About the DCTC Team

The DCTC Team is a group of dedicated DC Therapist Connect community volunteers who manage our growing and vibrant group. Some of us alternate months managing our Google and Facebook groups and others have discrete responsibilities. We connect regularly to ensure that DCTC maintains it’s culture of kindness, compassion and growth.

All members of the DCTC Team spend unpaid time contributing to the well-being of both the Google and Facebook groups. If you have a question, contact one of the Team members and they will be able to point you in the right direction.

DCTC Team Members:

Andrew P. Darby, LCSW-C, LCADAS (He/Him)
‘Toot Your Own Horn Tuesdays’
Contact: andrew@darby-integrative-counseling.com
Andrew is the Executive Director and Founder of Darby Integrative Counseling. He is a consultant to other organizations and psychotherapy practices throughout the United States. Andrew’s MD-based group psychotherapy practice, Darby Integrative Counseling, provides in-person and telehealth mental health, trauma, and substance abuse services. The physical office is located in Silver Spring, MD, and telehealth is provided to states throughout the USA via PSYPACT providers and multi-state licensed therapists and counselors. The therapists at the practice take an integrative approach to healing. They meet the needs of clients using multiple evidenced-based practices to assist them in awakening to their full healing potential. Learn more about Andrew’s practice.

Savanna Martin, LPC (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: Savanna@aspenvalleycounselingservices.com
Savannah is the owner of Aspen Valley Counseling Services PLLC. She is licensed in Washington, DC, Florida, and Colorado. Savanna specializes in trauma, anxiety, and addiction. Learn more about Savanna’s practice.

Melissa Murphy, LCSW-C, LICSW, LCSW, C-DBT (She/Her)
Facebook group moderator
Melissa is the founder and clinical director of Bethesda Therapy, a group practice serving Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. Bethesda Therapy focuses on OCD and anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and trauma work. A licensed clinical social worker and supervisor, Melissa is also a Certified Dialectical Behavior Therapist (C-DBT) and OCD specialist. She provides training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and works with adolescents, adults, and couples. As a Gottman-trained couples therapist, she helps improve communication, address pelvic pain, and resolve relationship conflicts related to OCD. Learn more about Melissa’s practice at: www.wearebethesdatherapy.com.

Leen Nguyen, LMSW (She/Her) 
Google group moderator
Contact: Leennguyen.wellness@gmail.com
Leen is a therapist based in Maryland and DC with experience in crisis intervention, addiction, trauma, and grief. Leen specializes in helping individuals and couples navigate complex emotional challenges, drawing on her empathetic and collaborative approach to foster growth and resilience. Her work focuses on supporting clients in exploring identity, resolving interpersonal conflicts, and overcoming life transitions. Leen welcomes clients from diverse backgrounds, including all sexual orientations, gender identities, and cultural experiences. She is committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for healing and self-discovery. Learn more about Leen’s practice via email: Leennguyen.wellness@gmail.com.

Bracha Poliakoff, LCSW-C (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: Brachapoliakoff@gmail.com
Bracha is a clinical social worker and founder and director of Bright Ideas Continuing Education. She has experience conducting psychological assessments and providing individual and group counseling to clients in a variety of settings including school-based, outpatient, partial hospitalization, and long-term care.

Melanie Ricaurte, Psy.D., M.Ed (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: drmelaniericaurte@gmail.com
Melanie is the Clinical Director of Harmony Holistic in Rockville, MD. Melanie is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor, and a hypnotherapist. She is an advocate, educator, and therapist; focusing her work on issues related to human sexuality, and marriage equality. A focus of her work is helping individuals and couples navigate the challenges faced when different aspects of their identity are in conflict. Melanie welcomes people of all religious faiths, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, erotic orientations, and lifestyles. She offers a warm collaborative approach to her work with clients. Learn more about Melanie’s practice.

Gloria Saez, LICSW, LCSW, LCSW-C (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: lcgsaez@gmail.com
Gloria is licensed in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois. She is a social work board approved supervisor in Maryland and Virginia. Gloria’s Hispanic heritage and fluency in Spanish affords her the opportunity to serve the hispanic community. Diversity and inclusion are important aspects of her practice. Thriving and living our best lives are the goal of service. Gloria is EMDR certified and has trainings in IFS, DNMS, Imago, crisis response, and other modalities. She is a member of the VA Crisis Response Network (VCRN) community, which offers free, emergency response EMDR services to mass casualty events in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a part of the Victim Crisis Assistant And Response Team (VCART). Learn more about Gloria’s practice, Salus Vita, LLC.

Margie Underwood, LCPC (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: margie@underwoodcounseling.com
Margie is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private telehealth practice in Maryland. She has over 20 years of experience supporting individual adolescents and adults, as well as couples and families. Margie helps clients address issues such as relationship challenges (including separation and divorce), parenting and coparenting, LGBTQIA+ identity and unique challenges, family conflict, depression, anxiety, and major life transitions. Margie is bilingual and offers all services in both English and Spanish. She takes a strength-based approach and uses humor in her work, believing that laughter is a critical factor in healing. Margie strives to create a safe space where her clients feel respected, supported, and fundamentally understood. She sees herself as a guide, helping clients gain insight into the roots of their challenges, and empowering them to take conscious steps toward decreased stress, and increased joy and peace. Learn more about Margie’s practice.

Amanda Van Emburgh (She/Her)
Google group moderator
Contact: amanda@familyandchildtherapy.com
Amanda Van Emburgh (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (VA, and with PSYPACT) and a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor (RPT-S). She owns Family & Child Therapy in Vienna VA. She specializes in treating those who have experienced trauma, parents of neurodivergent children, neurodivergent young adults, and those transitioning to college or taking time off after high school. She is also an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Certified therapist. Learn more about Amanda’s practice.