Health & Wellness

Michelle Bracken began her career at Harvard-Westlake in 1994 as the Assistant to the Head of Upper School and has been a counselor at Harvard-Westlake since 2010. She received her master’s in Educational Counseling, Marriage Family Therapy from California State University Northridge in 2007 and received her Marriage Family Therapy license in 2010. Michelle also teaches Psychology and Sophomore Seminar and co-leads community council. In addition, Michelle’s son attended Harvard-Westlake beginning in 7th grade and graduated in 2014. This gives her a unique perspective from multiple sides - counseling, parenting, and administrative. Her strength lies in her ability to make connections with students and be an ally for them as they navigate the teenage years. In addition, Michelle works with students to promote overall wellness and to reduce barriers for students who need support.

Brittany Bronson has over 11 years of experience in the mental health field before becoming a School Counselor at the Upper School here at Harvard-Westlake in September 2020. She is a Licensed Clinical social worker who has a melting pot of experience working with children, adolescents, and their families in various capacities such as working in hospitals, providing crisis counseling to women, residential and foster care, probation, and homeless services. She received her masters in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis with a concentration in children, youth, and families and is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Brittany is certified in evidence-based practices such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy and Seeking Safety. She also loves to utilize person centered interventions and mindfulness to help increase awareness and decrease stress and negative self-beliefs. Brittany prides herself in being able to build rapport with students and serving as a positive support to them, as well as their families. Brittany also teaches sophomore advisory and is one of the advisors of Peer Support. One of her missions in life is to help others connect with their true and authentic selves, while overcoming their life challenges.

Camille da Santos is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (#AMFT133272) in Los Angeles and approaches therapy from an eclectic perspective, drawing on theories and techniques from depth psychology, humanistic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Additionally, Camille often takes a trauma-informed approach to psychotherapy, encouraging somatic awareness and resourcing within the body. Above all, Camille strives to create a safe and non-judgmental space for students to engage in self-exploration and believes that each person innately contains the tools and answers necessary for their own healing. Camille earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Loyola Marymount University and her Master’s degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She has been in practice since 2020 and her clinical areas of interest include relationship issues, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, and grief/bereavement; she has published a graduate thesis on grief-processing. She is LGBTQ+ affirmative and is passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. In addition to her role as an Upper School Counselor, Camille is also the Deans’ office coordinator, a sophomore advisory teacher, MiXD co-advisor, and has worked at Harvard-Westlake since 2007.”

Dr. Kelly Decker is the Middle School Psychologist and has been working at Harvard-Westlake since 2016.

Dr. Emily Joyner joined HW as an Upper School Psychologist in July of 2023. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in 2022. Dr. Joyner completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at Stanford University Counseling and Psychological Services and her APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship at Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo. Her clinical interests include adolescent and emerging adult development, racial identity, LGBTQIA+ identity, and trauma. She is also the adult advisor to P10, the HW confidential LGBTQIA+ affinity group. Dr. Joyner’s counseling style draws from Relational Cultural Theory, Psychodynamic approaches, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She loves nature, especially birds, and enjoys incorporating the healing power of awe into her days.

Jullian Lee received his Doctorate of Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2017. Jullian’s predoctoral internship primarily focused on therapeutic services for children and their families in the California Department of Social Service Wraparound Program. He has worked with various populations providing individual/group therapy/family therapy and psychological testing for veterans suffering from PTSD, people suffering from substance addiction/dependence, women who are chronically homeless, and individuals who are incarcerated. Jullian has worked in the mental health treatment field for approximately 6 years both as Director of Clinical Operations and Clinical Training.

Dr. Tina McGraw worked in the mental health field for a decade before joining HW as a counselor and the Head of Peer Support in 2018. She got her B.A. in Psychology from UC Berkeley and then her M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 2009. Recently, she completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 2022 at California Southern University. Before working at HW, Tina worked with dually diagnosed patients who suffer from addiction and other co-occurring mental illnesses. Her experience makes her a resource for students who may be suffering from addiction or who need mental health support. As an alum of HW, class of 2001, she is thrilled to be back at HW in her current role.

As an alumna, Rebecca Neubauer is so grateful to have the opportunity to serve as a Middle School Dean & Counselor within a community that shaped her so much during her formative years. She received a Master of Arts in Social Service Administration and a certificate in Health Administration and Policy with a Concentration in Global Health from the University of Chicago. She is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in various settings, including at the UCLA Rape Treatment Center, LAUSD, and Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Services. Rebecca approaches counseling through a trauma and resiliency informed lens and utilizes an eclectic approach, drawing from various evidence-based treatment models. Rebecca is certified in various evidence-based practice interventions, including, but not limited to, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Seeking Safety, and the Reflective Parenting Program.

HW Sport Psychology is led by Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) Dr. Kat Scardino, who is trained at the graduate level in Sport and Clinical psychology. She attended Boston University for graduate school and completed her Psy.D. from California Southern University. Dr. Kat is passionate about working with both student-athletes and coaches in developing ideal mindsets and training environments for optimal performance. Kat has worked in a variety of different sport settings with athletes from the youth, collegiate, and professional levels. While Kat believes strongly in enhancing athlete performance with mental skills training, she also believes in the importance of working with student-athletes in managing overall mental wellness. Her focus on working with youth athletes is rooted in the belief that long term success in sport and life is developed through resilience, balance, and enjoyment.