Westminster Counselors

Chris Saxon, M.A., LPC, LAC

Chris' passion is helping people as they struggle with life choices, changes, and experience. He collaborates with his clients to develop treatment goals, focusing on solutions clients have tried and offering new solutions and perspectives on the problem. Chris tailors therapy to meet clients' needs and offers cognitive behavioral, existential, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused approaches.

Chris grew up in a family that served as a therapeutic foster home. His life experience includes living and teaching in Asia as well as working as a white water rafting guide. He has earned a master's degree in philosophy from Biola University and a master's degree in counseling from Colorado Christian University. Chris began his counseling career working with at-risk youth and inpatient addiction treatment. He has also worked as a clinical supervisor for a methadone clinic.

Offering an empathetic approach, Chris offers therapy to individuals and couples struggling with:

• Addiction
• Adolescent development issues
• Anger management
• Anxiety
• Clinical supervision
• Couples' therapy
• Depression
• Grief and loss
• Life changes
• Play therapy
• Trauma and PTSD
• And more

When life seems overwhelming, we often isolate ourselves and create destructive patterns to help us cope. These are short-term solutions which do not solve the problem in the long run. Counseling creates opportunities to move beyond survival and experience life and relationships more deeply.

Dale Wightman, LPC

Dale helps adults and youth to manage their moods, anxiety and anger, heal from trauma and loss, repair relationships, and reach important decisions. Dale is understanding, easy to talk to and creative at drawing out new alternatives. He will help you to weigh options, reach decisions and make new choices that will take you in a better direction. You may see in yourself the potential of building the courage and boldness to restore and strengthen relationships, enjoy a sense of wellbeing, accept success, earn happiness, embrace growth, and pursue excellence.

Dale works best with couples and individual clients that are struggling with the following issues:

• Adjustment disorders
• Anger Management
• Anxiety disorders
• Adolescent Psychology
• Depression
• Couple Therapy
• Grief and loss
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Phobias, panic disorders

Dale is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling from Colorado Christian University. He has two grown children and lives with his wife of 32 years in Littleton.

Hishara Jansz, LMFT

Hishara is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist who works with children, adolescents, adults, families and couples from diverse cultures. She uses a holistic, client-centered, cultural-oriented and strength-based perspective in her work. Hishara will also engage in animal assisted therapy with her "official" side-kick Lava, when it is therapeutically appropriate. She treats a wide range of individual and relational issues, meets people where they're at in their journey towards healing and works within their reality to help them recognize and build on their own strengths to face and overcome challenge.

She specializes in the following areas:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Couples therapy
• ADD/ADHD in children and adults
• Parenting issues
• Child/adolescent counseling
• Mood Disorders

Hishara’s previous work experience includes working with survivors of domestic violence, working with families at risk of abuse and neglect, and working in the field of community mental health. She has volunteered as a crisis hotline counselor, as a trauma counselor for survivors of the tsunami in South Asia, and as a Crisis Responder with the Aurora Community Crisis team over the last several years. Lava's previous experience includes having completed his official training as a Therapy Dog, and he is especially good at making people comfortable!

Hishara grew up in the island of Sri-Lanka and African countries of Zambia and Botswana, and immigrated to the US as a young adult. She earned a Masters degree in Psychology in 1999 and a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2005 from the University of Houston in Clear Lake, Texas. She has several professional publications, honors and awards including Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Hishara believes in the inherent goodness of mankind which is her driving force for being a helping professional. Hishara and Lava both consider it a privilege to be able to offer solace and support to people in their times of distress and need.

Lori Montel, MBA, CLC

Lori Montel is a certified life coach. She works with an action-oriented, individual plan focusing on your growth. As your coach, she is your motivator, supporter and cheerleader that encourages you to take the steps you need to change your life.

You will work together to unfold your “wants” to clarify your goals that are achievable steps for you. This is a self-discovering journey whether you are wanting to be a happier person, making a life change, overcoming self-limiting patterns, career move or fine tuning you — Lori is here for you.

These past few years, life has presented Lori with many of her own challenges and opportunities. During that time is when she made the decision to become a certified life coach. She was able to use her experience and passion to help others, and it became a very rewarding career.

Her education consists of a master of business education, a bachelor of science in technology management, early childcare director certification and life coach certification. She’s a very creative person who enjoys a variety of activities. She also paints, makes silk wedding bouquets and is a designer for Origami Owl.

