals and hospital psychiatric wards prior to her work with Psynergy Programs. Through TherapyDogs International, Inc. she is certified for therapy dog work, and for Disaster Stress Relief Therapy. Lynna and her dog were one of only eight teams deployed at the request of the Governor of Louisiana to the Hurricane Katrina aftermath to provide stress relief for the first responders. She is a member of the American Counseling Association and has over 800 hours of therapy experience. Her work at Nueva Vista includes a structured Animal Assisted Group Therapy session once a week and scheduled one-on-one individual therapy sessions.
Vienna Dumlao, BSW, Behavioral Health Worker Lead
Vienna Dumlao received a Bachelors of Social Work from Hawaii Pacific University. While in school, she worked as a Site Based Case Manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu. Through this program, she worked with both students and adults in mentorship programs throughout the community. She also gained experience through an internship with Kapiolani
Medical Center at Pali Momi, where she assisted individuals from diverse backgrounds with a wide variety of needs. At Psynergy, she organizes the floor staff for the day, assigns tasks for other counselors, and leads rehabilitation groups dealing with social support and coping with stress.
Christophe Haefele, Executive Sous Chef
Christophe Haefele hails from Colmar in the wine-growing region of Alsace, France, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. He studied there as a pastry-chef for two years, and spent an additional two years learning bread-baking, which he insists can only be done properly with real, not dry, yeast. He has worked in multiple restaurants both in Europe and the U. S. At Psynergy, he assists the executive chef in running the entire food operation, and takes particular pride in baking unique desserts for the weekly birthday celebrations.
Shanna Thompson, Behavioral Health Representative
Shanna Thompson’s flair for public relations and marketing has added a new dimension to clinical administration at Psynergy Programs, as client charts are now organized to be more visual and easily understood, and work is now underway on a client orientation guide. Her previous position in drug and alcohol rehabilitation assists in working with dual-diagnosis clients at Psynergy. She interfaces with clients and coordinates with outside medical providers and insurance companies to qualify approve and schedule client appointments for medical, dental and eye exams.