Our Team

We’re East Texas’ largest and most culturally diverse therapy team. Our focus on the integration of Mind, Body, and Spirit while honoring individual beliefs and practices ensures your counseling experience will be like none you have had before.

Therapists

David Wheeler

LPC

David works with adolescents, adults and couples. He uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy among other techniques in addressing individual needs.

Margaret Thurmond

LPC

Margaret specializes in Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety, anger, depression, trauma and relationship issues.

Martha Carney

LPC

Martha enjoys working with survivors of severe abuse & trauma, addressing concerns such as anxiety, depression, childhood & sexual abuse, abusive relationships, and life transitions. Martha is certified in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Don Neal

LPC

Don enjoys working with older children, adolescents, adults and couples. He primarily uses Person-Centered therapy with clients while integrating concepts from CBT, DBT, existential philosophy and spirituality. In the counseling room, he strives to create an environment in which clients feel understood, supported, and in charge of their own personal health and growth.

Larissa Smith

LCSW

Larissa is a bilingual therapist who works with children, teens and adults to address issues of trauma, grief, depression, anxiety and attachment. She combines treatments like TBRI and EMDR to reduce the impact of difficult experiences and build skills for positive change.

Olivia Bodiford

LPC

Olivia enjoys working with adolescents and adults and uses an eclectic approach to counseling, integrating CBT, Mindfulness, and other body-centered techniques.

Gayla Jacobs McNatt

LPC-S

Gayla is trained in EMDR, and loves working with children, often including play therapies, as well as adolescents and adults on issues like anxiety, depression, anger, grief and parenting challenges.

Katherine Chapman, LPC-S

Team Lead – Child and Adolescent Center of Excellence

Katherine works with children, adolescents, young adults, and families. She partners with clients to address a variety of concerns, including difficulties with mood, behavioral concerns for children and adolescents, relationships, parent/child conflict, challenges faced by LGBTQI+ youth, life change/transition, and the impact of trauma and abuse. Katherine integrates a client centered and trauma informed approach with Solution Focused strategies, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and Narrative Therapy techniques. She also incorporates play based approaches and is trained in Interactive Drawing Therapy (IDT).

Rubyth Tirado

LMSW, Supervised by Brittany Gayetsky, LCSW-S

Rubyth is a bilingual therapist who is Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) trained and HeartMath certified. She specializes in working with children, families, and adults to help decrease unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that are so often caused by trauma. In her work with clients, Rubyth puts special emphasis on increasing positive coping and regulation skills to help ease the burden of suffering and help clients get back to living their fullest lives.

Jasmine Banks

LPC-Associate, Supervised by Katherine Chapman, LPC-S

Jasmine specializes in play therapy and works with children, adolescents, families and adults. With a client-centered and trauma-informed approach, she integrates Solution-Focused, CBT, and client-centered therapy techniques. Jasmine incorporates play-based approaches and has received training in Child Centered Play Therapy (CPT), utilizing creative and expressive methods to engage her clients in a holistic healing process. Her goal is to foster meaningful connections and collaborate with clients to achieve their therapeutic goals. With Jasmine as your counselor, you can expect a compassionate and empowering therapeutic journey, where she will guide you towards positive growth, resilience, and improved mental well-being.”

Support Team

Katie Little

Team Lead – Finance and Administration

Katie manages MCCET’s financial operations, ensuring that the Center works diligently to best utilize its resources and remains in compliance with local, state and federal laws. Katie also provides support to senior leaders, monitoring key data sets for timely decision-making.

Jacob Fowler

Client Services Assistant

Jacob is one of the first friendly voices you will hear when you call us. With a background in helping others, Jacob is ready to listen and walk you through the client onboarding process.

Becca Slate

Client Services

Becca’s calm and caring demeanor will be sure to welcome you to your counseling experience.

Leadership

Chris Taylor

MPA, C.M. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In his role as executive director, Chris ensures that the culture of MCCET is one that attracts and retains a highly skilled and motivated workforce while keeping the Center focused on its mission and vision. Making MCCET a destination for clients is also a primary goal. Chris has worked in senior leadership for over 16 years, most recently as the Executive Director of a local public health agency.

Brittany Gayetsky

LCSW-S, Director of Clinical Operations

Brittany loves providing therapy to adult clients. She works from a psychodynamic perspective and is trained in Hakomi, a mindfulness-centered, somatic therapy. In her supervisory role, she enjoys continually working toward greater excellence in clinical care and helping to create an environment where therapists feel supported to do purposeful, compassionate work.

Lance Bolay

DMin Director of Mission Impact

Lance spends time building relationships with the community and our philanthropic partners, with the goal of ensuring we carry out our mission in ways that benefit the community.

Kissy Stanley

Director, Business and Client Continuity

Kissy leads our Client Services Team, supporting your journey by ensuring scheduling, communication, payment and follow-up activities are as simple as possible.