Mental Health Providers

Jeanne Stanford, PhD

Director, Mental Health Services and Psychologist
California School of Professional Psychology LA, PhD
Bard College, BA, Psychology

Professional Experience
Dr. Stanford brings a wealth of experience to UCSF, after serving the campus communities at UCLA and UCSB, including 12 years as director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at UCSB. Her work includes participation in initiatives across the UC system to understand the mental health needs of campus learners, promoting progressive and responsive services at our campus counseling centers with the goal of making our counseling centers a source of health and academic support where all, not only are welcome, but feel welcome. Her work includes initiatives to identify and eliminate barriers which inhibit help-seeking behavior of underrepresented groups from utilizing counseling services. She is an advocate for cultural competency, inclusion and social justice in academia as well as in mental health and wellbeing.

Special Areas of Focus
Dr. Stanford has special expertise working with students of color, first generation students, LGBTI students and students who have experienced trauma and interpersonal violence in its many forms. Dr. Stanford strives to provide emotional support as well as psychological growth for her clients. She has a personal and direct approach and works from a strength based perspective.

Justin T. Gibson, PhD

Clinical Director, Mental Health Services and Psychologist
UC Berkeley, Predoctoral Internship and Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychology
University at Albany, NY, Counseling Psychology, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Social and Behavioral Sciences, BS

Professional Experience
Dr. Gibson joined UCSF Student Health and Counseling Services in 2017 after working for more than 12 years in student counseling, community mental health, behavioral health and neuropsychological rehabilitation settings.

Dr. Gibson engages in an integrative counseling approach tailoring his style to the unique and specific needs of the individual, commonly incorporating humanistic, cognitive behavioral, interpersonal neurobiology and multicultural perspectives. He is particularly interested in minority mental health emphasizing the​ reduction of stigma and barriers to help-seeking.

Dr. Gibson has also run a number of skills and therapy groups including Healthy Relationships, Stress Management, Health & Wellness, Life Skills, Interpersonal Process, LGBTQ support groups, Gay Men of Color Groups, and various other Men's Groups throughout his career.

Alexandra Thurston, PsyD

Psychologist
UC Berkeley, Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychology
California State University, Long Beach, Pre-doctoral Internship in Psychology

PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium, Clinical Psychology, PsyD
Scripps College, Psychology, BA

Professional Experience
Dr. Thurston has trained in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, outpatient psychiatry clinics, and various university counseling centers. She approaches counseling from a relational perspective, and integrates principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and mindfulness and self-compassion depending on each client’s needs. Dr. Thurston works collaboratively with students to address personal and professional goals, find deeper connection and fulfilment, and enhance well-being.

Special Area of Focus
Multiculturally sensitive therapy, mindfulness, anxiety and stress management, identity development, adjustment, family of origin issues, working with biracial/multiracial students, Asian American mental health, relationships, women’s issues, and group therapy.

Anja Bircher, PsyD

Psychologist
SF VA Healthcare System, Postdoctoral Fellowship in Interprofessional LGBT Healthcare Psychology
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital, Predoctoral Internship in Primary Care Behavioral Health

AIU California School of Profession Psychology SF, Clinical Psychology, PsyD
California State University Long Beach, Film and Video Production, BA

Professional Experience
Dr. Bircher has worked in hospital, community primary care, and outpatient mental health settings, including SF VA, Lyon-Martin Health Services, and SF Stress and Anxiety Center. They use an integrative approach in order to best meet the needs of the individuals they work with and their specific concerns. They draw primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as well as mindfulness, Dialectal Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. Their practice is attuned to aspects of identity, guided by each individual's values, informed by social justice within a strength-based and collaborative approach. They are passionate about supporting people in coping, adapting, and engaging with changes in life.

Special Area of Focus
Life transitions, trauma, transgender identities, sexual identities, sexual concerns (including and affirming of consensual kink), relationships (including polyamory, nonmonogamy, and monogamy), addressing internalized oppression (racism, ableism, etc.), and chronic illness/pain.

Liliana Campos Ramales, PsyD

Psychologist
UC Davis, Pre-doctoral Internship in Health Psychology

University of San Francisco, Clinical Psychology, PsyD
Long Beach State University, Psychology, BA

Professional Experience
Dr. Campos’ approach to understanding mental health wellness is to strengthen the existing resilience of individuals from a social justice lens. Dr. Campos believes that individual and community wellness are deeply connected and can be available to us when we create and nurture empowering, radical, and liberating narratives. She aims to work in collaboration with people in a supportive, warm, and welcoming manner.

Dr. Campos is a generalist counseling psychologist inspired by Liberation Psychology. This means she aims to understand the impact of sociopolitical factors on health and focuses on your strengths and goals to help you cocreate healing and wellness. Dr. Campos is Latina-identified and draws from critical race theory, decolonial thought, activism, and community organizing to explore the intersection of wellness, healing for self and community transformation.

