The PA Clinical Training Institute, a Pennsylvania Counseling Services division, is a leader in mental health education, offering comprehensive training for clinicians working in family-based mental health services.
Our mission is to foster professional growth and provide tailored education to address the unique challenges facing families and caregivers in our communities. We emphasize flexibility, innovation, and connection, preparing professionals to make a lasting impact.
Since 1998, the PA Clinical Training Institute has been accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), providing nationally recognized continuing education credits for psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists.
Pennsylvania Counseling Services is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Pennsylvania Counseling Services maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
We offer four distinct training tracks designed to address emerging trends and unique challenges in mental health care. Each track is crafted to deepen expertise, improve outcomes, and enhance the quality of care for the families and communities we serve.
This track equips clinicians to address behaviors such as pornography consumption, inappropriate technology use, and sexualized interactions among adolescents. Specialized training focuses on systemic interventions and improving family dynamics to support recovery and growth.
Learn to manage cases involving problematic sexual behavior, including sibling sexual abuse and recovery within the family system. This track emphasizes family-based solutions, evidence-based approaches, and specialized interventions to support both victims and families.
This track focuses on the systemic impact of substance use disorders within families. Training includes evidence-based practices like contingency management and "Seeking Safety," preparing clinicians to address both adolescent and caregiver substance use concerns.
Dive deep into the effects of generational trauma on caregivers and families. Training includes adult attachment theory, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and evidence-based trauma interventions to empower clinicians to facilitate meaningful change.
Addressing problematic sexual behavior among juveniles requires specialized skills and strategies. The PA Clinical Training Institute offers targeted training opportunities to equip clinicians with the tools necessary to intervene effectively and compassionately. With the rise of digital platforms influencing youth behaviors, this training is more critical than ever.
Our diverse faculty brings a wealth of expertise, perspectives, and real-world experience to our training programs. With a commitment to your growth, they provide dynamic, interactive learning environments designed to enhance your clinical skills and confidence.
Kimberly’s role within the organization is that of the Executive Vice President, a position she has occupied since 2017. In her capacity of Executive Vice President, she maintains a heavy clinical focus in providing clinical guidance, consultation, and supervision individually with trainees and supervisees, as well as more systemically in structuring operations within clinical programs to be consistent with evidence-based best practices. For the last 3 years, Dr. Ernest has served as the clinical director for Family-Based Mental Health Services and supervisor to our clinical consultants. Her history of children services evaluations and the supervision of those evaluations further informs her practice and understanding of the ESFT model and FBMHS. While she often maintains a birds eye view of PCS operations, she continues to maintain a small clinical caseload, direct clinical supervision of those pursuing licensure, and focuses on utilizing her direct care connection to continue to deepen her practice and ensure operations are in line with clinical best practices.
Kimberly received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University in 2006, completed a Master’s of Science in Experimental Psychology in 2009 from University of Texas at San Antonio, and received her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology in 2013 from the University of North Texas. As an internship graduate of the VA North Texas Health Care System, she is heavily trained in trauma informed care and evidence-based practices to address traumatic stress disorders. She has been an independently licensed Clinical Psychologist since 2014 and received her Licensed Professional Counselor designation in 2015. She is also a certified treatment professional by the Sexual Offender Assessment Board (SOAB) and is a certified Juvenile Sexual Offender Treatment provider. Kimberly has over 18 years of experience working with re-entry populations with a history of problematic sexual behavior, substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, complex trauma, gambling and other behavioral addictions, couples and family systemic work and preventing the out of home placement of at risk and justice involved youth and families, through a trauma-informed lens. Kimberly has been in licensure supervision for her LMFT since August 2021 with anticipated completion by September 2023 at which point she intends to pursue her AAMFT credential.
Kimberly has a substantial history of providing academic and professional trainings to counselors, social workers, case managers, prescribers, law enforcement and those working in ancillary capacities to serve underserved community mental health populations and the broader mental health and substance use disorder communities. Kimberly has presented at national and local conferences, provided countless in-house trainings for staff and guests of Pennsylvania Counseling Services, taught undergraduate level courses at University of Texas San Antonio and University of North Texas. Kimberly is often contracted by local managed care organizations, state grant projects, school districts, community agencies, and external treatment providers to conduct professional trainings and workshops in the areas of problematic sexual behavior, community re-entry following placement or incarceration of adolescents and adults, leadership, clinical supervision, evidence-based practices and utilizing treatment protocols with fidelity, trauma informed care, substance use and co-occurring disorders, and crisis management and de-escalation strategies. Finally, Kimberly has presented at several local and national conferences throughout her tenure as a professional and trainer.
Jennifer has been employed by Pennsylvania Counseling Services, Inc since 2005. Her current role in the organization is Executive Director of Children Services. Within this role she supports the operations of the various children services programs to ensure compliance and success of the programs. Jennifer provides support and guidance to supervisors and staff working at PCS locations across Central Pennsylvania.
