Lauren Casalino
BA, Rutgers College
MA, Naropa University
LPC
Lauren Casalino, Licensed Professional Counselor, has been a faculty member in the Contemplative Counseling Psychology Department and a clinician in private practice for 20 years. She specializes in working with people in the midst of major transitions in their life, such as the break-up of a relationship, a change in physical or mental capacities, the process of grieving, and the process of dying. She also specializes in working with infertility and with adoption. She was a founding member of Windhorse Family & Elder Services, and is the author of "Psychotherapy and the Paramitas: Walking the Bodhisattva's Path" in Brilliant Sanity: Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy.
MacAndrew Jack, Chair
BA, Tufts University
MA, University of Tulsa
PhD, Temple University
LP
MacAndrew Jack is a member of the Department Leadership Team and a core faculty member within the MA in Contemplative Psychotherapy department. He brings broad clinical experience and training in “Western” clinical psychology to his teaching and practice of contemplative psychotherapy. MacAndrew is a psychologist in private practice whose therapeutic training has included cognitive-behaviorally oriented psychotherapy, depth-oriented modern psychoanalytic psychotherapy, mind/body practices in medical settings, and psychotherapy in university and community clinics. MacAndrew also brings a background and interest in empirical science, including previous programs of research exploring psychophysiological processes involved in panic, breathing and the parasympathetic nervous system. Before coming to Naropa, MacAndrew was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School where he specialized in mind/body approaches to the treatment of anxiety, respiratory disorders and trauma.
Susan Nimmanheminda
MSW, University of Denver
PhD, University of Denver
LCSW, CAC III, NAPsyA
Professional Certification, National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
Susan Nimmanheminda is a visiting instructor and member of the Contemplative Counseling Psychology Department Leadership Team. She currently teaches Diversity, Master’s Paper and Practicum. Dr. Nimmanheminda taught Group Process from 1996 through 2007 and has worked with others to develop a model that integrates the Buddhist mindfulness orientation with group dynamic principles. She has presented several times at the American Group Psychotherapy Association annual meeting on the relationship between Buddhism and group therapy and is a co-editor of Brilliant Sanity, Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy. Dr. Nimmanheminda is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a Certified Addictions Counselor Level III (CAC III) and a Nationally Certified Psychoanalyst (NAPsyA).
Karen Kissel Wegela
BA, University of Rochester
MA, Boston University
MA, University of Denver
PhD, Union Institute
LP
Karen Kissel Wegela has been a professor at Naropa since 1981 and is a member of the Department Leadership Team. Her master's degrees are in English language and literature and in counseling. A licensed psychologist in private practice since 1977, she also has been involved in work in the public sector and has worked with the staff of the Friendship House and at the Asian Pacific Center for Human Resources. She is the author of How to Be a Help Instead of a Nuisance: Practical Approaches to Giving Support, Service, and Encouragement to Others and The Courage to Be Present: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Awakening of Natural Wisdom. Karen has conducted workshops and presented at conferences in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Karen was recently profiled by the Colorado Psychological Association; click here to view the article. Reprinted with permission from the Colorado Psychological Association. This article was written by Mary Elizabeth Callaway, Ph.D., and originally appeared in the Colorado Psychological Association Bulletin, Volume XXXV, No. 2, March-April 2007. For more information about members, services, and benefits of the Colorado Psychological Association, please see www.coloradopsych.org.
Adjunct Faculty
Blake Baily
BS, University of Iowa
MA, Naropa University
LPC, BCPC
Blake Baily is a licensed and board certified psychotherapist specializing in contemplative, environmentally-based treatments for elders and for people recovering from psychosis. Blake also specializes in behaviorally-oriented counseling for people with developmental and cognitive disabilities. He has been working in various capacities in the mental health field since 1987 (with a musical hiatus in the mid 1990s), and has been an adjunct faculty member for the MA Contemplative Psychotherapy program since 2008.
Paul Bialek
BA, University of California
MA, Johns Hopkins University
MA, Naropa University
Paul Bialek is a graduate of Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychotherapy program and is in private practice in Boulder. He has served as Naropa Adjunct Faculty since 2006 and currently serves as part of the MACP Department Leadership Team. Prior to coming to Boulder, Paul was Executive Director of a non-profit that worked with children from substance abusing families in Routt County Colorado. Paul is a graduate of the Hakomi Institute of Body-Centered Psychotherapy.
Jane Bryant
BA, Psychology, University of Colorado
MA, Naropa University
LPC
Jane is a graduate of the Contemplative Psychotherapy program at Naropa and is currently an adjunct faculty member with the department. She has served as a clinical tutor with the program for since the early 1990s. She is the team leader of Emergency Psychiatric Service at the Mental Health Center of Boulder County.
Sharon Conlin
BS, Nursing, University of Michigan
MA, Counseling, University of Colorado
LPC, RN
Sharon Conlin has been practicing psychotherapy for more than thirty years. Prior to that, she worked as a nurse and taught nursing for fifteen years. Her clinical experience includes eight years with Boulder County Mental Health, four years in Auckland, New Zealand and twenty years private practice specializing in individual, couple and group psychotherapy.
