Our Team
Southwest Mental Health is a respected practice serving the community for over 50 years. Our experienced team of skilled therapists treat a broad range of ages and mental health issues. We are confident that we can meet your needs. With diverse backgrounds and extensive behavioral health experience, our master level practitioners are dedicated to providing the best care for our clients.
Browse our therapist profiles below to find the right fit for you!
Kendra Arnold
LMHCA
Deanna Derry
LCSW
Adam Gayer
MS, LMHC
Grant Gerard
LCSW, LAC
Alica Gibson
MA, LMHCA
Marcia Grant
LCSW, LMFT
Kendra Miklos
LCSW, LCAC, CSAYC
Bernadine Payton
LMHC
Jenn Rickard
MSW, LSW
Tavis Schlundt
LSW
Terri Schlundt
Reiki Master
Bonnie Smith
MSW, LCSW
Our Team
Kendra Arnold, LMHCA
Kendra Arnold is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate and is currently under supervision in order to obtain full licensure. She is dedicated to helping children, adolescents, and adults navigate life's challenges with compassion, empathy, and understanding. She believes that therapy is a collaborative process and strives to create a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment where clients feel heard, valued, and empowered to make meaningful changes.
Kendra has experience working with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, self-esteem concerns, behavioral challenges, relationship difficulties, and life transitions. She is especially passionate about working with children, adolescents, and young adults, helping them develop healthy coping skills, improve emotional regulation, build confidence, strengthen communication, and increase resilience. She also enjoys supporting adults as they work through personal challenges, improve relationships, and achieve their goals.
In addition, Kendra has a strong interest in working with first responders. She recognizes the unique demands and emotional burdens that come with careers in law enforcement, fire service, EMS, dispatch, and healthcare. She is committed to providing a confidential, supportive space where first responders can process stress, trauma, burnout, and the challenges of balancing their professional responsibilities with their personal lives.
Drawing on evidence-based approaches, Kendra tailors treatment to each client's unique needs and recognizes that every person's experiences and journeys are different. She values building strong therapeutic relationships and works collaboratively with clients and, when appropriate, their families to foster lasting growth and positive change.
Kendra earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Grace College and her Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Grace College in May of 2026. She has gained experience in behavioral health, crisis assessment, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and outpatient counseling through her work in a variety of clinical settings.
Deanna Derry, LCSW
Deanna provides client-centered, affirming therapy to help individuals lead more peaceful and balanced lives.
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Her areas of specialty are coping with anxiety and depression, gender identity issues, adjustment reactions, and clients with developmental disabilities. She draws from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing in her practice.
Adam Gayer, MS, LMHC
Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Adam is a licensed mental health counselor who prioritizes building a strong therapeutic alliance with each client. He earned both his MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and his BS in Art Therapy from the University of Saint Francis.
With nearly a decade of professional experience, Adam has worked in inpatient, outpatient, and private practice settings. His background includes extensive involvement in the visual arts, both personally and professionally, as well as teaching and incorporating art therapy experientials into his work with clients in group and individual settings.
Adam uses an integrative, client-centered, and collaborative approach, utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and motivational interviewing techniques. He has advanced training and experience in supporting clients with grief and loss, depression, generalized anxiety, career counseling, life adjustments, family-system/dynamics issues, and ADHD management skills.
Adam enjoys working with children (5+), adolescents, young adults, adults, and families. He works part-time at SWMH, alongside serving a full-time role with Parkview’s Employee and Student Assistance Programs.
Adam looks forward to meeting you and supporting you in your journey!
Grant Gerard, LCSW, LAC
Grant's experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker includes clinical service to individuals and groups - counseling adults and adolescents with mental illness, co-morbid disorders, trauma anger, adjustment and behavioral issues.
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He has direct involvement collaborating with the criminal justice system, DCS, and family courts.
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Grant accepts both private and institutional referrals and, with client consent, communicates with other providers with the purpose of achieving the optimal outcomes for his clients.
