St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center - North Campus
- FTC-N Internship Overview
St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center - North Campus (FTC-N) is a Joint Commission accredited 75-bed minimum-security forensic psychiatric hospital for adult inpatients in the Eastern Region of Missouri. Serving a large area of the state, FTC-N treats individuals from a highly diverse catchment area that includes rural, urban and suburban populations. FTC-N is home to the outpatient Forensic Evaluation Services Program and the inpatient Competency Restoration Program, which serves the courts in the Eastern Region of Missouri by providing forensic evaluations and treatment of defendants who have been adjudicated incompetent to proceed.
The Forensic Evaluation Services Program consists of Certified Forensic Examiners that conduct pretrial and presentence evaluations of individuals ordered by the criminal courts to undergo mental evaluations. In addition, the Certified Forensic Examiners conduct re-evaluations of patients who were admitted to one of the inpatient units at FTC-N—when the evaluation is due to the court at the end of the 180-day commitment or when the treatment team believes they are ready to be re-evaluated. The Certified Forensic Examiners have been trained to conduct court-related evaluations in a way that bridges the gap between clinical mental health assessments and the legal standards in Missouri law. The forensic evaluations address such issues as competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility (not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect or NGRI), presentence issues, battered spouse syndrome, and violence risk assessment. Intern goals related to forensic evaluation include developing an understanding of the fundamentals of forensic evaluation, developing skills in forensic interviewing, learning to write for the court, and gaining an understanding of the overlap between clinical psychology and the legal system.
The inpatient Competency Restoration Program consists of three, 25-bed treatment units (with a 75-bed total capacity). These units receive defendants found incompetent to stand trial. Defendants who are incompetent to stand trial have a major mental illness, brain injury, intellectual disability, or other condition severe enough to cause them to be unable to understand the legal proceedings against them or to cause them serious impairment in working with the defense attorney. Our job is to provide comprehensive intermediate-term psychiatric care and competency restoration services to prepare the patient to return to court and face the charges against them. Because FTC-N is minimum security, we typically do not have patients with the more violent types of crimes (e.g., first-degree murder, kidnapping, rape, etc.), but our patients do have a wide range of presenting crimes and legal backgrounds. In addition, the range of mental disorders we treat is broad and interns will experience the full spectrum of serious mental illness in this acute psychiatric environment. Patients are committed for up to 180 days for psychiatric treatment and competency restoration interventions. However, we can return them to court sooner if they have stabilized, and we may treat them longer if the case presents such challenges. Treatment on the inpatient unit is informed by the forensic evaluation, particularly with respect to the defendant’s competency related deficits. On the inpatient units, an intern can expect to be providing treatment to individuals with acute symptoms of severe mental illness, as well as individuals with cognitive deficits and personality pathology who have been committed for competency restoration. Interns participate in specialized groups to provide competency education, individual and group interventions to address psychiatric symptoms and other interventions to assist in the return of the defendant to court.
Interns will work in both the outpatient Forensic Evaluation Services Program and the inpatient Competency Restoration Program but can choose a Treatment Focused or Evaluation Focused rotation. An intern selecting the “Evaluation Focused” rotation would participate in two (2) outpatient forensic evaluations per week, while an intern selecting “Treatment Focused” will participate in one (1) outpatient forensic evaluation per week, thus creating a full forensic rotation that provides experience in forensic evaluations and in the restoration of competency to stand trial.
The Psychology Department at FTC-N consists of doctoral level psychologists who represent a variety of theoretical orientations and areas of interest & expertise. Interns will have two supervisors: one from the outpatient Forensic Evaluation Services Program and one from the inpatient Competency Restoration Program, with the balance of supervision depending upon whether the intern selects the Evaluation Focused or Treatment Focused rotation. Focused supervision from other staff is available for individual and group psychotherapy and on assessment cases, ensuring that interns have an opportunity to draw upon the experience of various members of the staff. Interns will receive a minimum of two to three hours of supervision per week, with many opportunities for informal supervision. Guided readings of the professional literature relevant to forensic evaluation, inpatient services and professional development will also be assigned to supplement supervision.
- FTC-N Psychology Faculty
BRIDGET GRAHAM, Psy.D., is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Forensic Examiner, and the Director of Psychology for the St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center (FTC). In addition, Dr. Graham serves as the Internship Coordinator for the St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center North and South Campuses. She received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University, completed her internship within the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium, and completed her postdoctoral residency at the Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Center (SORTS). Dr. Graham is employed as a Certified Forensic Examiner in the Forensic Evaluation Services Program at FTC-North where she conducts court ordered forensic evaluations. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation and assessment, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, personality disorders, psychopathy, expert witness testimony, differential diagnosis, and clinical supervision.