Anne Marie DiGiacomo
BA, Siena College
MSW, University of Denver
LCSW
Anne Marie DiGiacomo, MSW, LCSW, received her Masters of Social Work from the University of Denver in 1986. She spent the first 18 years of her career working in both community mental health and nonprofit settings with children, adolescents and families. Ms. DiGiacomo’s primary focus was residential treatment with adolescents, adolescent and elementary day treatment and family therapy. In 1996 she relocated to Northampton, MA and began her work with Windhorse Associates, a nonprofit therapeutic and educational organization. Ms. DiGiacomo served as the Clinical Director from 2001-05, as well as the interim Co-Executive Director from 2002-03. She returned to Boulder, CO in 2006 and is currently working with Windhorse Community as the Director of Admissions and a Senior Clinician. She is an adjunct faculty and meditation instructor for the MA Contemplative Psychology program at Naropa University and has co-authored a book chapter describing the Windhorse approach. Ms. DiGiacomo has been involved in bringing the Windhorse approach into the wider consumer recovery movement and is particularly interested in integrating consumers within the Windhorse community. She has been in private practice since 1989 as a Sandplay therapist with children, adolescents and adults, and is also a board member for Windhorse Guild, Inc. and Marpa House.
Francis Kaklauskas
BA, Rowan University
MA, Naropa University
PsyD,
Colorado School of Professional Psychology
LPC, CAC III, CGP, FAGPA
Francis Kaklauskas graduated from Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychology program in 1992. He has presented at many national and international conferences on topics including psychology and spirituality, the integration of group psychotherapy theory and research, the practical application of empirically supported treatment protocols, and human sexuality. He has been awarded fellowship status by the American Group Psychotherapy Association and serves on their training institute faculty and their national conference committee. He recently lectured by invitation on Buddhism and Psychotherapy at The Psychology of Religion Conference in Beijing, and presented his cross cultural teaching experiences at the American Psychological Association national conference. He created the Group Process Inventory, a psychometric instrument that measures a broad range of group events that link process and outcome. Dr. Kaklauskas’ publications include being the primary psychological consultant and on screen presenter for the best selling three part video series, Hooked: The Addiction Trap, and co-authoring the Group Psychotherapy chapter in new edition of The Handbook of Clinical Psychology. He has also co-edited two critically acclaimed psychotherapy textbooks, Brilliant Sanity: Buddhist Approaches to Psychotherapy and Existential Psychology East-West. He has a psychotherapy and consulting practice in Boulder, Colorado.
Elizabeth Olson
BA, Naropa University
MSW, University of Washington
PsyD, University of the Rockies
LCSW
Dr. Olson completed a BA in Dance Therapy at the Naropa University, a MSW at the University of Washington at Seattle, a Post Master's Fellowship at the University of California at Berkeley, and a PsyD at the University of the Rockies in Colorado Springs. She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, self harm behaviors, mood disturbances, and anxiety disorders. She offers individual, family and group psychotherapy in her private practice. She facilitates Dialectical Behavior Therapy groups, training groups, and general process groups. She integrates both western and eastern traditions into her work as a psychotherapist.
Pat Patton
BA, Union University
MA, Naropa University
LPC
Pat Patton is a Colorado licensed professional counselor and an adjunct faculty member for the Union Institute in Ohio. In private practice, Pat's expertise in relationship issues has positioned her as a noted speaker/lecturer in the Denver/Boulder area.
Jeffrey M. Price
BA, University of Connecticut
MA, Naropa University
LPC, LAC, CGP
Jeff Price is a 1997 graduate of Naropa's Contemplative Psychotherapy program and has been in private practice for almost twenty years. Jeff has held an adjunct faculty position in the Contemplative Counseling Psychology department since 2001. He is past-President of the Colorado Group Psychotherapy Society, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Licensed Addictions Counselor (LAC), and a Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP). Jeff specializes in group work, particularly with substance abusers, and offers clinical supervision.
Alexandra MacKay Shenpen BA, Naropa University
MA, Expressive Arts in Psychotherapy, Lesley College
PhD, The Creative Arts, The Union Institute
LPC, REAT
Alexandra MacKay Shenpen has been teaching in various capacities at Naropa since 1986. Some of the areas include the arts, psychology, meditation and Space Awareness or Maitri practice. In addition, she has held several clinical positions in the Boulder area, including an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment unit and Boulder County's inpatient eating disorders program.
Helena Cooper Unger
BA, Sheffield College of Education, England
MA, Naropa University
Helena Cooper Unger is a graduate of the Contemplative Psychotherapy program and is in private practice in Boulder. She has worked for the Dept. of Social Services, specializing in physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Her practice includes meditation, arbitration and custody evaluations, in which she has extensive training. She is currently president of the Boulder Interdisciplinary Committee on Child Custody Issues.
Robert Unger
MSW, Hunter College
PhD, University of Colorado
LCSW, CAC, CP, CGP
Bob Unger is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Alcoholism Counselor, Certified Psychoanalyst, and a Certified Group Psychotherapist. His primary area of interest is group therapy and group dynamics. He has been a long-time presenter at the American Group Psychotherapy Association annual conference and was elected to the national board of directors and awarded fellowship status in that organization. He has taught in the MA Contemplative Psychotherapy program for twenty years and served as adjunct member of the Department Leadership team for ten years.
Lauren Casalino
MacAndrew Jack, Chair 
Karen Kissel Wegela