Meet Our Researchers & CTH Consultants

  • A smiling woman with long curly blonde hair, wearing a light purple sweater, indoors with blue LED strip lights and a red lamp in the background.

    Deanna Linville, PhD., LMFT

    Executive & Clinical Director

    Deanna has almost twenty years of experience consulting with organizations and teams to optimize system-level functioning and design studies to evaluate effectiveness and that provide answers to pressing research questions.

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  • Portrait of a smiling Black woman with long black hair, wearing a white blouse with black accents, against a plain light background.

    Aja Johnson, M.S.

    Aja is a former college athlete, now dedicated mental health professional with a mission to support athletes, teams, and performers of all levels.

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  • A woman with shoulder-length gray hair, smiling, sitting on a dark-colored couch, wearing a white blouse and a dangling earring.

    Kristi Harrison, Ph.D., LMFT

    Kristi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (CO, MI) with master’s and doctoral degrees in human development. She brings knowledge and experience in the areas of program evaluation, adult learning theory and instructional design, and organizational equity and cultural responsiveness, in addition to the psychology of climate change.

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  • A woman with short brown hair, wearing glasses, a dark green blazer, and a black top, smiling outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Christy Sheerin, LCSW

    Christina (Christy) Sheerin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has worked in a variety of settings including foster care and child welfare, led school-based intervention programs, and provided crisis response to people experiencing homelessness.

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  • A smiling man with gray hair and a dark shirt outdoors.

    Joseph Arpaia, MD

    Dr. Joseph Arpaia is a psychiatrist and educator who integrates medical treatment, therapy, and mind-body practices to help people heal, grow, and build resilience. With over 30 years of experience in private practice, consulting, and teaching, he has worked with executives, healthcare workers, first responders, and law enforcement while also publishing in both scientific and popular outlets.

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  • A young woman with brown hair wearing hoop earrings and a black jacket, standing outdoors with blurred trees and sky in the background.

    Hannah Salbador

    Research Assisstant

    Hannah is a research assistant at the Center for Transformative Healing. They graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Oregon in March, 2022.

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  • A young woman with curly hair and blue eyes posing outdoors in front of a green vintage truck, wearing a white t-shirt and denim overalls.

    Claire Sheerin

    Research Assistant

    Claire Sheerin is a 3rd year student at the University of San Diego where she is studying Psychology and French. She is currently a research assistant at USD as well as CTH.

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