Our team of qualified mental health professionals provide evidence-based services in a healing environment. Therapeutic services include individual, couples, family and group therapy. To inquire about or request a therapist to contact you, click here or call 515-243-3525.
Janell Aldrich, LISW
Assistant Clinical Director
Janell has been helping children and families with their mental health needs for over 20 years in the Des Moines area. She utilizes both cognitive behavioral and play therapy techniques in her work with children, helping them to overcome obstacles that prevent them from being successful at home, in school and in the community. Janell works in collaboration with parents to design a plan for the child and family that is strengths-based.
She has assisted children with a wide variety of issues, but specializes in:
- Foster care and adoption
- ADD/ADHD
- Grief and loss
- Anxiety
- Childhood depression
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Amy Wright, LMSW
Amy is a therapist with experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy, family-systems theory, and motivational interviewing. Her gentle and inquisitive therapeutic style is useful in working with a broad range of individuals, families and groups in the following areas:
- Women’s issues
- Issues relative to domestic and sexual violence
- Marital and relationship issues
- Anxiety and depression
- Personality disorders
- Anger management
- Substance abuse and addiction
Rebecca Trimble, LISW
Rebecca
is a Simpson College graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and later went on to graduate from the University of Nebraska with a Master's of social work. Rebecca has been practicing in Iowa since 1995 and has experience working in many different settings. Her therapeutic focus is one of gentle therapeutic guidance and support. Rebecca has worked with children, adolescents and adults. Her areas of focus are:
- Trauma
- Relationship issues
- Developmental issues
Dana Diggins, LMSW
Dana has been a therapist for over 13 years, and has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. She practices from cognitive-behavioral and strengths-based approaches, while helping people cope with a variety of mental health issues. Dana specializes in:
- Relationship issues
- Grief and loss
- Borderline personality disorder
Laura Healless, LISW
Laura has been in the therapy field for 24 years. She is experienced in Family Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
During the time Laura has been a therapist she has mainly worked with children and adolescents and their families. While Laura has worked with youth on a wide variety of concerns she specializes in helping youth:
- Be successful in school
- Identify and work through depression
- Suicide awareness and prevention
- Improve self esteem
- Anger management
- Grief and loss
JoAnn Masterson, LMSW
JoAnn is a cognitive-behavioral therapist, and has worked for the past 20 years with adults, adolescents, elderly individuals, veterans, couples and families. She has worked in Story, Boone, Hamilton and Marshall Counties. Throughout her career she has helped people with a wide variety of issues, and specializes in:
- Mental illness and intellectual disabilities
- Marital and relationship issues
- Blended families and adoptions
- Substance abuse
- Gay and lesbian issues
- Death and dying
Anneke Gustafson, LMSW
Anneke 
has worked for Optimae LifeServices for the last 10 years and has been a therapist with ATS since 2008. Anneke provides a compassionate, empathetic and holistic approach based in the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy to assist individuals, families and couples in dealing with life’s challenges. Her experience has led her to specialize in working with people who are dealing with problems related to:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Chronic mental illness
- Relationship issues
- Gender identity and sexual orientation
Iman Burns-Khan, LISW
Iman
has years of experience treating anxiety, depression and family issues. She is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, Bowen family systems and use of hypnosis to treat anxiety and pain management.
Patricia Thies, LISW
Patricia
is currently seeing clients in our office in Newton, for more information contact her at 641-787-9133.
Susan Martin, LISW, ACSW
Clinical Director
Susan
is an accomplished and experienced professional who practices from a strength-based, cognitive- behavioral approach. She counsels many professionals, and enjoys providing therapy to often overlooked mental health professionals themselves. Her positive, kind approach and gentle confrontational style are beneficial to people of all ages. Susan offers thoughtful consideration into all mental health issues, but specializes in:
- Boundaries and relationship issues
- Survivors of child abuse
- Borderline personality disorder
- Complicated grief
- Couples counseling and concerns surrounding infidelity
Child and Adolescent Services
Tony Raymer, B.A.