RACHAEL SPRINGMAN, PhD, ABPP, is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Forensic Examiner, and the Director of the Forensic Evaluation Services Department at FTC-North. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, her M.A. in Forensic Psychology from the University of Denver, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. Her internship was jointly sponsored by the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and the Federal Correctional Center in Butner, North Carolina. She became Board Certified in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology in 2017, and she serves as the Director of the Forensic Evaluation Services Department at St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center where she conducts court-ordered criminal forensic evaluations for the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
MELANIE NICHOLS, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Forensic Examiner working in the Forensic Pretrial Program. She received her Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and interned at the St Louis Psychology Internship Consortium. Her post-doctoral residency was completed at Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center, focusing on emotional instability in forensic patients through a Dialectical Behavior Therapy framework. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation and severe mental illness with particular interest in personality disorders, trauma, and battered spouse syndrome.
LAURA APRIL ROSEN, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Forensic Examiner working in the Forensic Evaluation Services program at FTC – North. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University. She completed her predoctoral internship with the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation, malingering, diagnostic accuracy, recidivism risk, and substance use disorders.
TIA HUNZIKER, Psy.D., is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Forensic Examiner working in the Forensic Pretrial Program at the St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center–North Campus (FTC-N). She conducts court-ordered evaluations related to adjudicative competency, criminal responsibility, sexually violent predators (SVPs), battered spouse syndrome, and risk assessment. She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Spalding University in 2023. She completed her internship within the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium, and completed her post-doctoral residency within the Forensic Pretrial Program at FTC-N. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation, psychological assessment, risk assessment, sexual offending, diagnostic accuracy, and report writing.
MICHELLE WOODS, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral resident working with the Forensic Pretrial Program. She received her B.S. in psychology and criminal justice and M.S. in clinical counseling from Central Methodist University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University. She completed her internship with the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation and psychological assessment, severe mental illness, malingering, violence risk, and trauma.DEBRA A. LUECHTEFELD, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and certified Health Service Provider, is the Assistant Director of Psychology as well as the Program Director for the Competency Restoration Program at St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center (housed at the North Campus). She has extensive experience working with severely mentally ill adults. Her clinical interests include Schizophrenia and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, forensics, personality disorders and group therapy.
ALYSSA GRETAK, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who works as a unit psychologist and team lead for the Competency Restoration Program at St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center - North. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, her M.A. in Psychology, with a clinical concentration, from the University of Dayton, and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from East Tennessee State University. She completed her internship through the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium. Clinical interests comprise of forensic populations, including those who have committed sex offenses, severe and persistent mental illness, reentry efforts, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and assessment.
BRITTANY ZIMMERMAN CANDELET, PsyD., is a Resident Psychologist for the 3West unit in the Competency Restoration Program at FTC-N. She received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2015, her MA in Professional Psychology from William James College in 2019, and PsyD in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Forensic Psychology from William James College in 2023. She completed her doctoral internship at the Arkansas State Hospital/Division of Aging, Adult & Behavioral Health Services in 2023, where she honed her skills in forensic evaluations (competency and criminal responsibility), and inpatient psychological assessment and treatment for court-ordered adults with serious mental illness, as well as adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors. Currently, she is completing her post-doctoral residency at FTC-N, where she provides individual therapy, group therapy and competency restoration services, and conducts psychological assessments for a variety of presentations. Her clinical interests include competency restoration, the application of DBT and evidenced based trauma treatment within forensic populations, and comprehensive psychological assessment. Her other professional interests include personality disorders, CBT for psychosis, evidenced based treatment for adolescents who engage in sexually abusive behaviors, and juror bias within capital sentencing trials.
St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center - South Campus
- FTC-S Internship Overview
St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center – South Campus, under various names, has served the public since 1869. It is a TJC (The Joint Commission) accredited, inpatient psychiatric facility operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. The facility currently has 180 beds divided into four 25-bed wards and ten 8-bed residential cottages. We provide inpatient psychiatric and psychosocial rehabilitation services to adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses and Axis II disorders from the urban, suburban, and rural areas of eastern Missouri. Most clients have been adjudicated not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect (NGRI) while many others failed to regain competence to stand trial for charges against them, or permanently incompetent to stand trial (PIST).
Interns rotating at Forensic Treatment Center - South learn to identify and adapt realistic treatment goals when treatment is mandated. Treatment is focused on rehabilitation and reintegration without recidivism. Interns will receive training in the Department of Mental Health’s Integrated Risk Assessment (IRA) and will have opportunities to complete risk assessments and traditional psychological assessments during their rotation. In addition, interns will have a caseload of individual therapy clients and will participate in multiple therapy groups. In addition, interns participate in multidisciplinary treatment team meetings and will learn to develop treatment plans built from case conceptualizations in consideration of the client’s individual treatment goals and potential obstacles to reaching these goals.
