Therapists

Carla Leone, Ph.D.

Dr. Leone is the founder and director of North Suburban Family Psychologists. She received her Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago in 1989, and has over 25 years experience working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in private practice and community mental health agencies. She is on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. She is on the governing council and advisory board of an international psychoanalytic organization and co-chairs its Couples Therapy Interest Group. She has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, including a paper on adolescent experience, a paper and a book chapter on family therapy and two papers on couples therapy, and has lectured and presented extensively on these topics.

Contact Dr. Leone at 847-568-9642, ext. 1 or cleone@nsfp-online.com.

Anna Kessler Cordeiro, Ph.D.

Dr. Kessler Cordeiro received her Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1997 and has over 20 years experience working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in several different settings. She is currently a supervising psychologist at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago where she supervises psychology interns and consults to medical clinics. She has special expertise in play therapy with children and in women’s issues, including pre- and post partum adjustment, depression, anxiety, health-related issues and relationship issues. Dr. Cordeiro is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Contact Dr. Cordeiro at 847-568-9642, ext. 2 or acordeiro@nsfp-online.com.

Cassandra Firkins, LCSW

Cassandra Firkins received her Masters in Social Work from Indiana University- Indianapolis in 1999 and has since worked with infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, couples and families in several different settings including private practice, child welfare services, psychiatric hospitals and educational institutions. Additionally, she has conducted early childhood developmental assessments with infants and children while working at the Erikson Insitute. She has special expertise in children and women’s issues, including adjustment to motherhood, infant mental health, typical and atypical child development, attachment patterns, parenting, adoption, depression, anxiety, trauma and interpersonal relationships.

Contact Ms. Firkins at 847-568-9642, ext. 5 or cfirkins@nsfp-online.com.

MaryAlice Lavin, LCSW

MaryAlice received her Masters in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago in 2007. She has over twenty years experience working with children and adolescents with social/emotional, learning and developmental challenges and their families in a variety of settings, as a special education teacher, consultant and now psychotherapist. She has also worked with adults and couples coping with an array of issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions and interpersonal relationships. A veteran herself, MaryAlice is interested in working with active duty service men and women, veterans and their family members struggling with the profound effects of war and with difficulties integrating back into civilian life.

Contact Ms. Lavin at 847-568-9642, ext. 7 or malavin@nsfp-online.com.

Merissa Malacara, Psy.D.

Dr. Malacara received her Psy.D. from the University of Denver in 2009, with a specialty in multiculturalism. She has several years of training and experience in work with children, adolescents, adults and families in community mental health and school settings. She is bilingual in Spanish and experienced in work with Latino clients. She also has special training and expertise in work with pre and post-partum mothers and in work with adolescents and their families.

Contact Dr. Malacara at 847-568-9642, ext. 3 or mmalacara@nsfp-online.com.

Ellen Blumenthal, M.Ed., Ph.D.

Dr. Blumenthal earned her Master’s degree in education from the Erikson Institute for Early Childhood Education and recently earned her PhD in Social Work at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. She trained at the Virginia Frank Child Development Center where she is currently a family therapist. She also specializes in work with children and adults dealing with bereavement, grief and loss.

Contact Ms. Blumenthal at 847-568-9642, ext. 9 or eblumenthal@nsfp-online.com.

Joseph Alger, LCSW

Mr. Alger received his Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago in 2008 and has worked as a school social worker and athletics coach in several area high schools since then. He specializes in working with adolescents and their families and is experienced in the treatment of anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, self-esteem and relationship issues, and behavior disorders. He has weekday evening hours at our Evanston and Buffalo Grove offices.

Contact Mr. Alger at 847-568-9642, ext. 10 or jalger@nsfp-online.com.

Meredyth Evans, Ph.D.

Dr. Evans received her Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from DePaul University in 2015. She has had several years of training and experience in work with children, adolescents, emerging adults, and families, in both community mental health and hospital-based settings. She also has special training and expertise in working with children and adolescents with diabetes. Dr. Evans is experienced in providing treatment to individuals from diverse backgrounds and with a variety of concerns related to depression, anxiety, adjustment to chronic medical conditions and life stressors, family relationships, and behavioral difficulties in children.

Dr. Evans is not currently accepting new patients.
Contact Dr. Evans at 847-568-9642 ext. 11, or mevans@nsfp-online.com.

Debra Wolff, Psy.D.

Dr. Debra Wolff is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctoral degree from Argosy University and has worked in private practice for over a decade. She has particular experience and expertise in the treatment of anxiety disorders (including OCD, PTSD, social phobia, and generalized anxiety), depression, life stressors, grief and loss, and relationship issues in children, adolescents, adults and families. She has been trained in the latest cognitive-behavioral approaches as well as family systems and psychoanalytic models. This flexibility allows her to work with a wide variety of individuals at whatever depth they require.

Contact Dr. Wolff at 847-568-9642 ext. 11, or dwolff@nsfp-online.com.

Natalie Beck, LSCW, CADC

Natalie Beck received her Masters in Social Work in 2014 and has worked with toddlers, children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and groups in various settings including community mental health, child welfare agencies, psychiatric hospitals, and addiction treatment facilities. Natalie currently supervises the internship program at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center. She has collaborated with school systems to ensure quality treatment both at local mental health agencies and within schools. She has been trained in play therapy and sandplay therapy for children and adolescents and has additional experience and expertise in process addictions and substance use, women’s issues, grief and bereavement, and trauma.

Contact Ms. Beck at 847-568-9642 ext. 8, or nbeck@nsfp-online.com.

Julia Cibul Fording, LCSW

Julia received her MSW in 2003 from New York University. After taking time off to raise her family, she has spent the last several years working with college students, adults, and couples in clinical settings, working both individually and with group treatment. Julia completed a fellowship in Advanced Clinical Psychotherapy from Cathedral Counseling Center in 2016. She also completed a Post Graduate Clinical Training program at Live Oak Chicago in Trauma-Informed Practice and Affirmative Practice with the LGBTQ community in 2014. Professional interests include: Adolescents, life transitions, parenting, grief and loss, LGBTQ, depression and anxiety, and couples work.

Contact Ms. Fording at 847-568-9642 ext. 12, or jfording@nsfp-online.com.