OCD Program

Arie Winograd, MA, LMFT, received his undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University and completed his graduate studies at Pepperdine University.

Arie has spent his career treating body image disturbances. He initiated the first Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) study at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and went on to become the founder and director of the Los Angeles Body Dysmorphic Disorder & Body Image Clinic.

Arie authored the book "Face to Face with Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Psychotherapy and Clinical Insights,” and co-authored several academic publications on BDD. He has given numerous lectures on BDD and body image disturbances, both nationally and internationally.  

Arie also has six years of clinical experience at the UCLA Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program.

At Camden Center, Arie provides consultations and individual and group psychotherapy to patients with various types of body image disturbances.

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Jennifer Wittert, PsyD, received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with honors from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She earned her Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology, graduating summa cum laude, from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.

Dr. Wittert completed her training and internship at the California State University, Northridge Community Counseling Center, the University of California, Los Angeles Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program, and Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health West Valley Mental Health Center and Valley Coordinated Children's Services.

During this time, she also worked as an infant exposure assessor for a CDC study on Autism disorders at various local Kaiser Permanente Hospitals. Dr. Wittert earned her post-doc hours by working as a Registered Psychological Assistant for The Conway Agency for Children and Families with Special Needs.

Dr. Wittert has extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), positive psychology, Exposure Response Prevention, relaxation techniques, and Applied Behavior Analysis.

At Camden Center, Dr. Wittert's clinical work focuses on treating patients using CBT, DBT, and reintegration therapy in order to assist them with distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, cognitive restructuring, and planning and preparing for their transition into life after treatment. She leads various groups, including Primary Process, Building Resilience, Behavioral Activation, CBT, and Assertiveness.

Dr. Ali R. Ghassemi, licensed clinical psychologist, received his Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles, with an emphasis on individual and family therapy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Northridge.

Dr. Ghassemi’s post-doctoral training focused on providing psychological assessment and intervention to inner-city children and adolescents, as well as counseling and assessment for college students.

He has more than 25 years of experience in conducting psychological testing and assessments, including cognitive assessments, brief and comprehensive neuropsychological testing, personality and emotional assessments, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) evaluations, learning disability assessments, pre-surgical evaluations, and medical-legal evaluations for workers’ comp and personal injury cases.

Dr. Ghassemi is also a clinician at the Los Angeles Body Dysmorphic Disorder & Body Image Clinic, where he conducts assessments and provides treatment.

At Camden Center, Dr. Ghassemi conducts psychological testing for patients.

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Kristen Kochamba, PsyD, received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine, and a Doctor of Psychology from the APA-accredited Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California.

Dr. Kochamba is certified in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. She is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Attachment-Focused Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (AF-EMDR).

Dr. Kochamba served as chief extern in the University of California, Los Angeles Anxiety Disorders Program. Her research on effective mindfulness-based treatment earned her the award for Outstanding Dissertation in her graduating class.

She completed an APA-accredited internship at Loma Linda University, School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California, where she treated individuals with life-threatening illnesses. Dr. Kochamba completed a fellowship at CBT California/Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, where she was trained in severe emotion dysregulation by leading experts in DBT.

At Camden Center, Dr. Kochamba provides comprehensive DBT and a range of individual evidence-based treatment, including CBT, ERP, and ACT.