Specialty Programs

EOS LGBTQIA+ Program

In addition to higher rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders, the LGBTQIA+ community often experiences provider bias or discrimination when seeking mental health care services.

This scenario often results in members of the LGBTQIA+ community not receiving the services they need to support their mental health. In fact, more than 90% of LGBTQIA+ adults with a co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorder don’t receive needed treatment. 

LGBTQIA+ patients deserve high-quality, compassionate care from clinicians with training and experience in working with aspects of identity that are frequently overlooked or minimized in conventional therapeutic settings. 

Recognizing the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ patients, Camden Center is proud to offer the Eos Program, an integrated set of treatment services available to any patient at Camden Center identifying as LGBTQIA+.

The Eos program at Camden Center was founded by Andrew Merrell, LMFT, a clinician with extensive experience in the provision of identity-affirming psychotherapy. Administered by LGBTQIA+ affirmative clinicians, the Eos Program recognizes the diverse range of human sexual and gender identities and the unique role these identities play in the developmental and attachment history of each individual. This uniqueness of identity is understood as an important contributor to the experience of each patient and informs their personalized treatment program. 

Patients in the Eos Program may also participate in any of the other programs offered at Camden Center, including the Comprehensive DBT Program, Addictions Program, Women’s Healing and Wellness Program, and OCD Program.

A unique treatment plan is created for each patient at Camden Center, matching them with the specific treatment modalities and clinicians most likely to benefit them at each stage of their recovery. This plan is updated and modified based upon progress and patient feedback to ensure that each patient consistently receives the most effective care.

About the Eos LGBTQIA+ Treatment Program

Camden Center’s Eos Program consists of multiple therapeutic modalities administered by clinicians specializing in the treatment of LGBTQIA+ patients. Patients engage in both individual and group therapy as part of the program. 

Patients in the Eos Program receive individual therapy from an LGBTQIA+ specialized clinician for psychotherapeutic work centering on issues related to identity. Eos Identity Groups provide an attuned and empowering space for LGBTQIA+ patients to engage in group psychotherapy with other LGBTQIA+ identified individuals.

Because each LGBTQIA+ patient has their own dynamic relationship to their identity, clinical teams are customized to ensure patients are matched with the treatment modalities and clinicians that will be most helpful to them. 

Each Eos Program clinician has specialized training and experience with LGBTQIA+ affirmative psychotherapy and extensive experience with the LGBTQIA+ community. All Eos Program clinicians are also openly LGBTQIA+ themselves, offering a unique perspective not available at many mental health and addiction treatment centers. 

By having a team of clinicians with specialized training and experience working with the LGBTQIA+ community, the Eos Program at Camden Center helps support the important role identity plays in achieving clinical treatment goals. 

Who Is the Eos Program For?

Camden Center is an integrative medical organization that offers the highest quality care available for mental health and addictive disorders. LGBTQIA+ patients receiving treatment at Camden Center for any condition can choose to participate in some or all of the components of the Eos Program while also having access to the full range of clinical services available at Camden Center.

The Eos Program is available to anyone who identifies as:*

  • Lesbian
  • Gay
  • Bisexual
  • Transgender
  • Gender expansive
  • Queer
  • Questioning
  • Intersex
  • Agender
  • Asexual 
  • Aromantic
  • Pansexual
  • Pan/Polygender
  • In poly relationship systems

Patients in the Eos Program can be assured of excellent clinical care and an affirming, supportive treatment environment designed specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community.

What Can the Eos Program Help With?

Many in the LGBTQIA+ community have experienced invalidation, marginalization, and discrimination as a consequence of their identity, leading to higher rates of addiction, anxiety, and depression. Given the complex role identity plays in the origin of addiction and mental health issues for many LGBTQIA+ individuals, effective care requires a treatment environment in which issues of identity are recognized and validated.

For this reason, the Eos Program at Camden Center is staffed by clinicians with both extensive clinical experience and an understanding based on lived experience navigating the developmental, cultural, and relational landscape experienced by LGBTQIA+ identified individuals.

Issues frequently addressed in the Eos Program at Camden Center include:

  • Addictive disorders, including substance use disorders and process addictions such as sex addiction, screen addiction, and compulsive spending
  • LGBTQIA+ relationships
  • Intimate partner violence
  • Identity trauma
  • Secrecy and shame
  • Sexual abuse
  • Body image disturbances
  • Identity discrimination
  • Identity self-care
  • Abandonment
  • Grief and loss

With the nurturing and culturally competent treatment offered at Camden Center, patients receive the support they need to heal from trauma and create healthy relationships with themselves and others.

Comprehensive LGBTQIA+ Mental HealthCare for the Identity Spectrum 

At Camden Center’s Eos Program, individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community can receive the highest quality integrative mental healthcare in an affirming and validating treatment setting.

To find out more about Camden Center’s Eos LGBTQIA+ Treatment Program in Los Angeles and San Francisco, call or contact us online today.

*This is not an exhaustive list of identities included in this community and related groups. Camden Center supports all people who identify as LGBTQIA+ community members, whether or not their identity is commonly acknowledged. 

Staff
Andria Lavine
LCSW
Staff Therapist
Andria Lavine
LCSW
Staff Therapist
Degrees
X

Andy Lavine, LCSW, received her bachelor’s degree from University of Vermont and her Master of Social Work from Smith College in Massachusetts.

