Dr. Adrienne M. Barna, PhD, ABPP is a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia and is Board Certified in Counseling Psychology. For over thirty years she has provided clinical services in university counseling centers including the University of Maryland at College Park, University of Texas at Austin, Emory University and George Mason University. Since 1992, she has served in administrative roles, providing consultation, crisis intervention, supervision and clinical services.
As Director of Psychological Services and Executive Director at George Mason University, she facilitated the development of extensive suicide prevention programs and emergency responses on individual and community levels. Dr. Barna has also maintained a private practice and has worked as a psychologist for three Semester at Sea voyages. She has provided many RRSR trainings over the past eight years to both general mental health clinician audiences and university mental health staff.
Dr. Robert Canning received his PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1993 from Palo Alto University. He also completed an NIMH fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. From 2001 through 2005 he worked for the California Department of Corrections as a clinician. In 2005 he became the suicide prevention coordinator for the department, a position he held for ten years. In this capacity he designed and delivered trainings to hundreds of correctional clinicians, coordinated suicide prevention efforts for 130,000 prison inmates, and helped to develop and implement suicide prevention policies and procedures for the state’s prison system.
He retired from the department at the end of 2018 and now works as an expert witness and consultant on jail and prison suicide prevention. He has delivered the RRSR and RRSR-C trainings to hundreds of clinicians and enjoys the interaction with mental health professionals from around the country.
Dr. Vali Maduro de Gateño, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Analyst in Private Practice, Panama, Republic of Panama. Vali works with adolescents, adults, couples, and families. She specializes in prevention, evaluation, and treatment of suicide risk. She is part of the faculty of the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI) in Panama and served as its director for three years. She is a member of the Fundación Relaciones Sanas where she coordinated and developed the Teen Screen program in Panama, now called Sana Mente. This Program seeks to prevent adolescent suicide. Approved Supervisor of Mentalization Based Therapy, Anna Freud Center, London.
Vali is the Spanish Speaking Master Trainer for the American Association of Suicidology and recipient of the 2021 AAS Roger J. Tierney award for service. Writer, Speaker, and Consultant on the topic of suicide prevention in schools, business, tv and newspapers in Panama and Central America as well as for the Pan-American Health Organization. Co-organizer and panelist of “Rompamos el Silencio” (Lets break the Silence initiative), a series of conferences designed to help people learn to recognize who might be at risk and how to help them. Co-author of the book “Rompamos el Silencio”. Participated as consultant for two pieces of legislation in Panama, about mental health, and suicide behavior. Vali is a Fellow of the Central America Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Aisha T. McDonald, LMHC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Trauma Expert who has worked in the social services field for over 12 years. She earned her Master’s of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. She is also a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging expert who aims to address the systemic barriers to equity in our community. She has worked with marginalized populations within South Florida specifically those with severe and persistent mental illness, forensic population, individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, youth in the welfare system, and individuals who are involuntarily hospitalized.
She regularly facilitates community trainings and professional development workshops focused on mental health awareness and education, racial and cultural trauma, substance use issues, as well as diversity and inclusion and social equity. She also serves as an expert on panels and discussions to help promote community awareness and professional development on these topics.
Dr. Chaim Nissel has worked in schools, clinics, hospitals and colleges and has experience with individuals of all ages. Dr. Nissel earned his doctorate in School-Clinical Child Psychology from Pace University. His doctoral dissertation investigated suicidal ideation in an adolescent inpatient population and throughout his career, he has always been interested in and involved with the assessment and treatment of suicide risk. He is a NYS licensed psychologist and a certified school psychologist.
Dr. Nissel has given countless workshops, in the U.S. and Canada, on topics including suicidality, behavior management with children and adolescents, bullying and college mental health.
Dr. Harry Rockland-Miller, PhD recently retired from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he was the Director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health, and served as a core member of the Student Affairs and Campus Life Leadership team. For over 20 years he led a multidisciplinary university clinic providing short-term psychotherapies, psychopharmacological services, community consultation, training and 24-hour crisis services. Rockland-Miller is a national trainer, presenter and consultant in areas including college mental health, clinical triage, suicide prevention and mental health care delivery. Other clinical interests include crisis intervention, brief therapy and hospital-based treatment.
He was a two-time recipient and Principal Investigator for a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrator grant providing suicide prevention training on the UMass Amherst campus. Most recently, Rockland-Miller was awarded the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors’ (AUCCCD) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to campus mental health “at the highest national levels.” Prior to joining the university, he worked in mobile and hospital crisis intervention and inpatient psychiatry settings.