Matthew recently joined the PIER team as a research coordinator. In May of 2007, he graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in psychology. While at USM, he worked at Spring Harbor Hospital as a psychiatric technician on the adult and adolescent units. He also worked as a Research Associate and Teacher’s Assistant for the Psychology Department at the University of Southern Maine.

Matthew Bastide, B.A.
Research Coordinator

William L. Cook, Ph.D., is Associate Director of Research of the Department of Psychiatry at Maine Medical Center, where he has had major responsibility for the scientific conduct of research studies within the Department of Psychiatry, including the Employment Intervention Demonstration Project. He holds a Ph.D. in Child Development and Family Relationships and has published numerous research articles about the role of family relationships in the development and course of psychological problems in adolescents. Prior to joining Maine Medical Center, Dr. Cook taught graduate level courses in research methods and statistics for the study of family relationships at the University of Texas at Austin. He also has worked as a family therapist in Alaska and Connecticut. Dr. Cook has conducted research using the Social Relations Model for almost 20 years and is considered the foremost authority on its use with families. His current research on the assessment of family dynamics, conducted in collaboration with Dr. David Kenny, represents the first practical application of the model to clinical practice.

William L. Cook, Ph.D.
Associate Director

Donna Downing, MS, OTR/L received her B.S. and graduate degree in occupational therapy from the University of New Hampshire. She has worked at Maine Medical Center for the Department of Psychiatry in various capacities since 1974, taking a hiatus in the 1980’s to stay home with her two sons. As a staff occupational therapist, her experiences have varied from in-patient work with acutely ill people, to out-patient work in a partial hospital setting, to a research project helping people with chronic mental illnesses find gainful employment. She previously worked on a state-wide initiative designed by William McFarlane, M.D. providing multifamily group training to clinicians from mental health agencies throughout the State of Maine. In December 2000, she joined the PIER Program as team leader and has been fortunate to work with an experienced group of people who are as passionate as she is about identifying and treating young people who are showing early signs of a psychotic illness. Her particular interests as an occupational therapist are cognitive and sensory processing abilities and difficulties, and how they relate to overall functioning.

Donna Downing, MS OTR/L
Deputy Director of Training, National Program Office

Kathy has joined the PIER team as a Data Analyst.  She has worked at Maine Medical Center since 1988.  Prior to joining the research team she worked in the computer room as an Operations Analyst for Information Services.  She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration.

Kathy Huhtala,
Data Analyst

Rebecca Jaynes is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) with nearly 10 years of experience working with families and children with mental illness. Rebecca holds a BA in psychology from Boston University, where she attained Phi Beta Kappa status; and a MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Colorado-Denver, where she received an award as an Outstanding Graduate Student. At the PIER program, Rebecca provides case management to clients and families in the low-risk control group, to ensure that clients’ needs are being met in the community, monitor clients’ symptoms and functioning, and encourage families to remain connected to PIER as they move through the length of the 2-year research program. Rebecca’s work history includes direct work as a mental health case manager and a home-based family therapist, supervision of a Portland-area case management and in-home support program for children, and state-wide consultation for mental health managed care readiness. Rebecca works part-time at PIER so that she can spend her free time at home with her son, Christopher, who was born in February, 2007.

Rebecca Jaynes, LCPC
Care Manager/Outreach Coordinator

Constance comes to PIER with a varied background working primarily with individuals with mental illness over the last 10 years, most recently from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and Behavioral Health Resources.  She received her Masters of Science in Nursing from Simmons College and is a Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner. She specializes in medication management for individuals with psychiatric conditions, as well as psychiatric and medical co-morbid disorders. Constance was a member of the medical staff at Augusta Mental Health Institute in Augusta, Maine for 3 years, providing comprehensive care for the psychiatric inpatient population on the inpatient and forensic units. During her tenure at AMHI, Connie was instrumental in various performance improvement and research projects focusing upon decreasing medication errors, including publication in Psychiatric Services. She has since practiced in outpatient and correctional settings, as well as inpatient and outpatient care for veterans through the VA. Her work with individuals with chronic and persistent mental illness has amplified her commitment to the need for research and treatment in early intervention programs for young people with prodromal or early symptoms of a potential mental illness. Constance is a Past President of the Maine Nurse Practitioner Association, with 7 years of service to the professional organization. Through her MNPA committee work she has been active in disseminating information to her nurse practitioner colleagues and the public regarding public relations, legislation and legislative issues concerning NP practice, and health care issues in general.

