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A licensed behavioral psychologist or a clinician oversees each student’s treatment program. The term clinician refers to a person with a masters or doctoral degree in psychology or allied field. The clinician is part of a treatment team that also includes a case manager, the teacher, the special education supervisor and the residential coordinators. Additional input is obtained from medical consultants, psychiatrists, nursing staff, speech therapists, etc. as required. The design of each student's program, as well as each substantive change in that program, must be reviewed and approved by a doctoral-level psychologist or clinician.

Currently, the following individuals are serving as clinicians at JRC:


Gary Dube, Ph.D.
Psychologist

Dr. Dube earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in 1983 and completed a pre-doctoral internship at McLean Hospital. One of the members of his dissertation committee was Dr. Leo Reyna, a former consultant to Dr. Israel. Dr. Dube has spent a substantial portion of his career working as a forensic psychologist as well as a clinical/behavioral psychologist and he is a ‘Designated Forensic Psychologist’ Supervisor in Massachusetts. In addition to his consulting work for the Judge Rotenberg Center, he works for a non-profit human service provider as the Program Director for Juvenile Court Clinic services in Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable Counties. Dr. Dube has been a consultant for JRC since 1987.


Robert von Heyn, Ph.D., BCBA
Clinician

Dr. von Heyn is Director of Clinical Services at JRC. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Adelphi University and B.A. in Psychology from Susquehanna University. Prior to JRC he was the Assistant Director of a youth facility in Great Neck, New York and taught Psychology courses at Adelphi University. Dr. von Heyn moved from New York to work at JRC (formerly the Behavior Research Institute in Providence, Rhode Island) in 1989 and has been here for the last 17 years and has witnessed the vast improvement of hundreds of students that have been at JRC.


James Riley, Ph.D.
Psychologist

Dr. Riley received his A.B. from Bowdoin College and his Ph.D. from Boston College. He is a Licensed Psychologist/Health Service Provider. He is also a Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Clinical Director of Comprehensive Mental Health Systems, Inc. Dr. Riley has served as a JRC psychologist since 1992.


Nicholas Lowther, M.A.
Clinician

Nicholas Lowther received his Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from Minnesota State University. He is originally from the United Kingdom and completed some of his earlier training in the UK. Nicholas has been working with individuals with behavior disorders and developmental disabilities since 1999. He completed internships at the Murdoch Center in North Carolina working with individuals with developmental disabilities as well as a neuropsychology practicum at the Riverview Clinic in Minnesota. Nicholas has served as a JRC clinician since January, 2004.


Nathan Blenkush, BCBA
Clinician

Dr. Blenkush received his Ph.D. in Conditioning and Learning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Prior to JRC, Dr. Blenkush treated individuals with behavior problems in residential and community based programs in Wisconsin and Tennessee. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with years of experience serving children and adults who emit problem behaviors. Dr. Blenkush has served as a JRC clinician since January, 2006.


Nicolle Matthews, Ph.D., BCBA
Clinician

Dr. Matthews received her Doctorate in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Her prior experience includes work as a professor and guest lecturer for Texas Lutheran University and The University of Texas on topics such as The Application of Conditioning Procedures; Animal Learning and Behavior; and The Application of Schedules of Reinforcement. Dr. Matthews has served as a JRC clinician since February, 2006.


Gregory Todisco, M. Ed.
Clinician

Gregory Todisco received his Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and obtained his BS in Developmental Psychology at Suffolk University in Boston, MA. He is currently working toward a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Counseling Psychology at Cambridge College. His prior experience includes working with children and adolescents in youth mediation groups, and served as a community recreational counselor for three years. For two years, he also worked in adult and geriatric health services in Lowell, MA and aided in the development of their behavioral health program working as a Behavioral Analyst. Gregory has served as a JRC case manager for nearly 2 years and as a clinician since April, 2007.

 
Emily Gean, Ph.D.
Clinician

Dr. Gean received her Doctorate in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. She has served as a clinician at JRC since May, 2008.


Arthur Apinian, M.A.
Clinician

Arthur Apinian received his Master’s degree in Psychology from Cambridge College in Cambridge MA in 2005, and prior to that he received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Massachusetts in Boston MA. He has worked with the special needs population, and federally convicted inmates for nearly 8 years in prison and community settings. Arthur has been working at the Judge Rotenberg Center since 2005 as a case manager and as a clinician since January, 2009.


Carey Gage, Psy.D.
Clinician

Dr. Gage received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the New Jersey Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. Prior to JRC, Dr. Gage treated male inmates at a maximum security prison in Texas, adult and geriatric populations with serious mental illness in psychiatric hospitals in Florida and New York, war veterans in New Jersey, and in various facilities administering neuropsychological assessments to children/adult/geriatric populations. Dr. Gage has served as a JRC clinician since January 2009.


Michael Selva, Psy.D.
Clinician

Michael Selva is a Licensed Psychologist and Health Service Provider in Massachusetts. He studied Biology at Brown University, and then went on to earn a Psy.D. degree (Clinical Psychology) from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. Prior to coming on board as a JRC Clinician, Dr. Selva was a staff psychologist at the Manville School, a Boston-based day program for children with developmental and emotional disorders. He also worked for the May Institute in Norwood, where he provided behavioral consultation services to special needs students in numerous public school systems in central and eastern Massachusetts. He served as President of the New England Society for Behavior Analysis and Therapy (NESBAT), a local affiliate of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI).


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