December 15, 2021
East Hawai'i Family Guidance Center (Hilo)
Geniel.Hernandez-Armstrong@doh.hawaii.gov
Dr. Armstrong is a clinical psychologist and clinical lead at the Hawaii Family Guidance Center in Hilo. She provides supervision to trainees in conducting eligibility assessments, providing therapy, and working with multidisciplinary teams. Dr. Armstrong received her Ph.D. from The University of Montana and completed her undergraduate work at Lewis and Clark College. Dr. Armstrong’s internship and postdoctoral training were completed at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute’s inpatient and day treatment facilities. She also worked for the department of education for the state of Hawaii as a clinical psychologist prior to joining the team at the East Hawaii Family Guidance Center. Her research and clinical interest has centered on children and families who have experienced violence and trauma.
Hawai'i School District (Big Island)
Dr. Katlyn Hale is the Program Director for the Hawai’i Psychology Internship Consortium. She earned her Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Pacific University School of Professional Psychology in Hillsboro, OR. She completed her Predoctoral Internship with HI-PIC at the Department of Education, West Hawaii District, where she was later employed. Since 2014 Dr. Hale has been working with the West Hawaii District on the island of Hawaii providing consultation, psychological evaluation and, conducting individual and group psychotherapy to children ages 4 to 18. Dr. Hale also works part time as an on-call Crisis support worker.
Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility
Dr. Andrea Hiura is the Clinical Lead and site Training Director for the Department of Health’s Family Court Liaison Branch located at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility in Kailua, where she also completed her predoctoral internship through HIPIC. She earned her Psy.D. from the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology in 2015. Dr. Hiura completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hawaii Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy (UH CCBT) and advanced practicum at Tripler Army Medical Center. She has experience in telehealth (assessments and therapy), school based behavioral health, Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Aggression Replacement Training (ART). She is passionate about improving child and family wellbeing in Hawaii, criminal and social justice issues, cultural competency, and psychological assessment.
Hawai'i School District (Big Island)
Dr. Lorri Bolton has worked with in private non-profit and public educational institutions for 24 years as a special education teacher and clinical psychologist. She is passionate about working with public schools to improve the delivery of mental health and special education services to the underserved and multicultural populations. She has also been a lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She taught the Child Behavior Therapy section for more than 8 semesters. Most recently, she and two other colleagues presented Behavior & Well-Being is Everybody’s Responsibility at the 19th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health.
Kauai School District
Dr. Suzuki earned his PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Wright State University after earning a Master of Science degree in Counseling and Counselor Education at Indiana University. Currently at Hawaii K-12 public schools on the island of Kauai, Dr. Suzuki enjoys working with youth and children on their inner journey of discovering self/relational narratives. His therapeutic motto is “Never underestimate the power of listening”. Dr. Suzuki has previously practiced in a variety of settings, including in adult/juvenile corrections, hospitals, a university, and with state programs, and brings this experience to bear in his work and in supervision of interns. In addition to his work in Kauai’s public schools, he is passionate about long distance running.
Kauai School District
Dr. Alex Bivens earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Loyola University Chicago. He has co-authored a number of articles published in behavioral science journals, on topics ranging from personality assessment to depression, substance abuse, and therapist behavior. His professional practice on Kauai focuses on providing optimal mental health services to adolescents in a school-based setting, and being an active participant in the multi-agency service array that serves the needs of abused and at-risk children in Hawaii. He is the Training Director for the Kauai School-Based Behavioral Health Program, and for the HI-PIC Kauai site. Dr. Bivens conducts trainings across the state on topics including child sexual abuse and working with high-risk families. He also serves statewide as an expert witness in child sex assault cases.
Windward School District (Oahu)
Dr. Tod-Casey Takeuchi earned his Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Argosy University, Hawaii. He completed his Predoctoral Internship with The Hawaii Psychology Internship Consortium at The Family Court Liaison Branch. He also completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Child and Family Mental Health Department providing a wide range of services including assessment, treatment planning, individual and group psychotherapy, and crisis management. For the last few years, Dr. Takeuchi has worked as a psychologist for the Department of Education in the Windward Oahu District providing consultation and psychological evaluations.
Oahu Community Corrections Center
Dr. Hashimoto earned a PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University of Hawai’i. After completing her degree, she did a post-doctoral fellowship at the Hawai’i State Hospital in adult forensic psychiatry focusing on violence and risk assessments, psychosocial rehabilitation, and individual therapy. She currently serves as the Mental Health Section Administrator at the Oahu Community Corrections Center in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Dr. Hashimoto enjoys the balance of clinical and administrative duties, and feels that the Oahu Community Corrections Center is an excellent training setting for interns to learn about clinical work in a jail setting.
Hawai'i School District (Big Island)
Dr. Jessica Carroll has worked for the Hawaii Department of Education School-based Behavioral Health program since 2011. Dr. Carroll also has experience in the areas of intensive in-home therapy, adult case management, and neurobehavioral research. In addition to working for the Hawaii Department of Education, Dr. Carroll has a part-time private practice serving children, adolescents, and adults. Special interest areas include COPMI (Children of Parents with Mental Illness) as well as intergenerational trauma.
East Hawai'i Family Guidance Center (Hilo)
Dr. Mei-Lin Lawson is a Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead at the East Hawaii Family Guidance Center in Hilo, where she completed her predoctoral internship through HIPIC and postdoctoral fellowship. She earned her Psy.D. from the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University in 2019. Dr. Lawson has experience in providing psychotherapy and psychological assessments for culturally diverse children and their families in a variety of settings including community mental health centers, group private practice, and military hospital. She is certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Parent-Child CARE (PC-CARE), and Child Maltreatment. Dr. Lawson is passionate about serving the children and families of Hawaii, trauma-informed care, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Kauai School District
Dr. Michael Taylor earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. He has authored and co-authored a number of articles investigating the neurobehavioral and neuroimaging correlates of substance use and HIV. He also served as Director of the SDSU Psychology Clinic, the primary training site for the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology for 14 years and was Program Chair for the Association of Psychology Training Clinics for 12 years. Since retiring from San Diego State University, he has worked as a Clinical Psychologist for the Hawaii Department of Education providing psychological treatment and conducting evaluations for School-Based Behavioral Services for the West Complex on Kauai. He also serves as an intern supervisor for HI-PIC. In addition to his work in Kauai’s public schools, he enjoys outdoor activities including snorkeling, paddle-boarding, and hiking.
Hawaii is a highly diverse state, and HI-PIC is committed to promoting diversity in its training program. We are invested in recruiting and retaining staff who represent culturally and individually diverse backgrounds. Diversity is a core emphasis of the training curriculum, and it is woven into every component of the internship, which creates a supportive learning and employment environment for our interns and staff. Individuals interested in applying for staff positions within HI-PIC’s training sites may see the individual state agency websites for information about openings.