Special Area of Focus
Decolonial healing, racial trauma, first generation college students, immigrant, undocumented, and international students, activism, and community organizing. Clinical and research area of interest engaging in ancestral healing practices to address impact of racial trauma and colonial trauma with an emphasis in exploring impact of activism among immigrant, refugee, undocumented, students of color.

Aparna Atluru, MD, MBA

Psychiatrist
Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
The University of Texas Southwestern, Adult Psychiatry Residency
Harvard Business School, MBA
Texas Tech Foster School of Medicine, MD
The University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor’s degrees

Professional Experience
Dr. Atluru has trained and worked in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient settings, school mental health centers, the VA, and the psychiatric ER. She approaches psychiatry from a holistic perspective and believes there are numerous elements that go into one’s wellbeing.

Special Areas of Interest
Dr. Atluru’s areas of special interest are medical education, psychodynamic and interpersonal psychotherapy, Asian American mental health, and existential depression & anxiety in high performing individuals.

Laurie A. Richer, DO

Psychiatrist
Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
USC Institute of Psychiatry, Law and Behavioral Science, Forensic Fellowship
LA County/University of Southern California Medical Center, Adult Psychiatry Residency
Medical Center of Philadelphia, Internship
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO
Providence College/University of Rhode Island, BS, Biology, BA, Psychology

Professional Experience
Dr. Richer has trained and worked in both inpatient and outpatient acute-care settings with a focus on crisis stabilization within community hospital psychiatric emergency rooms. Dr. Richer brings expertise in trauma informed care and served as Medical Director of the UCSF Trauma Recovery Center from 2006 to 2019. As a Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF School of Medicine, she has been an educator and provided clinical supervision to medical students, nurse practitioners and residents.

She brings a holistic approach to the practice of psychiatry and has significant experience in the assessment and treatment of all psychiatric disorders and since 2019 has focused on addressing the needs of adult, student populations.

Special Areas of Interest
Dr. Richer’s areas of special interest include integrative approaches to healthcare, medical education, psychiatry as it interfaces with the law, the assessment and treatment of anxiety, mood and trauma-related disorders.

Jose “Errol” Feria, M.A., LMFT

Clinical Case Manager
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (California and Oregon)

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco, CA, Masters in Counseling Psychology with emphasis on Somatic Psychotherapy
University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines, B.S., Engineering

Professional Experience
Errol provided mental health services in colleges and high school clinical settings, community mental health, and non-profit organizations for 8 years before he joined UCSF Student Health and Counseling Services in 2021. Prior to this, he had a private practice in massage therapy incorporating East-West traditions, meditation, yoga, and other holistic approaches. He draws his work from a social justice lens and a body-mind-spirit perspective from which he collaborates with his clients about important existential, inter-personal and environmental questions. Errol believes in the potential of all people, regardless of age, race, culture, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic class, and abilities, and with a little guidance, one can choose a path to a successful and fulfilling life.

Special Area of Focus
Somatic Body-Based Therapy, Sensorimotor-inspired psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), trauma-informed counseling, cultural humility informed practice, mindfulness, anxiety and stress management, PTSD recovery, attachment and developmental injuries, “parts work” model, psychoeducation, and outreach. As a bi-lingual Filipinx/a/o, LGBTQ+, First Gen, and US Navy Vet, he welcomes everyone who presents with multiple intersecting identities and needs.

Cynthia Tawasha Diwan, M.A., LMFT

Clinical Coordinator
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), San Francisco, CA, Masters in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on Expressive Arts Therapy
San Francisco State University, San Francisco CA, B.A., Urban Studies

Professional Experience
Cynthia has a background of working in community mental health and acute psychiatry. She joined UCSF Student Health in 2023 after working at Langley Porter Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs for 8 years, where she provided individual therapy, and led groups in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Cynthia takes a person-centered approach, and provides evidence-based, trauma-informed care. She enjoys helping people move in the direction of their values, make sense of ambivalence, and tolerate living in the question. Cynthia’s approach is culturally sensitive, compassionate, and at times, directive. Her goal is to help those she works with become more effective in their lives and to simply feel better.

Special Area of Focus
Include anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, mood disorders, racial identity, multicultural identity, women’s issues, grief, life transitions, parenting, coping skills, mindfulness, self-compassion, infusing DBT skills groups with expressive arts.

Winifred "Winnie" Wu, LCSW

Clinical Social Worker
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (California and New York)

New York University (NYU), New York, NY, Masters in Social Work
CUNY Queens College, Queens, NY, BA Psychology

Professional Experience
Winnie joined Student Health and Counseling Services in 2023 after working with patients living with and beyond cancer at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has extensive experience in working with clients coping with anxiety, self-esteem, relationship issues, life transitions, grief and loss, terminal illness and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). She has a certification in working with individuals and caregivers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, and is yoga teacher certified. Winnie uses a strengths-based and client-centered approach with cultural sensitivity, often using a mind-body approach with an intention to provide the environment, guidance and support needed towards personal growth and empowerment.

Special Area of Focus
Grief and loss, terminal illness, mindfulness, anxiety, life transitions, relationship issues, coping skills, Asian American mental health, students of color.