Eating Disorder Treatment in Arizona provided by A New Beginning, LLC

Clinical Staff

A New Beginning’s clinical team consists of highly respected, seasoned eating disorder specialists known for their exceptional level of clinical skill and eating disorder expertise. Hand-picked not only for their specialized focus on eating disorders, but for their personal qualities of commitment, compassion and enthusiasm for helping

others, A New Beginning offers clients therapeutic help which is not only top of the field, but heart-felt as well.

A New Beginning’s team consists of licensed and/or certified independent professionals contracted to provide services to a New Beginning, LLC. In addition to specializing in eating disorders, each member of our clinical team possesses complimentary areas of interest and expertise, such as adolescent therapy, exercise bulimia, male eating disorders, marital therapy, etc. This allows us to match each client with the most appropriate therapist, ensuring the best therapeutic “fit” given the specific needs and situation of each client.

Experienced. Skilled. Compassionate.

With these words, we proudly introduce A New Beginning’s team of professionals:

Julie T. Anné, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and clinical director of A New Beginning, LLC. For the past 20 years, Dr. Anné has enthusiastically worked to fulfill her dream of helping others to heal from the emotional struggles which confine them. Fiercely committed to the healing process of each client, Dr. Anné has dedicated her professional life to helping others live life fully, with an unencumbered sense of personal joy and the emotional health they deserve.

“Living life with a solid sense of self-value, empowering self-esteem and the confidence to unapologetically be who you were truly meant to be, is a gift. For those fortunate enough to attain these life-fulfilling traits through healthy emotional experiences, there is gratitude. For those who were not so fortunate, there’s an opportunity called therapy.”

Dr. Anné received her master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – San Diego and her bachelor’s degree and doctoral clinical training from Arizona State University. Dr. Anné’s extensive clinical experience includes conducting individual, group, marital and family psychotherapy in both inpatient and outpatient settings; professional consultation; clinical supervision; program development; psycho-educational groups and seminars; research and clinical training. Dr. Anné has been board licensed in the state of Arizona since 1993.

While Dr. Anné enjoys a broad range of clinical duties, her primary love is the art of psychotherapy. An esteemed clinician, Dr. Anné combines a unique foundational base steeped in psychological theory, science and research with creative, expressive, transformational therapeutic techniques. Dr. Anné believes that when the goal of therapy is to not only identify – but to fully resolve - the underlying issues which have given rise to disorder, then complete and lasting change occurs.

Dr. Anné is a respected eating disorders specialist and is featured as one of three national eating disorder experts in the acclaimed documentary series, “What’s Eating You.” Dr. Anné has an affinity for working with anorexic and bulimic clients and especially enjoys working with “later life” eating disordered clients, aged 35 – 75. Dr. Anne’ is frequently asked to speak on the topic of eating disorders and enjoys utilizing media opportunities to educate, inspire and get the word out that “full recovery from all eating disorders is possible!”

In addition to her specialized work with eating disordered clients, Dr. Anné works extensively with individuals struggling with anxiety disorders, depression, low self-esteem, the aftereffects of psychological trauma, dysfunctional family-of-origin history, and couples seeking to regain a lost sense of joy and satisfaction in their relationship. Dr. Anné, additionally, works extensively with individuals who have achieved “success” in their life (oftentimes through Type A, high-stress lifestyles) yet find themselves feeling emotionally empty, burnt out and unfulfilled.

In addition to her love of treatment, Dr. Anné is equally committed to halting the epidemic, multi-generational spread of eating disorders in increasingly younger populations. Towards this goal, Dr. Anné is authoring a book on early childhood prevention of eating disorders.

Betsy Van Tuinen, Psy. D., LPC is a clinical therapist who received her master's and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and her bachelor's degree from Michigan State University. She completed clinical training at the Kovler Center for Survivors of Torture, Cook County Hospital, and Arizona's Children Association. Dr. Van Tuinen then went on to Remuda Ranch, where she worked with adolescents and adults suffering from eating disorders. She has facilitated many educational presentations on eating disorders designed for children, adolescents, and professionals; and currently specializes in the treatment of trauma, eating disorders, personality disorders, and spiritual issues.

While she enjoys working with a wide range of clients, Dr. Van Tuinen particularly enjoys working with adolescents and their families, individuals struggling with relationship difficulties, and clients with trauma and abuse issues. Additionally, she has worked extensively with clients suffering from all types of eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Dr. Van Tuinen focuses on helping clients connect to their emotions in a safe way through individualized therapy processes. Additionally, she empowers clients to discover the function of their negative behaviors, while learning new positive behaviors that lead to healthy patterns of living. She is dedicated to helping each individual and family heal from their psychological wounds and create life long changes.

Anna Brennan M.A., LAMFT received her Masters degree in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from Santa Clara University in California and is an Arizona Licensed Certified Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. Her background includes working with adolescents, adults, couples and families in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Anna has an affinity for working with individuals struggling with eating disorders, trauma, abuse/neglect, anxiety and relationship issues. Anna is an associate member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the American Association of Christian Counselors. She is trained in EMDR and is also a member of the EMDR International Association.

Anna believes that individuals can heal given a safe, supportive environment and the tools and life skills for recovery. She is committed to encouraging others to uncover and understand sources and reasons for ineffective beliefs and patterns of behavior and to helping them learn effective skills and to discovering what is true about their identity, worth and value. Her passion is to encourage and empower individuals, couples and families to apply these truths and skills so that they may live fulfilling lives of wholeness and freedom.