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Wilson College in 2000, completed a Master’s of Social Work in 2005 from Temple University and received her Clinical Social Worker License in 2009. Jennifer has served in the capacity of a Mobile Therapist/Behavioral Consultant, BHRS Administrator and Family Based Director. She has extensive knowledge and experience in community mental health and a passion for helping children and families.
Melanie Morgan is the Assistant Clinical Director of Children’s Services for Pennsylvania Counseling and the Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Clinical Training Institute. Her role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, including providing training opportunities, offering administrative support for Family-Based programs, supervising staff pursuing their LPC licensure, conducting interviews for prospective Family-Based therapists, and delivering therapy through Pennsylvania Counseling Services’ outpatient program.
In her capacity, Melanie facilitates training opportunities within both the Pennsylvania Counseling Services Training Center and the Pennsylvania Clinical Training Institute. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology, with a minor in English, from Millersville University (2010) and her graduate degree in Counseling, with a focus on Infant Mental Health, from Chatham University (2013). Over the course of her career, Melanie has become a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania, a Certified Family-Based Therapist, a Level II Attachment-Based Family Therapist, and has achieved DDAP certification.
Melanie’s career and mission have focused on providing community mental health treatment and training opportunities for clinical therapists, administrative staff, school personnel, and community members. She is DDAP-certified to work with substance-related disorders, trained to address problematic sexual behaviors through a systemic lens, and skilled in working with children and families using the Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy model.
Melanie brings an eclectic approach to training, incorporating information-based sessions, hands-on interactive activities, and clinical case presentations. She has delivered training across a variety of platforms, including in-person large group sessions, consultation groups, conference presentations, clinical supervision for licensure, telehealth, and hybrid formats.
Miranda serves as the Family Based Clinical Consultant for Dauphin County. In this role, she utilizes her passion for systems theory and the structural approach by providing supervision to family-based clinicians. Miranda works with supervisees to understand their own person of the therapist experiences and how this intersects with the culture and lived experience of the clientele, as well as how it impacts the therapeutic relationship. She also supports supervisees focusing on second order change by facilitating more functional in-session interactional experiences. In addition to her role as Clinical Consultant, Miranda also presently provides clinical supervision to those pursuing licensure, as an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. Miranda enjoys guiding new therapists in developing intentionality to their approach.
Miranda received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from La Salle University in 2015 and completed her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapist in 2017 from La Salle University. From her training, she has expertise in Emotionally- Focused Therapy, Experiential, Play Therapy, Addictions and the Family System, and Structural Family Therapy. Complementary to her interest in relationships, Miranda presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Conference in 2015 on online dating habits.
In addition to her work as a family-based therapist, Miranda also has experience providing care for a variety of mental health and drug and alcohol clients. She is certified through the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Miranda facilitated an intensive outpatient program for high-risk drug and alcohol clients from August 2019 – January 2021. She has treated couples, co-parents, and families in her practice as an outpatient therapist. Miranda has experience treating clients struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Miranda can utilize her own clinical experience to inform her approach to training and supervision.
Deb Thomas has been employed by Pennsylvania Counseling Services since 2004 and serves as the Clinical Director of Children’s Services and trainer for Pennsylvania Clinical Training Institute (PCTI). She supervises Family Based Clinical Consultants across 10 counties in central PA, supporting growth and development to consultants and staff working towards supervisor and clinical competency in Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy.
Deb oversees and supervises master’s level interns as well as candidates for licensure both in group and individual supervision.
Deb has served in the capacity as a Family Based Clinical Consultant, Evaluator and as a Family Based Program Director. She has extensive knowledge and experience in ESFT and its delivery through the Family Based Program having evolved with several training sites and leading the operation of a systemic approach in team development and fidelity to this model of treatment. She became a certified ESFT supervisor in 2013 through the Center for Family Based Training.
Deb continues to treat clients in Outpatient Mental Health and coordinates heavily with service system providers and advises on referrals and provides advocacy for families and clinicians seeking family-based services.
Deb has a Contemplative Psychology background with her MA in psychology from Naropa University, Boulder Colorado and remains a LPC in Colorado where she held a private practice and provided both outpatient services as well as corporate mental health trainings.
Deb brings a trauma informed lens and over two decades of training in Mindfulness-Based approaches to both personal and inter-relational experience. Deb guides, trains, supervises, and leads from this foundation of expertise in contemplative, experiential interventions with emphasis on staff wellness, burnout prevention, and staff sustainability.
Become part of a transformative training experience. Whether you’re looking to deepen your expertise, expand your clinical practice, or make a greater impact in family-based mental health services, the PA Clinical Training Institute is here to guide you.