Our team of addiction + mental health professionals have a combined 60+ years of experience helping others find a path to healing + recovery.

We use a variety of modalities such as CBT, DBT, trauma-informed therapy and more. Each staff member brings a specialized approach to how they treat each client.

Clinical

Jess Beck, LCSW

Clinical Director

Jess comes to Launch Centers with over a decade of experience in mental health and addiction treatment with both adolescents and adults. As the former Acting Director of the Addictive Behaviors Clinic at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, she developed expertise in the field of evidenced-based addiction treatment. During her tenure at the VA medical center, Jess trained colleagues on therapeutic practices and provided treatment to hundreds of at-risk veterans.

After the VA, Jess served as the Clinical Director of an adolescent dual diagnosis treatment center and an adult addiction treatment center where she led the development of the organization’s clinical programming and supervised a growing interdisciplinary team. Jess also has extensive experience in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and trauma that she gained in previous roles with medical facilities, community-based outpatient programs, and residential treatment centers.

Jess’ therapeutic approach is holistic and strength-based in nature. She is passionate about helping her clients identify their personal values, strengthen their resiliency, and find their unique identity and voice in order to guide them toward acceptance and change in their lives.

Eric Chaghouri, MD

Psychiatrist

Dr. Chaghouri is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his B. A. in Biology with Summa Cum Laude honors. He earned his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California where he also served as Chief Resident in psychiatric emergency services and as Resident Clinical Instructor and Volunteer Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry. After residency, Dr. Chaghouri completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the USC Institute of Psychiatry and Law. Dr. Chaghouri’s clinical work focuses on the treatment of co-occurring psychiatric and addictive disorders. He also has extensive experience consulting and providing expert opinion in trial and for the film and television industry.

Kami Dexter, Ed. D

Director of Education & Career

Dr. Dexter has worked with adolescents and young adults across the educational and clinical fields for 20 years.  She holds a BA in Women’s Studies from UCLA, Masters in both Education and Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, and an EdD in Educational Psychology from USC.  Dr. Dexter is dedicated to building strong relationships with clients to support the fulfillment of personalized and purposeful life paths.

Meg Reel, LMFT

Program Manager

Meg received her B.A. in Education/Child Development from Pepperdine University and her Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy from University of Southern California. She initially worked as a therapist at a community-based counseling center where she first realized the power of approaching therapy from a person centered, family systems-based approach. Meg then moved into working with adults experiencing long-term major mental illnesses and homelessness. After seeing how much of their struggle stemmed from their adolescence and young adulthoods, Meg felt called to return to work with people in those pivotal years. She comes to therapy with a person-centered approach and understands the need to meet clients where they are at in order to connect fully and work towards healing. Meg utilizes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, and Narrative Therapy to assist clients in understanding and accepting their stories and emotions to move forward.

Chloe Kruskol, LCSW

Family Program Manager

Chloe first became involved in social justice at age 15 in which she volunteered at a camp for children and families affected by HIV/AIDs. She then created a fundraiser at her high school benefiting the organization that is still in effect today. Chloe received her B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Sociology from Sonoma State University and her Masters in Social Work from University of Southern California in which she was selected to participate in the Department of Mental Health’s Trauma Focused cohort. Concurrent with her Social Work degree, Chloe received her Masters in Nonprofit Management from Hebrew Union College in which she focused on Disruptive Innovation in the Nonprofit Mental Health world. Chloe initially worked in various community mental health spaces focusing on court mandated clients and partnering with various law enforcement offices to bring trauma informed services to LA’s most vulnerable populations. Through this work with both adults and youth suffering from Serious and Persistent mental health disorders as well as intergenerational substance use, Chloe was able to bring her experience studying epigenetic trauma to the frontlines of LA.  Chloe then decided to move to the private sector and bring her skills to those experiencing transgenerational trauma to support the community she grew up in. Chloe’s passion and commitment to helping adolescents and young adults struggling to fully individuate stems from her work spearheading family programming within the LA Jewish Community for over 8 years.  Chloe’s approach to helping young individuals unpack how their early trauma has led to maladaptive coping skills is based in Psychodynamic theory, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and a Family Systems approach.

Stephanie Blumberg, CAODC

Lead Case Manager & Facility Manager

Stephanie received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Channel Islands before earning her Master’s in Science in Addiction Counseling from Grand Canyon University. Stephanie began her counseling career in outpatient services helping those recently released from prison. During this time, she also worked extensively with the Department of Children and Family Services to help bring families back together.

Stephanie then worked as a counselor and coordinator at a residential facility in Malibu, supporting clients’ sobriety and setting up their aftercare. Her specialties include motivational interviewing, action-focused solutions, and relapse prevention.

Jacob Schoenfeld, AMFT

Primary Therapist

Jake received his master’s degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles where he focused on trauma studies. Jake began his therapist career working with the homeless veteran population out of the dual diagnosis West Los Angeles VA. During this time, he worked closely with case managers, peer support, and the Department of Mental Health Services in order to assist clients with meeting both short and long term goals regarding mental health, sobriety, housing, and employment.

Jake went on to perform telehealth therapy services with children, adolescents, and families prior to joining Launch in 2023. His work spans a variety of populations and diagnoses, with ages ranging from 3 years to 70 years and diagnoses of anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar I & II, OCD, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorders. Jake predominantly utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoanalytic therapy via a trauma informed lens.