Constance W. Jordan,
MSN, ANP
Nurse Practitioner

Sarah Lynch, LCSW, has worked at Maine Medical Center since 2001. At the PIER Program, she is a Research Clinician who provides individual and family counseling and runs multiple family groups. Sarah's clinical experience includes working with young people who have prodromal or early warning symptoms of a possible mental illness as well as adults with chronic mental health conditions. She is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and is a Senior Trainer for Multifamily Psychoeducation Group facilitation. She is also responsible for community outreach and education with a special focus on multicultural accessibility to treatment. Prior to PIER, Sarah worked with adolescents and adults within the Partial Hospital and Assertive Community Treatment teams focusing on functional rehabilitation with insight about symptom and stress management. Sarah received a B.A. from Connecticut College and an MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work. While in New York City, she worked in a school setting with adolescents and in community-based mental health programs providing individual and group counseling.

Sarah Lynch, LCSW
Research Clinician

James H. Maier, M.D. comes to PIER from Sweetser Children’s Services, where he worked primarily with severely troubled young people. He brings to the project over 25 years’ experience in mental health, including a decade of public affairs work with the American Psychiatric Association, in addition to a busy and varied private practice in the community. He attended Amherst College and Tufts Medical School before completing an adult psychiatric residency at Maine Medical Center and a fellowship in child psychiatry at Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic with Dr. Salvador Minuchin, a renowned leader in family therapy. Dr. Maier has been a supervisor of Maine Medical Center residents teaching family therapy from the early days when it was still a subversive discipline. Having a son with severe bipolar disorder (now stable, married, and living in Norway) has sensitized him to the crucial need for a supportive early intervention program for young people and their families.

James H. Maier, M.D.
Psychiatrist

Nel graduated from the University of Southern Maine School of Nursing with a BSN. She has worked in a variety of in-patient and out-patient settings including residential care, medication clinics and in-patient care at Mid Coast and Spring Harbor Hospitals. She has also acted as an independent consultant and educator to other health care organizations and organizations such as Head Start. She was an active member of the Brain Injury Association of Maine for approximately 10 years and a founding member of the Sexual Assault Response Service in a southern Maine community. She also worked as the statewide coordinator of the OBRA program for the former Department of Mental Health. She has worked with people across the entire age spectrum including children and adolescents and with people at all stages of recovery.

Nel Mason, BSN
Psychiatric Nurse

William McFarlane, M.D. is the Director of the Center for Psychiatric Research, Maine Medical Center and Spring Harbor Hospital, the principal investigator of the PIER Project and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry. He was Director of Family Therapy Training for the residency training program and the Director of the Fellowship in Public Psychiatry at Columbia. He has been working with families of the mentally ill, especially in multiple family groups, since his training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Social and Community Psychiatry, from 1970 75. He edited Family Therapy in Schizophrenia, published in 1983. He is a graduate of Earlham College and Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. His main interests are in developing and testing family and social treatments for major mental illnesses and prevention of severe mental illness. He has published more than 40 articles and book chapters, is an Associate Editor of Family Process and Families, Systems and Health and on the Boards of Directors of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and the Association for Clinical Psychosocial Research.

William McFarlane, M.D.
Director

Mary Morris, MSOT, OTR/L, has almost ten years of experience working as an occupational therapist.  After several years of providing occupational therapy evaluations at the PIER Program on a consulting basis, Mary joined the PIER team full time in November 2007.  At PIER, Mary provides functional and cognitive assessments to adolescents and young adults of program participants to identify their strengths and difficulties.  She also provides supportive counseling to individuals and families, facilitates multi-family groups, and does community outreach and education.  Mary’s experience as an occupational therapist includes working with adolescents and adults in both in-patient and out-patient psychiatric settings.  In addition to working at PIER, Mary is an adjunct instructor for the Master of Occupational Therapy program at the University of Southern Maine, where she teaches classes focusing on mental health.  Mary received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University in 1999.

Mary Morris, MSOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist

Debbie Oliver, Administrative Associate II, RWJF National Program Office of the Early Detection and Intervention to Prevent Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). She has worked for the Maine Medical Center in various departments since 1981. The majority of those 25 years was spent in the Department of Psychiatry, specifically with the Outpatient Adult Mental Health Clinic, the adult ACT Program (Assertive Community Treatment), the Psychiatry Residency Program and now the PIER team and National Program Office.

Debbie Oliver,
Administrative Associate

Anita Ruff, MPH, CHES, is the Deputy Director of Administration. Prior to joining PIER, Anita worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a state and regional field assignee. In this capacity, Anita managed the development, implementation and evaluation of Maine's state cancer plan. She also successfully obtained funding for a variety of cancer-related initiatives, including skin cancer prevention, colon cancer detection, and improving quality of life for cancer survivors. Anita also worked with the New England and Mid-Atlantic states on the development and implementation of their state cancer plans and partnerships. Anita has extensive training and experience in facilitation and strategic planning and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Anita received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Tennessee.

