Counseling and Psychological Services Staff

Professional Staff Bios

David Bush, Ph.D. is the center's Director and the liaison to the Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD), Disability Resource Center (DRC), Campus Police, ASUSU and Fraternities, and the LDS Institute as well as the College of science. Dave joined our staff in 1989. He completed his undergraduate training in psychology at BYU, together with a Master's in Counseling. His Ph.D. in Combined Clinical/Counseling was awarded from USU in 1984. His experience includes school counseling, community mental health and private practice. His theoretical orientation comes from a Quantum model that borrows from quantum mechanics and includes a spiritual dimension as well as focus on thoughts, feelings, needs, values and actions. His research interests include group work and depression. Clinical focus has been on assessment of learning disorders and treatment of sexual addictions. He loves teaching and averages a class each year for the Psychology Department.

LuAnn Helms, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director/Training Director and the Center's liaison to Academic Resource Center, Student Support Services, Allies on Campus and Sororities as well as the College of Engineering. She has been at USU since 2003. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M University in 2002. She completed her Master's Degree in Counseling at California State University, Sacramento with a dual major in School Counseling and in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling in 1995. Prior to graduate school, she completed her Bachelor's Degree at Missouri Valley College with a dual major in Youth and Human Service Agency Management and in Alcohol and Drug Studies. Her professional interests include: Individual, group, and couples therapy; anger, anxiety, and stress management; therapist training and supervision; program development; diversity issues; substance abuse treatment and prevention; domestic violence issues; identity and self-esteem development; and wellness. She conceptualizes clients mostly from the Multimodal Therapy perspective and her therapeutic interventions are eclectic, but predominately cognitive behavioral.

Mark Nafziger, Ph.D. is Clinical Coordinator and the Center's liaison to the Student Health and Wellness Center, University Advising, a member of the Behavior Intervention Team (BIT) as well as the College of Natural Resources and College of Agriculture. He has been at USU since 1990. Prior to that time, he completed his internship at Notre Dame University's Counseling Center and Oaklawn Psychiatric Hospital and his Ph.D. at Ohio State University. Mark is a licensed psychologist involved in volunteer work for a statewide Critical Incident Stress Management Team. His therapeutic orientation combines cognitive behavioral, existential and Buddhist mindfulness perspectives. Present research focuses on counseling center outcome studies using the College Adjustment Scale and the OQ45. He is also interested in the interface between psychology and wellness/healthy living.

Thomas Berry, Ph.D. is the Internship Coordinator and the Center's liaison to Career Services, Outdoor Recreation, Retention & Student Success, and Financial Aid as well as the Caine College of the Arts. He came to USU in 2004 after working in several other university/college counseling centers. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2001 and completed his internship at the University of Wyoming Counseling Center. He had previously earned masters degrees in counseling and psychology from the Universities of Houston and Missouri respectively and his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. His therapeutic orientation integrates across interpersonal, object relations and cognitive-behavioral perspectives and he is particularly interested in Schema Therapy. His clinical interests include group therapy, working with individuals dealing with stress, anxiety and depression, issues of sexuality, and life course and career decision making. His teaching interests include issues of diversity, college student development, personality, abnormal psychology, history of psychology and statistics and research methods. His research interests include student retention, the effect of campus climate on student success, clinical supervision and problem-solving conceptualizations of college student adjustment.

Amy Kleiner, Ph.D. is the Practicum Coordinator and Center's liaison to Multicultural Student Services (ACCESS), SAAVI (Sexual Assault and Anti Violence Office, and the College of Education and Human Services. She joined the center staff in 2005 after completing her predoctoral internship at the Center. She earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2005. She earned her master's degree in counseling from Northeastern University in 2000. Her bachelor's in psychology is from Cornell College. Amy's primary areas of clinical and research interest include: models and stages of therapeutic change, counselor training and supervision, diversity and social justice issues, and marriage and family therapy. She conceptualizes clients from an integrative approach, specifically focusing on phases of the therapeutic change process, common mechanisms of change, and client readiness for change. Amy lives in Logan with her husband and three daughters . She also enjoys many outdoor activities in the Rocky Mountains, especially downhill skiing, hiking, backpacking, and cycling.

Eri Bentley, Ph.D. is the Group Coordinator for CAPS and a Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP). She is the center's liaison to the Athletics Department, Office of International Students and Scholars, Re-Entry/Veteran (ACCESS)Office, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She also serves on the Veterans Resource Office Advisory Board and the Student Conduct Hearing Board. Eri joined the center's staff in 2008, after completing her pre-doctoral internship at Washington State University Counseling and Testing Services. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Psychology from Utah State University. Her undergraduate degree was in psychology from Humboldt State University in California. Her professional interests are individual and group therapy, counselor training and supervision, and program development. Issues of particular interest to her include diversity, veterans' adjustment to college, trauma, and eating disorders. She works with clients from an integrative perspective, using cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and interpersonal therapy. Her style is collaborative, and her intervention is matched with clients readiness for change. Her personal interests include fly fishing, cooking, gardening and spending time with her family of two dogs, a cat and a husband. One of her dogs, Boris, works with her as a therapy dog at CAPS. She, (yes, Boris is a girl) is a very sweet 6-year-old yellow Lab mix, and loves to play fetch.

Christopher Chapman, Ph.D. is the REACH Peer/Outreach Coordinator for the center. He is the liaison to Residence Life, GLBT (ACCESS) Office as well as the Huntsman School of Business. Chris joined our staff in August of 2010 after completing his internship at CAPS. He earned his degree from Brigham Young University in Clinical Psychology and his undergraduate degree from Westminster College. Group is a particular interest of Chris's. He has recently moved to Cache Valley with his wife, a cat and hopefully soon will be adding a dog.