Meet the INSPIRE Training Program Team

Kate Hardy is a California Licensed Psychologist who has specialized in working with individuals with psychosis for over 20 years in both research and clinical settings. Dr. Hardy received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. She has worked in specialist early psychosis services in both the UK and the US, including UCSF’s Prodrome Assessment Research and Treatment (PART) program, where she completed her post-doctoral fellowship, and as Clinical Director for the Prevention and Recovery from Early Psychosis (PREP) program. Dr. Hardy is the co-director for the INSPIRE clinic at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Stanford University and has significant experience in providing CBTp to individuals with early psychosis, and those at risk of developing psychosis, in both individual and group settings and integration of this clinical intervention to broader systems and staff teams. Dr. Hardy is also involved in the implementation of national strategies to increase dissemination of early psychosis models with the aim of bringing these cutting edge treatments to a broader population and is the co-editor of the book Intervening Early: A team approach. Dr. Hardy is also the director of INSPIRE training and within this role has led multiple trainings and workshops in CBTp to a wide variety of audiences including community clinicians, psychiatrists, and families, and provides ongoing supervision and consultation in this approach. INSPIRE training offers training in evidence based interventions for psychosis to providers across diverse settings. In 2024 Dr. Hardy became president elect for IEPA: Intervening Early in Mental Health.

Dr. Sripriya (Priya) Chari is a CA Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor working across the INSPIRE, PTSD and centerspace Clinics at Stanford. Dr. Chari's clinical interests lie in early intervention and providing evidence-based treatments for trauma and psychosis, as well as culturally-attuned services to people from the South Asian diaspora. She is involved in teaching undergraduates (IntroSem on Destigmatizing Psychosis) as well as graduate students (Clinical Perspectives on Trauma Psychology), as well as supervising postdoctoral fellows and practicum students. In addition, she leads outreach efforts into the local South Asian community with a view to educating people about mental health.

Dr. Eisen is a Clinical Associate Professor and CA Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She works with the INSPIRE clinic at Stanford and is the Inpatient Director of Psychological Services for the acute inpatient psychiatric units at Stanford Hospital. Her research and clinical interest center on therapeutic interventions that support recovery for individuals living with serious mental illness, in particular for individuals experiencing psychosis. Dr. Eisen received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, and her PhD from the University of Connecticut, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University. She is trained in CBT for psychosis (CBTp) and provides training and consultation in CBTp and CBTp informed skills to community-based clinicians, graduate students, medical students and residents, to support the use of recovery-oriented psychosocial interventions with individuals experiencing psychosis.

Dr. Nichole Olson is a Clinical Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist in the INSPIRE Clinic and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program at Stanford. Dr. Olson completed her masters and doctorate degrees at Northwestern University in Chicago and finished her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Olson specializes in evidence-based, recovery-oriented care for individuals with psychosis, providing both individual and group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) to adults within the INSPIRE Clinic. In addition, Dr. Olson leads trainings and ongoing consultation for providers learning to implement CBTp. As a clinician and Assistant Director of Stanford’s DBT program, Dr. Olson also provides individual DBT treatment for those with emotion regulation difficulties.

Grace Lee, Ph.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor and a CA Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lee specializes in evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive care for individuals presenting with psychosis and post-traumatic stress. She is currently providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), and Written Exposure Therapy (WET) within the INSPIRE Clinic and PTSD Clinic. She also leads national and international trainings in CBTp to providers supporting individuals with psychosis.

Dr. Connor Adams (she/they) is a Clinical Associate Professor who received her doctorate in psychology from the George Washington University and completed her internship training at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance. Her clinical and research interests center on therapeutic interventions that support recovery for individuals living with serious mental illness. Dr. Adams grounds her work in a psychodynamic perspective, assisting individuals in understanding why they think, feel, and behave the way they do, in order to increase agency and choice. Dr. Adams has specialized training in comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy and provides treatment for individuals with emotion regulation difficulties. She also has specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp). She is broadly interested in increasing access to person-centered and recovery-oriented care.

