About Us

Mr. Schuyler C. Cunningham, MSW, LICSW, LCSW-C, OSW-C, Board Certified Diplomate, is an expert ADHD practitioner and award winning Social Worker. He specializes in assessments, evaluations, and treatment.  He also trains other mental health providers in ADHD assessment, Brain Maps/qEEGs, and treatment at the Center. In addition to founding the Center for Neurocognitive Excellence, he practiced at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, where he was a Principal Investigator investigating traumatic stress in people with cancer, chaired the Research Committee for the Social Work Department and provided counseling to people being treated at the Clinical Center. While at NIH, Schuyler was awarded two Director’s Awards and the Deborah Dozier-Hall Award for Excellence in Social Work Education. Additionally, he is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and uses brain mapping and neurofeedback as well as a variety of other approaches to create safe and individualized care for each client. Mr. Cunningham is a sought after speaker and has published on various aspects of mental health counseling. Mr. Cunningham obtained his Masters in Social Work from the National Catholic School of Social Service at the Catholic University of America and holds advanced social work licenses in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Illustrative List of Publications and Presentations:

• Book Chapter: Treatment Planning for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Social Workers’ Desk Reference. Oxford University Press. Pending Publication.
• Book Chapter: Neurofeedback: An evidenced based non-medication intervention. Social Workers’ Desk Reference. Oxford University Press. Pending Publication.
• Cunningham, S., Wakim, P., Hendricks, J., Cassidy, Q., Teigen, E., & BrintzenhofeSzoc, K. (2020). Influence of psychosocial distress on traumatic stress symptoms among oncology patients in clinical trials. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice, 2(2). doi: 10.1097/OR9.0000000000000021.
• Cunningham, S. C., Aizvera, J., Wakim, P., & Felber, L. (2018). Use of a self-reported psychosocial distress screening tool as a predictor of need for psychosocial intervention in a general medical setting. Social work in health care, 57(5), 315–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2018.1437499.
• Trauma Matters Fall 2019 Connecticut Women’s Consortium
• Fight Colorectal Cancer  – Webinar on Cancer Related Traumatic Distress
• Cunningham, S. & Felber, L. Psychosocial Distress Screening in a General Medical Population. National Institutes of Mental Health, 2018.
• Cunningham, S. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Social Work Department, 2013.

Ms. Lauren Horton is a, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC) in Washington D.C. She uses a culturally aware pluralistic approach when helping clients progress towards their therapeutic goals and helping clients increase awareness, harmony and balance in their lives. Lauren uses a variety of techniques from Afrocentric, Attachment, and Solution-Focused theories. Lauren also currently practices at The George Washington University Student Counseling Center and has worked at Fairfax County Anger and Domestic Prevention Treatment Program and Harrisonburg’s Batterer’s Intervention Program. She has advanced training in Mindfulness and Motivational Interviewing as well as is a Certified Ambassador for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. Lauren also has experience leading psychoeducational groups that focused on healthy and interpersonal relationships, regulating emotions, and teaching mindfulness. Lauren has a serious interest in resilience, self-compassion, and mental toughness.  She received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from James Madison University and is proficient in Spanish.

Ms. Sophia Gruden, LGPC is a counselor and life coach who trained with Martha Beck Institute. She is also trained in neurofeedback with a specialty in infra-slow fluctuation training. Before becoming a therapist she was an Art Director and designed projects for HGTV, TLC, Style, and Discovery channels.  Ms. Gruden is currently pursuing her Doctor of Psychology at George Washington University. Her research interests include personal trauma and the physiological and somatic manifestation. She incorporates the works of Drs. Bessel Van der Kolk and Peter Levine and the expressive arts as therapeutic mechanisms for healing trauma in to her practice. Mr. Gruden obtained her Masters of Science in Counseling at Johns Hopkins University. In her free time, she enjoys painting, sculpting, and nature walks with her family. Mr. Gruden speaks French and enjoys engaging with different languages and cultures.

Mr. Ben Turley is a neuroscience and psychology student at George Washington University. Before joining DCNE, Ben worked as a Psychiatric Counselor at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW) and as an EMT. At PIW, Ben led a research team focused on epidemiological research among people with opioid use disorders. He is interested in novel pharmacological and technical solutions for mental health treatment and is currently researching the role of the Angiotensin system in fear memory for treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and develops software to better assist researchers in this goal. Ben is a Nationally Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist and is the Founder and current President of the George Washington University Nu Rho Psi Neuroscience Honors Society and a recipient of the Nashman Prize for Community-Based Participatory Research.

Dr. Jessica Kirchhoefer, PhD is a Licensed Psychology Associate in Washington, DC. Dr. Kirchhoefer conducts a variety of mental health and psychosocial evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults including, ADHD, comprehensive, personnel, and academic at the Center for Neurocognitive Excellence. She enjoys working with clients to help find answers to their questions and to create personalized recommendations to reach their goals. Dr. Kirchhoefer completed her PhD at Brigham Young University and fulfilled her internship at The Catholic University of America Counseling Center. Her research spanning multiculturalism, client outcome measures, weather impacts on mental health, and group therapy have been both nationally and internationally published and presented.

Mr. Joseph Spilsbury is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Expressive Therapist. Joseph specializes in assessments, counseling, and coaching with adults, adolescents, and children. He is the Director of Expressive Therapy at The Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW), where he works with those diagnosed with ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorder, and a range of personality disorders. Joseph began his career in mental health at DC’s Green Door core service agency ten years ago, and has worked for the last eight years as a group therapist at four inpatient hospitals. Previously he was on the Board of the Massachusetts Music Therapy Alliance (MMTA) for four years. He loves utilizing the creative arts in the therapeutic process, including music, art, dance/movement, drama, and poetry/bibliotherapy. Joseph also has advanced training from a dual certificate program in Cognitive Therapy from University of Pennsylvania under Aaron Beck and he has extensive experience with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Joseph is deeply enthusiastic about dreamwork, and enjoys bringing the unconscious process into healing and wellness. Joseph received a dual masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Music Therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ms. SamanthaJo Beatty (SamJo) is a certified Director of Clinical Quality and national EHR government guidelines trainer who has been working in healthcare for 16 years. She began her career as a paramedic, then moved into a medical front and back office setting as a Certified Medical Office Manager and Registered Nurse working her way through each position until she reached Operations Management.  Ms. Beatty prides herself on knowing our  practice inside and out so she can jump in at any time to help staff members and clients.  Ms. Beatty’s passion and knowledge of the mental health and medical fields makes her a sought after Director of Healthcare Operations throughout the United States.