Brina Jergenson, RD, CSSD is a registered dietician and certified specialist in sports dietetics. She is originally from the Midwest and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. She has a 14 year history of being a Registered Dietician and has a passion for helping those struggling with eating disorders and other food related issues. Brina has had specialized training in eating disorders and has treated anorexia and bulimia, and compulsive overeating in both inpatient and outpatient settings. As an advocate of prevention of eating disorders, she has also taught many classes to elementary, middle school and high school students regarding the origins and symptoms of eating disorders.

Brina’s practice is unique in that she strives to meet clients where they are at and gently and effectively moves them toward a life of freedom with food. Her approach includes a complete nutrition assessment including body composition testing, nutrition education and meal planning. Nutrition education includes valuable information on fad diets, exercise, and on carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Along with education, Brina provides support and accountability to ensure change. She strives to help clients discover their own style of intuitive eating where they can balance good food choices with various likes and dislikes and experience a true freedom with food.

In addition to eating disorders, Brina also counsels clients in the following areas: weight management for children, adolescents, and adults; pre-and post gastric bypass or gastric band; and sports nutrition.

Ashley L. Southard, Ph.D., LAMFT, is a licensed couple and family therapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. Dr. Southard earned her master’s degree in Couple and Family Therapy and her doctoral degree in Family Science, both from the University of Maryland in College Park. Dr. Southard has been board licensed since 2004.

Dr. Southard’s clinical experience includes providing outpatient therapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups from diverse backgrounds, and supervising student therapist interns. Prior to joining A New Beginning, Dr. Southard established a private practice in Maryland, in which she worked primarily with adults and teens affected by eating disorders. While this particular issue is Dr. Southard’s specialty, she is also skilled at helping people resolve other related issues, such as depression, anxiety, trauma/abuse, couple conflict, parenting difficulties, family communication, and major life transitions. With her orientation as a couple and family therapist, Dr. Southard’s treatment approach encourages clients to (1) explore how their experiences, both past and present, influence how they currently think, feel, and behave; (2) replace distorted beliefs and unhealthy behaviors with more balanced approaches to coping with stress and change; and (3) strengthen their ability to identify and manage distressing emotions. In doing so, clients are able to heal emotional wounds, develop new coping skills, and ultimately let go of their harmful disordered behaviors and thoughts.

Dr. Southard also enjoys writing scholarly articles, conducting clinical research, and working with professional eating disorder organizations. Most recently, she co-authored a book chapter on the use of feminist family therapy to treat eating disorders, and completed an extensive study that investigated the similarities and differences in African American, Latina, and Caucasian women’s experiences with bulimia. Dr. Southard has been invited to serve as a founding board member of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) and the Eating Disorder Network (EDN) of Central Maryland, and she is an active member of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

Lynda Bull, M.A., LAC , is a clinical therapist and is licensed in Arizona. She attained her Master of Professional Counseling degree at Ottawa University and Phoenix Seminary, and completed post -graduate training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, (DBT). In addition, she has received extensive training in Self Regulation Therapy (SRT), a neurobiological approach to healing trauma related issues. Lynda has training and experience treating all areas of substance abuse, addiction and compulsive behavior patterns, including eating disorders, co- dependency and self-harming behaviors. She is also trained to treat mood and personality disorders as well as relationship dynamics that interfere with the recovery process. In addition, Lynda works with individuals who struggle with depression, anxiety, abuse, and grief and loss.

Lynda understands that all people experience bumps along the road, whether through traumatic events or a general feeling of depression or anxiety – or anything in-between. She recognizes that we are all complex beings with individual stories, yet share the commonality our humanness in how our body, brain, emotions and spirit are affected by the stress and pain we encounter. Lynda welcomes the richness of opportunity to help others along their journey of healing.

Lora Smitham, Ph.D., is a licensed counseling psychologist in the state of Arizona, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, mood disorders, and couples. Dr. Smitham earned her master’s and doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana and has worked in a variety of community and university settings, including Miami University of Ohio and Arizona State University. She completed her dissertation on the use of “Intuitive Eating” (Tribole & Resch, 2003) for Binge Eating Disorder.

Dr. Smitham’s clinical experience includes providing outpatient therapy to individuals, couples, and groups from a wide variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, Dr. Smitham has interest and experience in providing supervision and training to doctoral level graduate students. Dr. Smitham joined A New Beginning after receiving specialized training at Arizona State University’s Counseling & Consultation. She enjoys working with clients struggling with a multitude of concerns, but particularly enjoys the opportunity to help clients struggling with binge eating disorder, couple distress, depression, and trauma reach their healthy potential. In therapy, Dr. Smitham utilizes an empathic, integrative perspective to aid clients in the identification of maladaptive interpersonal and cognitive patterns, to process past and recent emotional wounds, to build on inner strengths and coping resources, and to bolster resiliency. She believes that a person finds healing and peace in acknowledging, embracing, and integrating various aspects of their personal identity.

Dr. Smitham is a member of the Arizona Psychological Association and AzPA Legislative Committee.

Jessica Fields, A New Beginning’s Client Care Coordinator. Jessica loves to help our clients feel both comfortable and welcome, and is available to support current and prospective clients in a multitude of ways. With numerous years of experience in the area of medical patient care, Jessica uses her abundance of expertise to facilitate our clients’ care with ease! From answering incoming informational calls, to meeting with prospective new clients, to coordinating and scheduling client multi-service therapy appointments, Jessica enjoys making the A New Beginning experience easy and worry-free! Please contact Jessica with any questions about our services…she is happy to be of help!