Melanie Lean, Clin.Psych.D. is a Californian licensed clinical psychologist, Clinical Assistant Professor, and assistant director of research in the INSPIRE early psychosis clinic, Stanford University School of Medicine. She provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) within the recovery oriented and trauma informed framework of the INSPIRE clinic. Dr Lean received her doctorate from University College London, UK and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. She is a mixed methods researcher, with over 15 years’ experience in mental health research, working across a range of settings with a focus on severe and enduring mental illness and ways to improve service provision for this population. She has specialized knowledge in self-management and peer support interventions for people with psychosis and has experience working alongside service user researchers in the evaluation and delivery of study interventions. Dr Lean is also trained in psychedelic assisted therapy and works on a range of clinical trials investigating psilocybin for treatment resistant depression.

Dr. Altamirano is a Clinical Psychologist at Stanford University’s INSPIRE Training Program, specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp). She works in both outpatient and inpatient settings, with primary clinical appointments at the INSPIRE Clinic, which focuses on early psychosis, and ALMA Clinic, which serves Spanish-speaking individuals of Latin American background experiencing anxiety and mood disorders. As a native Spanish speaker, Dr. Altamirano blends her expertise in psychotic-spectrum disorders with an understanding of the cultural influences shaping Latinx/a/o clinical presentations. Dr. Altamirano's main research and clinical interests center on cultural adaptations to psychosocial treatments for psychotic-spectrum disorders. As part of the EPI-CAL initiative, she serves as a CBTp trainer for community clinicians and provides ongoing consultation, contributing to the development of a network of early psychosis programs across California. Through Stanford’s INSPIRE Training Program, she also delivers CBTp training and consultation that extends beyond California. Dr. Altamirano is a dedicated educator and mentor. She co-teaches the undergraduate course "Destigmatizing Psychosis: I Thought I Heard My Name," and is working to expand this course into community and graduate student settings. She serves as an academic mentor and postdoctoral supervisor within the Stanford Clinical Psychology Fellowship program, and advises graduate students in the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. She additionally serves as the Chair of the Psychosis and Schizophrenia Spectrum Special Interest Group (PASS SIG) at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and as the co-chair of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion team at the North America CBTp Network. Reflecting her commitment to educational equity, Dr. Altamirano is also a Board member of the South County California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), where she supports efforts to promote higher education opportunities for underserved students—a mission informed by her own experience navigating the K-12 to higher education pipeline as a Cal-SOAP alumna. Her dedication to expanding access extends internationally: she co-taught a version of the "Destigmatizing Psychosis" course in Mexico, mentors visiting international research interns, and is actively working to develop CBTp training in Mexico, reflecting her commitment to expanding culturally responsive, evidence-based mental health care across borders. Students and colleagues interested in these efforts are encouraged to reach out.

Dr. Helen Wood (she/her) is a clinical psychologist licensed in Vermont and Pennsylvania. She works for INSPIRE training and is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Vermont, Department of Psychological Science. Dr. Wood was previously the psychologist for outpatient psychosis services, including a first-episode psychosis service, at an academic medical center in southwest Pennsylvania, where she led CBTp implementation. She has worked as program director for an adult psychosis inpatient unit, as well as in outpatient services in the US and in the UK’s National Health Service. She co-chairs the North American CBTp Network’s early psychosis working group. Dr. Wood values collaboration with people bringing lived experience knowledge to clinical, training, and research contexts. Dr. Wood’s clinical and research interests focus on understanding the experience of psychosis and improving services and/or other forms of support. Dr. Wood has a BA Hons in History, Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Experimental Psychology from the University of Sussex, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Canterbury Christ Church University, all in the UK.