The Psychology Department consists of three licensed psychologists and one postdoctoral resident psychologist who have varying interests and backgrounds. We are active participants in the ongoing development of treatment and treatment programs and have leadership roles in the units we serve. Supervision at FTC-South is intense and plentiful, with scheduled supervision and frequent informal opportunities for supervision and discussion. In supervision, you can expect discussion of the treatment of reluctant and resistant clients, maintaining professional boundaries, and issues in professional development as you make the change from student to professional practitioner. Primary supervisors for this rotation are available in the Forensic Responsibility Program, New Outlook Program, and Transitional Rehabilitation Program. Other learning, treatment, and assessment opportunities are available with psychologists, and occasionally other professionals, in other programs, based upon the needs and interests of the intern.
- Forensic Responsibility Program (FRP)
The Forensic Responsibility Program provides services, using cognitive behavioral approaches, for clients with a primary psychiatric disorder (usually schizophrenia), a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, and a history of substance use disorders. Many of the clients are sex offenders. The program uses a Risk-Need-Responsivity model, as well as the Good Lives Model approach to address client treatment needs in a way that manages risk and prepares clients to progress through treatment with a goal of reintegration into the community. The intern will also learn about standard measures of risk for violence, sexual reoffending, and general reoffending and their application in treatment and discharge planning.
- New Outlook Program
The New Outlook Program strives to prepare clients to live meaningful lives through skillful delivery of evidence-based and individualized treatment strategies. Clients present with a wide range of diagnoses and clinical presentations, including serious mental illnesses, mood disorders, personality disorders, and suicidal and self-injurious behaviors. Empirically supported treatment approaches are utilized with cognitive behavioral interventions being the most common. Treatment modalities may include, but are not limited to, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Enhancement Therapy, Responsibility Therapy, and Positive Behavior Support (PBS).
- Transitional Rehabilitation Program
The Transitional Rehabilitation Program strives to prepare clients for release and for safe, satisfying, and meaningful participation in the community. Clients present with serious psychiatric illnesses and are treated using a client-centered approach largely employing Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), Motivational Interviewing, and Psychiatric Rehabilitation models. In addition, clients receive individualized psychoeducation targeting the legal matters that often precede admission. A primary focus is placed on relapse prevention planning through a range of group, individual, and treatment team focused interventions.
- Forensic Responsibility Program (FRP)
- FTC-S Psychology Faculty
LILY RAYMOND, Ph.D., is a licensed Psychologist and works with the Transitional Rehabilitation Program. She completed her B.A. from Notre Dame in 1984 and her Ph.D. from the State University of New York-Albany in 1991. She completed her internship here during the first year of the consortium model and was the first Post-Doctoral Fellow in Forensic Psychology at St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center. Her clinical interests and activities include risk assessment for violent and dangerous behavior, providing treatment focused on prevention of future violence and mental illness management and recovery, as well as chairing the facility’s Forensic Review Committee. She provides individual and group therapy to forensic clients with varying needs, diagnoses, levels of functioning, and criminal histories. She has a passion for racial equity generally and in mental health specifically, chairing the FTC Cultural Competence (CCaRE) Council and is a member of the steering committee for the statewide DMH Mental Health Equity & Inclusion Alliance (MHEIA).
MONIQUE A. MAXEY, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist for the Forensic Responsibility Program at the FTC-South Campus. She received her B.S. in Clinical Psychology from Southeast Missouri State University, and her MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology. She completed her internship at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology in Boston, MA with rotations at Bridgewater State Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Dr. Maxey completed her post-doctoral psychology residency at FTC-South. Her clinical interests include forensic evaluation and assessment, personality disorders, impact of incarceration on the family, juvenile offenders, cultural competency, and racial/ethnic disparities within forensic settings.
CARRIE LEWIS, Psy.D., is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Professional Counselor working in the New Outlook Program at St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center- South (FTC- South). She received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Indiana State University and completed her internship through the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium. In addition to her work at FTC-South, she maintains a small caseload through her private practice. She utilizes a range of therapeutic approaches including Dialectical Behavior Therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and interpersonal therapy. Her clinical interests include personality disorders, trauma, somatic disorders, differential diagnosis, and clinical supervision.
MELISA MARTINEZ, Ph.D., is a Psychology Post- Doctoral Resident and works with the Transitional Rehabilitation Program. She earned her B.A. in Psychology and M.A in Experimental Psychology from St. John’s University, as well as her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Auburn University. Her internship was completed at Southern Illinois University- Carbondale, Counseling and Psychological Services, focusing on community outreach, substance misuse treatment, and multidisciplinary treatment. Her clinical and research interests include group therapy, complex and racial trauma, multicultural competency, diagnostic accuracy, and clinical supervision and training.