Anita Ruff, MPH, CHES
Deputy Director
National Program Office

Mary Verdi, MA, Research Coordinator has been involved with clinical research and assessment of psychotic illness for more than 10 years. Upon completing an MA at the University of South Florida, Mary conducted neurocognitive, psychological and family assessments at UCLA for an investigation of Familial Psychiatric Disorders and Attention in Schizophrenia, primarily working with clients with early onset (younger than 12) psychotic illness. At London, Ontario she continued in this specialized area as the Research Coordinator for the PEPP Program (Prevention and Early Intervention Psychoses Program), working with young adults experiencing a first episode of psychotic illness. Mary has contributed directly to research articles on medication compliance, negative symptoms, and delays in obtaining treatment. The PIER program is extremely fortunate that Mary relocated to Portland, Maine when the NIMH supported clinical trial was begun in May of 2003. The possibility of stopping psychotic illness in it's tracks through early identification and intervention inspires Mary's passion for research efforts toward bringing this hopeful avenue of treatment to mainstream psychiatry.

Mary Verdi, MA
Research Coordinator

Patti White  received her A.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Southern Maine. She began her career as a Recreational Therapist at Pineland Center and also spent time at Pineland as a Mental Health Worker. Patti is the administrative support for the Family Psychoeducation Institute which coordinates trainings across the country in Multi-Family Group sessions. She has been in the MaineHealth Family for 12 years, and comes to us from a primary care practice where she was the Practice Manager for 8 years. The practice was a leader in the community for using evidence-based practice in delivering care to patients with chronic illness, including depression, and was among the first practices to provide group visits for patients with diabetes. She was instrumental in obtaining a grant from the State of Maine for Improving Care for Patients with Hypertension and High Cholesterol in the Primary Care Setting. This grant led to the development of a short video called “Group Visits … Ready, Set, Go!” which earned an award at the 2005 Dartmouth Clinical Microsystem Film Festival for Best Patient Outcomes. The practice was also involved in a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to include patients in the process of improving the care provided to patients with depression. Patti has shared her expertise in the clinical office practice at various conferences including a national conference for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Patti White, AS
Administrative Associate II

Deanna Williams graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a B.A. in Psychology. Before joining the PIER research team in May of 2006, Deanna worked as a Research Associate and Teacher's Assistant for the Psychology Department at the University of Southern Maine. There she conducted research on influential factors of poverty on parental language within dyadic problem-solving. She also explored the role of sex in the evaluation of task performance in preschool children.

Deanna Williams,
Research Coordinator

Nell Wing, M.S. joined Maine Medical Center’s Department of Vocational Services in 2004 as an Employment Specialist IV serving the Anchor Program, a therapeutic, multi-disciplinary Child ACT Team, working primarily with teens and young adults living with developmental disorders and/or mental illness. In 2005, Nell joined the PIER Program assisting clients and their families define and reach their vocational and educational goals through support and connection to resources. After graduating from Colorado Women’s College, in Denver, Colorado with a B.A. in Sociology, Nell worked as a social worker in Taos, New Mexico working with a diverse, tri-cultural population providing and coordinating assistance to families and children. Since moving to Maine, Nell has worked as a Coordinator and Program Developer for greater Portland Community Service organizations designing and teaching therapeutic fitness programs for children and adults. Pursuing an interest in workplace wellness, Nell received a Masters in Adult Education, with a concentration in Staff Development & Training from the University of Southern Maine, interning with the University of Southern Maine Department of Human Resources, assisting people with barriers to employment. Nell is a certified Global Workforce Facilitation Counselor and trained facilitator.

Nell Wing, MS
Employment Specialist

Susan Winslow, RNC, BC, has held several nursing positions in the Department of Psychiatry since beginning at Maine Medical Center in 1990. She has been with the PIER Program since its inception in December of 2000. Susan brings to the program extensive experience in a variety of areas of psychiatric nursing, including day hospital, in patient and out patient treatment services. Although experienced in working with all age groups, she finds it especially rewarding to work with young people and their families. Along with another PIER clinician, Susan pioneered the first psycho educational multi-family group for adolescents and their families in 1997. Other areas of interest include addictive disorders, Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.

Susan Winslow, RNC, LADC
Psychiatric Nurse
PIER Team Leader

Dakotah Woitko graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Prior to joining PIER in May of 2006 Dakotah worked for Affinity behavioral health company. She also worked for the University of Southern Maine Psychology Department doing research in environmental toxicology that looked at the effects of arsenic and flame retardant compounds on development.

Dakotah Woitko,
Data Manager