While at Smith College, she served as co-chair of the curriculum committee, focusing on anti-racism perspectives and LGBT identity inclusion in the clinical field.

She spent her practicum years treating patients with psychiatric disorders, addiction, and trauma in community mental health settings and at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Andy is trained in complex trauma interventions, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and the Hakomi Method for somatic attachment and trauma resolution. She trained with Bessel van der Kolk, MD, in body-based trauma treatment, and is foundationally trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She brings these perspectives to individual and group therapy work.  

Andy previously worked as a psychiatric social worker at Kaiser Permanente, focusing on trauma treatment, crisis intervention, and emergency room psychiatric assessment. She has also worked in private practice and consulted for tech companies.

At Camden Center, Andy is program director of the San Francisco location. She provides program management and oversees clinical operations. She is also chief of the Eos Program, which offers integrative treatment services to LGBTQIAP+ patients.

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Mallory Aye
ND
Co-Medical Director, Chief of Integrative Medicine
Mallory Aye
ND
Co-Medical Director, Chief of Integrative Medicine
Degrees
X

Mallory Aye, ND, is a naturopathic doctor licensed in California. Dr. Aye received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon in Eugene. She received her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Aye completed a naturopathic residency at an addiction treatment center in Arizona, and has worked as a naturopathic physician at a family health center in Pasadena, California.

Dr. Aye has extensive training in pelvic floor therapy and expertise in addressing hormonal issues, mood disorders, chronic pelvic pain, and functional medicine concerns.

She is passionate about helping people understand the connection between the mind and the body and takes a very holistic approach to optimizing health.  

At Camden Center, Dr. Aye uses evidence-based conventional and alternative modalities to help support both the mental and physical health of patients. She offers naturopathic treatment options and pelvic floor therapy.

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Michael Pezzullo
LMFT
Staff Therapist
Michael Pezzullo
LMFT
Staff Therapist
Degrees
X

Michael Pezzullo, LMFT, received his Bachelor of Science in Media and Communications from New York University in New York City and his master’s degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles.

Michael has extensive experience working with transgender, gender fluid, and non-binary patients. He has specialized experience treating people who struggle with “chem-sex,” the addictive process of using substances to heighten sexual arousal, as well as treating sexual compulsivity.

Michael has worked as a clinician at an LGBTQ+ dual diagnosis treatment facility in Los Angeles and at an adolescent treatment center in Bel Air, California. He also created and facilitates an LGBTQ+ identity group for Impulse United, a global HIV advocacy nonprofit.

Michael has a private practice in West Hollywood, California, where he specializes in providing LGBTQ+ psychotherapy and treating addictive disorders.

At Camden Center, Michael is a clinician in the Eos Program, providing affirmative psychotherapy to clients who identify as LGBTQ+.

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J. Alexis Ortiz
PhD
Staff Psychologist
J. Alexis Ortiz
PhD
Staff Psychologist
Degrees
X

J. Alexis Ortiz, PhD, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from University of Michigan and both her Master of Arts in Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from University of New Mexico.

She completed her clinical psychology internship at VA Palo Alto Health Care System and her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

Dr. Ortiz holds a clinical assistant professor faculty position and is an attending psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she serves on the adult Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) team.

Dr. Ortiz also has a small private practice in San Francisco. Her clinical work focuses on treating co-occurring psychiatric and addictive disorders, emotion dysregulation, substance use, and mood and anxiety disorders.

At Camden Center, Dr. Ortiz is a program therapist and serves on the comprehensive DBT team. She leads DBT mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) groups, and provides individual DBT, ACT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and addiction-focused therapy.

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Scott Davis
LMFT, CEC
Staff Therapist
Scott Davis
LMFT, CEC
Staff Therapist
Degrees
X

Scott Davis, LMFT, earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies, with an emphasis on international business. He earned his master's degree in clinical psychology.

Scott has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with people of diverse ethnic, cultural, religious, and spiritual backgrounds and sexual orientations.

He has worked at a family services agency, specializing in individual and family therapy for adults, adolescents, and children, as well as in private practice in the San Francisco area.

In his private practice, he works with adults, adolescents, couples, and families to treat a wide variety of issues, including substance abuse.

Scott is also a mindfulness and meditation instructor and certified executive coach.

Before becoming a therapist, Scott worked in the U.S. and abroad in corporations, investment banks, and for an international economic development agency in Nepal.

At Camden Center, Scott provides family therapy. He works to help patients develop happier, more connected relationships and cultivate a more deeply meaningful life.

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Laura Berman
LCSW, CASAC-T
Family Services Department Regional Director, Los Angeles, EOS Program Regional Director, Los Angeles
Laura Berman
LCSW, CASAC-T
Family Services Department Regional Director, Los Angeles, EOS Program Regional Director, Los Angeles
Degrees
X

Laura Berman, LCSW, CASAC-T, received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles and her Master of Social Work from Fordham University in New York.

Laura is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), psychodrama, and Motivational Interviewing (MI).

She has diverse clinical and administrative experience in both outpatient and residential treatment settings. She was previously the program director and family coordinator at a dual diagnosis outpatient treatment center where she worked one-on-one with patients and their families.

At Camden Center Los Angeles, Laura provides family therapy and family dynamics work. She focuses on relational issues in her sessions, and brings a comprehensive understanding of the factors that create change, growth, and healing within the family system.

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