Jacob Rosenthal, LPC

At the core of Jacob Rosenthal’s repertoire of therapeutic styles and techniques is humanistic psychology, an approach that emphasizes viewing the individual as a whole and complete person. He believes that each one of us has the potential to live a happy, meaningful life, full of purpose, creativity and self-expression.

Jacob works with his clients to establish their needs and the most appropriate approach from which to address them. These approaches include methods such as EMDR, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy and debt orientated brief therapy.

Jacob was born in Poland, and studied in Israel — where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work with additional certifications in individual, group and family therapy. He began his work with diverse populations and individuals in therapeutic communities and later established a private practice.

Jacob served as a therapist in the reserves and has experience with disaster relief and population crises management. He received his master’s degree in counseling from UCCS in 2012, and has practiced as a Licensed Professional Counselor since that date. The career choices that Jacob has made over the years stem from his deep understanding and compassion for that which makes us human.

Focused on premium care, Jacob offers individual and couples therapy including help for:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Anger management
• Grief and loss
• Trauma and PTSD
• Illness
• Life changes
• Self-esteem
• And more

Often, a lack of drive, passion, or a sense of purpose can take the joy out of our lives; particularly, when accompanied by grieving or depression. Large or frequent life changes can leave us feeling anxious and overwhelmed, leading to difficulties in unrelated areas the most vulnerable of which are our relationships and our creativity. This is all part of what makes us human and these are the issues that we bring to Therapy so that we can address them and move forward into a life full of meaning and joy.

Marissa Battagalia, PhD

Based on her clinical training and experience over the years, Dr. Battaglia believes that therapy is a challenging, dynamic process in which guidance and support are key elements to helping clients overcome any issue. Educated in the empirically supported treatments of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Structural Family Therapy, Dr. Battaglia initiates therapy by collaborating with clients and their families to identify their purpose for therapy and treatment goals. She assists clients with increasing their awareness and gaining insight, while teaching adaptive coping strategies and applying these skills to everyday life.

Dr. Battaglia works with clients of all ages and specializes in the treatment of following issues and disorders:

• Anxiety disorders
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Depression and mood related disorders
• Self harming behaviors
• Self esteem issues
• Stress management and relaxation training
• Coping with chronic illnesses

Dr. Battaglia is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who received her Master of Science and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. She completed her last year of training as the postdoctoral fellow in the Eating Disorders program at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Battaglia also has specialized training in Exposure and Response Prevention to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Outside of work, Dr. Battaglia values the simple pleasures in life, enjoys traveling, and visits with family and friends.

Jessie Huffman, LSW

Jessie is a licensed social worker who specializes in work with children and teens. She comes from a strengths based perspective and believes that children naturally gravitate towards healing when they are given a safe and therapeutic environment to work through challenges. Her work has brought her experience in the following areas;

• Behavior issues and modification
• ADD/ADHD or ODD
• Parenting, Co-parenting and family issues
• LBGTQI/ gender identity
• Depression and Anxiety
• Grief and loss
• Trauma
• Low self-esteem
• Bullying issues

She received her Master’s degree from the University of Denver, where she chose a concentration in Family Systems due to her love of working with youth and their families. Jessie primarily utilizes directive and non-directive play therapy, however every child is unique and has a unique set of needs, which she continually reassesses throughout their time in therapy. Jessie loves working with children and seeing them overcome detrimental feelings or behaviors. Once these challenges have been integrated and worked out, it opens the door for a child to thrive in all areas of his or her life. Jessie feels privileged to be a facilitator in this therapeutic process.

Kate Kelly, LCSW

Kate is a licensed clinical social worker that believes that each of us has strengths and abilities that often exceed our own recognition. She can help you find yours. With over 13 years of experience providing outpatient therapy there are few problems that she doesn’t have experience treating. She is adept at being supportive and challenging at the same time, and works well with adolescents and adults of all ages.

Areas of focus include but are not limited to:

• Trauma Recovery; EMDR
• Anxiety Disorders
• Substance dependence and abuse; dual diagnosis
• OCD
• Eating disorders
• Grief and Loss
• GLBTQ

Kate is a licensed clinical social worker who earned her master's degree at the University of Maine and is excited to bring her learning and expertise to the state of CO. She is also trained in EMDR which is a proven method with great results with trauma clients. Kate works evening and weekend hours.