Josh Cleary, AMFT

Primary Therapist

Josh Cleary earned his Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles and is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. Prior to joining the Launch team, Josh spent several years providing essential field based psychotherapy services to homeless Veterans as part of a Full Service Partnership Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Program. Josh has a particular interest in working with clients suffering with substance abuse and severe mental health issues. Josh’s preferred therapeutic modalities are, CBT, MBCT, and psychodynamic/relational. Josh also has in-depth personal knowledge of the disease of addiction, its effects on the addict, and its effects on their family system, allowing for a nuanced and compassionate approach when working with addicted clients.  Josh is a father of two and in his free time enjoys rigorous exercise, the outdoors, live music and cats. Josh firmly believes that, no matter what the problem is, if you can change the quality of your mind, you can change the quality of your experience.

Administration

Jose Hernandez, CADC

Chief Executive Officer

For nine years Jose has been involved in alcohol and addiction recovery, helping people succeed in overcoming substance abuse and regaining control of their lives. He has experience in all aspects of the recovery world, from facilitating entry into treatment as an intervention specialist to counseling and case management at rehabilitation facilities. Jose has worked one-on-one with individuals as a sober companion and with groups as a resident counselor at addiction treatment centers and is certified by the California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (CAADAC) to practice as a substance abuse counselor. Through his professional experiences in crisis intervention, drug and alcohol detoxification, substance abuse counseling, and relapse prevention, Jose has developed a unique plan for case management that bridges the gap between a person’s painful past of substance abuse and a future of sobriety.

Stephanie MacDonald

Director of Operations

Stephanie MacDonald

Director of Operations

Clint Green, CADC-II

Director of Admissions

Clint Green admits that he had never considered working in treatment until he was a client in treatment. A published author who wrote and produced in the entertainment industry under a pseudonym, Green turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism that quickly careened out of control.  “Before I knew it, I was doing rails and going completely off the rails,” he says.  “I ended up in rehab so broken and beaten, all I needed was someone to be nice to me. One of the resident assistants there was, which changed my life.”  That resident assistant inspired him and coincidentally, became the coworker who trained him at his first job in the field. A passion for connecting with both potential clients and their family members is what led him to admissions.  “I put my parents through so much for so long; I can’t help but feel compelled to help others. The most rewarding part of this job is seeing the change that occurs from that initial phone call to the client’s discharge, and beyond — but I’m not just talking about the client. The change I see in the entire family dynamic and structure: that’s what brings things big picture.”

Misty Hunt

Admissions Coordinator

Misty Hunt has a passion for being the calm and guiding voice for clients and their families seeking care. Her success in the mental health field is informed by an educational background in psychology and women’s & gender studies.
Misty began her career in in the mental health field as direct-care staff for a residential adolescent care program and quickly progressed to program management. This experience of working directly with clients and families while overseeing day-to-day operations of a care program has solidified her passion for empowering clients and their loved-ones during their journey to wellness.

Throughout her career, Misty has had the privilege of working for programs that specialize in various diagnoses and co-occurring disorders. Her development of knowledge for a multitude of treatment modalities allows her to best guide clients to the most appropriate care. Over the course of her career, she has gained experience in mental healthcare administration by developing her skills in admissions and insurance utilization review, helping clients to effectively navigate all aspects of their treatment journey.

Kelly Mortazavi

Director of Business Development

After earning her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Central Florida in Marketing, She relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2013. Having found her passion early on in addiction treatment, she has held positions with Foundations Recovery Network/ UHS, Monte Nido and Affiliates and TrueLink Financial. In her free time, Kelly enjoys the company of her friends and family, exploring the beauty the outdoors of California has to offer and is a wiz at pop-culture trivia.

Kelly is passionate about meeting and working with like minded individuals in the addiction field who all share a common goal – building lasting recovery for our clients.

Spencer Hieam

Business Development

Originally from Seattle, Spencer grew up in the Pacific Northwest where he previously worked as a Project Manager and in Client Success for companies in the tech industry. He has an experienced history of working in forward-facing roles, specializing in Experiential Marketing, Project Management, Account Relations and Business Development. Spencer discovered that his professional passion for helping individuals and serving families was best utilized for doing impactful work in the Mental & Behavioral Health space. In his spare time, you can find him out on the golf course, riding his motorcycle, or going on hikes/to the beach with his dog, Marceline (Marcy for short).

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Our Testimonials

Clients and Professionals Share Their Experience

  • Conner H.

    Launch Centers Treatment was a major help to me. The therapists and staff genuinely cared about me and truly helped me to make a plan for my future. My personal therapists helped me to discover where some of my deeper issues came from. All of the staff worked tirelessly with me to talk through my issues, or just about life, and offered realistic solutions to my current problems and situation. All of the staff went above and beyond and advocated relentlessly for me.

  • Nicole Y.

    This place changed my life! I’ve had good laughs, good cries, shared a lot of heart to heart moments and grew a loving bond with everyone at Launch Centers. I will always be grateful! I really do miss it time to time. I highly recommend Launch Centers!

  • Jenna S.

    Launch changed our lives. Our family had been battling for years to breakthrough to our brother. No amount of rehab or detox had made a difference. He was listless, lifeless and helpless. We feared for his life everyday. The spirit of, repetition in, core values, appreciation of life and dignity and respect that we found through Launch are unparalleled. I can say with full confidence that we never would have seen my “real” brother again if not for this truly magical combination. We were and still are especially grateful for his over-the-top therapist. Her commitment to his privacy and success coupled with her unwavering contact with any and all of us is what bridged our 3,000 mile separation from him.

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