Dr Heriot-Maitland is a clinical psychologist, trainer, researcher, and author. He is an international expert in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and specifically the application of CFT for voice-hearing, trauma, and for people with psychosis and complex needs. Dr Heriot-Maitland is an experienced CFT therapist himself, and for the last 10 years has been leading the international development, research, and training of CFT for psychosis. His clinical research in this area has been mainly carried out at King’s College London and University of Glasgow, supported by funding from the UK Medical Research Council. Dr Heriot-Maitland has published extensively on the theory and application of CFT in academic journals, produced videos and training materials, and has co-authored a self-help book on CFT for voice-hearers (Routledge, 2022). He has also developed novel and innovative interventions, based on CFT, for applications in different sectors (e.g., healthcare, social care, and education). Since 2012, he has been co-director of a UK organisation, Balanced Minds, which specialises in providing CFT therapy and resources for the general public and CFT training and supervision for professionals. He has been delivering training sessions at Stanford since 2019, and has held an Adjunct Lecturer appointment with the university since 2022.

Poppy Brown (she/her) completed both her Ph.D. in Psychiatry and training to become a Clinical Psychologist (D.Clin.Psych) at the University of Oxford, UK before joining the INSPIRE Clinic at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr Brown’s research and clinical work focusses on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and compassion focussed therapy (CFT) for individuals experiencing psychosis. Her PhD was in the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis team, supervised by Prof Daniel Freeman and Prof Felicity Waite and her DClinPsych was with the Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Research. Alongside her research and clinical work, she provides CBTp expertise and consultancy within the statewide EPI-CAL technical assistance project, training within the INSPIRE clinic's CBTp training division, and supervises a number of current trainee clinical psychologist research projects.

I have worked with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences since April 2009, starting as an Administrative Associate supporting faculty in the Division of ​Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences. In my new role I am supporting the department’s goal in developing a dedicated, self-sustaining educational and training program akin to clinical and research finance units. As one of my first charges in this role, I am learning what members in the department are currently doing to build upon their successes and create a pathway for other colleagues to do the same.

Aline joined Stanford in January 2023 to support Dr. Kate Hardy and the INSPIRE Team’s training initiatives. In her role, she oversees all logistical coordination for key educational programs, including the Master Clinician Series, CBTp, CFTp, EPI Plus, and other intensive workshops. Before joining Stanford, she worked in training and development at Google and Genentech, and previously held several staffing and recruiting positions at Google and TIBCO Software. Born and raised in Brazil, Aline came to California to improve her English—and never left. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MBA from Universidade Estácio de Sá. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her son, running with friends, and baking Brazilian desserts.

Nybelle Caruso has been working as a peer support specialist and advocating in mental health spaces since 2015. Currently, Nybelle holds a position as Peer Program Manager at ColumbiaCare services in Oregon. Nybelle strives to elevate the voices of lived experience at all levels of the mental health system. Nybelle is an experienced presenter and public speaker on peer support and mental health topics and has been a trainer in Intentional Peer Support since 2018. Following her lived experience with altered states, intimate partner violence, generational trauma, and navigating ADHD, Nybelle aspires to share her experiences with others so they know they are not alone. In addition to her peer work, she enjoys playing piano, video games, and creating galaxy paintings.

Jennifer Gerlach, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in southern Illinois and author of 'The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook: Tools from ACT, DBT, and Recovery-Oriented CBT.' She enjoys learning and sharing with others through public speaking and training. She carries a hope-filled, curious, and compassionate stance towards mental health and neurodiversity, informed by her own lived experiences. She loves listening to birds and watching the squirrels play from her hammock. 

Carlos A. Larrauri, MSN, serves on the National Alliance on Mental Illness Board of Directors. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at 23 years of age, access to affordable health care, community-based treatments, and early intervention afforded him the best opportunity for recovery. 

Mr. Larrauri is board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and formerly lectured at the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.

Mr. Larrauri is pursuing a JD/MPA at the University of Michigan Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, where he is a Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. He aspires to interface clinical practice, health policy, and research to reduce health inequities for people living with mental illness

Shannon Pagdon (she/they) is a joint MSW/doctoral student with the University of Pittsburgh. Shannon is a nationally certified peer specialist and an individual living with psychosis. Shannon is the co-creator of the Outside the Box project and was recently elected as IEPA's vice president of lived experience research. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys baking, reading, hiking, playing video games, and spending time with their dog, Scout!