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.
Lionel Haeberle, Executive Chef
Lionel Haeberle is a graduate of a prestigious culinary training program in Alsace, France, and comes to Psynergy Programs from a 5-star hotel and restaurant background in the French Caribbean and the Carmel Valley. He won the silver medal at the International Festival of Gastronomy in France, representing 15 European countries, and was voted Best Chef in the Caribbean in 2001, in a competition representing 70 Caribbean restaurants. His passion for freshness and preserving the nutrients in food are an integral part of Psynergy’s whole-person approach to mental health and wellness. Lionel understands the value of organic produce hand-selected at local markets and freshly baked bread, along with an accurate computation of their caloric impact and value. Delicious, low-fat entrees presented with all of the style of spa cuisine help clients feel pampered as they achieve and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.
Adam Dick, Assistant Administrator
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. At Psynergy Programs for nearly two years, Adam handles admissions, staff training, and works with clients on discharge planning. He also manages an interdisciplinary team coordinating several departments, including nursing, dietary, and psychiatric care to manage client cases.
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.
Marge Chavis, Assistant Administrator - Cielo Vista
For 15 years, Marge Chavis was manager of a crisis residential treatment program, and has 25 years experience in mental health administration. As administrator of Cielo Vista, Psynergy’s transitional residential program, Marge coordinates with other Psynergy managers to deliver Psynergy’s high standard of care at Cielo Vista. She works with the staff at all levels to provide clients help with developing daily living skills, hygiene, grooming, and a lifestyle that they can carry with them when they leave. Activities include going to restaurants, excursions into the community, and creating groups that model how to interact with others in a social manner. At Cielo Vista, the staff is the inspiration for delivering these skills.
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.
Michael James Miceli, MFTI, Behavioral Health Specialist
A self-defined “systemic thinker,” Michael Miceli holds a Master’s of Education in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the University of Oregon.
Michael worked in Oregon, Arizona and California as a crisis counselor prior to becoming a family therapist. His work includes systemic therapy with moderate to high-risk children, families, adults and groups in both outpatient and inpatient settings.
He trained in Cognitive-Behavioral, Emotionally Focused, Narrative, Strategic, and Dialectical Behavioral therapies, and holds a strong belief that people can and do make positive changes when positive environments are created and maintained.
Salvador Pedraza, Maintenance Manager
Salvador Pedraza was part of the original team who opened Nueva Vista, Psynergy Programs’ first residence in California. Prior to that, he worked at other mental health care facilities, and he has developed a keen understanding of both the challenges and rewards of working in this field. He now supervises a staff of four as well as contract staff. He is responsible for over three acres of buildings and grounds.
Shawn O’Dell, Psy. D. Behavioral Health Specialist
Shawn O’Dell holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and completed a post-doctoral residency with Kaiser Permanente, performing clinical rotations in the Intensive Outpatient Program and Chemical Dependency Services. He also completed a pre-doctoral internship with the Institute on Aging focusing on geriatric and disabled populations. He has been working in the mental health field for over 10 years in various capacities. His focus is on acute adult treatment - individual therapy, group therapy, and testing and assessment. Currently, he is part of the Psynergy team at Cielo Vista.
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, 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.
Rachelle Townsend, MFTI Behavioral Health Specialist
Rachelle Townsend earned a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Couples and Family Therapy from the University of Oregon, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz. In previous positions, she has been responsible for case management, assessment, collaboration and treatment for children, adults, couples and families utilizing solution-focused and strategic therapies. At Psynergy, Rachelle provides intensive mental health services for adults dealing with a wide range of mental health, behavioral and emotional issues, and serves as co-therapist for two dual-diagnosis groups.
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.
Teresa Leung, Administrative Office Manager
Teresa Leung began a career in the broadcasting business in Hong Kong, and then moved into the pharmaceutical industry there. After emigrating to the United States, she became an Executive Assistant for a major newspaper chain, coordinating work for Finance, Marketing and Human Resources. At Psynergy Programs, Teresa handles the paperwork for client admissions and discharges, distributes client mail, and expedites HR and benefits issues. She also assists the partners with interviews, scheduling and training.
Marc Victor, Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist
Marc Victor has been working in the mental health field for nearly twenty years. He has been with Psynergy more than three years, meeting with clients one-on-one. He provides counseling, assists with problems, and teaches life skills, including strategies for coping, communication and social interactions. He also conducts groups on stress management, community socialization and safety skills. An emerging artist participating in local shows, Marc also teaches fine arts at Psynergy, including classes in pencil, pastel and charcoal drawing.