Program Coordinator of Child and Adolescent Services
Tony
is a graduate of Wartburg College with degrees in psychology and religion. Before joining the team at ATS, he was a math education volunteer in the United States Peace Corps serving in Guinea, West Africa. Tony began as a remedial service provider and KidsShare Group Therapy facilitator and has continued to provide both services while supporting the teams as program coordinator since 2009. Tony has an open and accepting approach to providing support from a person-centered and cognitive-behavioral approach. Tony uses these approaches to support the team members of the children’s program in providing the highest quality evidence based services in Central Iowa.
Tony can be reached at 515-243-3525 extension 116 or traymer@optimaelifeservices.com
The HCBS Management Team
Blair Sodergren, B.S.
Service Coordinator: Home and Community Based Services
Blair
is a 2008 Iowa State graduate with her degree in child, adult and family services and a minor in Spanish. While in college, she interned at a domestic violence shelter in Ames, has been a camp counselor, and camp director, and worked with adults through Optimae LifeServices before joining us here at ATS. Blair says that the best part of working with kids is that you can be silly, creative, empathetic, a teacher, a role model, and the list goes on! She enjoys introducing new activities and games to help children work toward their goals, and is excited to see kids and young adults learn new skills and concepts. She also finds working with kids an avenue to support the family as well, working together as a team to promote each child’s success and progress.
Katlyn Finn, BA 
Service Coordinator: Children’s Mental Health and Habilitation Services
Katlyn is a graduate of Simpson College and has been working with us here at Advanced Therapy Solutions since 2010. She is now supporting clients in both our intellectual disability/brain injury services, and supporting children and families receiving services through the Children’s Mental Health Waiver and habilitation services. Katlyn enjoys getting to see kids grow, both in their goals and in their independence, while discovering their own creativity.
Michele Brant
Team Leader: Home and Community Based Services
Michele Brant has been a long-time member of the Home and Community Based Services team at ATS. She has been supporting children and families since 2005.
Rebecca Minardi, BA
Team Leader: Children’s Mental Health and Habilitation Services
Rebecca
graduated from Marshall University with a degree in history and international affairs. She has been living in Des Moines since 2010 and is attending Des Moines University pursuing her Master's in public health. Rebecca has worked with ATS since March 2011, when she began providing Behavioral Health Intervention Services, and is now the children’s mental health and habilitation team leader. Her favorite part of working with kids is how often she is completely blown away by their insight. She says, “I think we all sometimes forget how smart children are; they see and hear everything.” Rebecca doesn’t want to forget how much children and young adults can teach her.
Behavioral Health Intervention Services
Maggie Dornfeld, LMSW 
Therapist and Service Coordinator: Behavioral Health Intervention Services
Prior to joining ATS, Maggie worked as a social worker in Minnesota with children and teens in the foster care system, as well as their foster and biological families. Maggie is continually looking for ways she can creatively team with people to overcome life's obstacles. Maggie works with people of all ages and specializes in working with those who have experienced:
- Trauma
- Grief and loss
- Foster care and adoption
Chelsea Stone, B.A.
Team Leader: Behavioral Health Intervention Services
Chelsea
is a University of Iowa graduate with degrees in social work and Spanish. She began providing remedial services in August 2010 and has been the team leader of the Behavioral Health Intervention Services team since December 2010. Before coming to ATS, she worked for over three years with Latino youth in various settings. When asked what she enjoys most about working with kids and young adults, she says that it is the little moments that make the job worthwhile, like a big smile after winning a game or completing an activity correctly, hearing a simple thank you, or getting calls from a client who is just letting her know how the day is going. She especially enjoys that she can arrive at work every day knowing that today will bring new and different challenges than the day before.
KidsShare Group Therapy
Trevor Talbott, BA
Team Leader: KidsShare Group Therapy
Trevor is a graduate of Central College where he majored in social sciences. Trevor has been with ATS since June of 2010, providing both Behavioral Health Intervention Services and KidsShare Group Therapy. This summer Trevor also served as the team leader of ATS’s Community Integration for Teens service. Trevor recently began as the team leader of the KidsShare Group Therapy program. When asked why he enjoys working with kids, he says it is because “every day is an adventure and no day seems to repeat itself.”