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Grant holds a BS in Psychology from Ball State University and a Masters of Social Work from Indiana University. Grant has been practicing since 2005.
Alica Gibson, MA, LMHCA
Alica graduated from Western Michigan University in 2005 with a double major in Psychology and Family Studies. In 2009, she obtained her Master’s degree in counseling education/counseling psychology. She next completed her Master’s degree in educational leadership.
Alica taught Psychology Courses at Kellogg Community College for 9 years and supervised teachers for licensures at Western Governors University for 10 years. She spent 6 years as a school counselor, and over 9 years in school administration. Alica worked for Parkview Behavioral Health on the youth and adolescent unit for 3 ½ years, where she spent most of her time working with youth, but also helped in the assessment center, geriatric and adult units.
Alica counsel’s adults, adolescents, and young children with a wide range of behavioral and emotional concerns. She has specifically worked in treating youth, families, anxiety, family therapy, anger management, grief and loss, substance use / addiction and adults with depression ADHD, personality disorders, life transitions, divorce, custody, conflict resolution, and substance abuse. She works with ADHD testing for adults and children, runs groups for teens, parent education, educational consulting, schools, courts, and attorneys.
Marcia Grant, LCSW, LMFT
Marcia’s thirty years of experience has been at various settings including community mental health, an outpatient psychiatric agency, and private practice. She finds it very rewarding to help clients address such concerns as anxiety and depression, adjustment disorders relationship issues, grief and loss, parenting challenges and life transitions.
She believes that with greater clarity and understanding of ourselves, we can better manage our thoughts and feelings, make conscious and compassionate choices, and be more effective in relationships.
Her approach is client-centered, integrating cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices and solution focused.
Kendra Miklos, LCSW, LCAC, CSAYC
Kendra is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor. She is also a Credentialed Sexually Abusive Youth Clinician. Kendra works with teenagers and adults who are presented with a variety of mental health, substance abuse, sexually harmful behaviors, and trauma. She is trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(TF-CBT) and utilizes a humanistic, client centered, and strengths-based approach in her work with individuals.
Kendra’s experience includes eighteen years working within the juvenile justice system and five years working in collaboration with the child welfare system and the courts. Kendra understands the impact of involvement with the court system and can help clients as they navigate their own system involvement.
Kendra obtained her bachelor’s degree in social work from Ball State University and returned to graduate school later in life where she obtained her master’s in social work in 2022 from Indiana University. She has been practicing as a therapist since May 2022.
Bernadine Payton, LMHC
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” -Soren Kierkegaard, Philosopher
Bernie joins Gerard, Coslow, and Tieker-Sharpe Associates with several year’s experience in mental health including 11 years at Parkview Behavioral Health as a social worker and discharge Planner. Bernie also worked with patients one on one and conducted psychotherapy groups for the geriatric unit, adult unit, and children’s unit.
Bernie has worked at Amani Family Services for five years. Amani is a small agency with a large mission to “partner with immigrant and refugee families and the community to promote safety, encourage personal growth, and foster a spirit of belonging.” Bernie provides psychotherapy to this population along with DCS and probation families. Therapies include play therapy, Trauma-focused CBT therapy, family therapy, Gottman, and therapy with translation assistance.
Bernie currently works at Park Center on the in-patient unit completing assessments, and at a local hospital working as a social worker and a discharge planner.
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Bernie worked for Raj Clinics 5 years under the leadership of Dr. Umamaheswara and Dr. Sitha Gita Kalapatapu, Psychiatrists. During this time, Bernie provided psychotherapy for patients with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders; in addition to patients with substance abuse issues that were receiving Suboxone treatment. This also included a clientele of children, adults, elderly, families and couples. Therapies included CBT, Narrative therapy and emotionally focused therapy.
Bernie attended Ball State University for her undergraduate degree in Social Work and earned her Master’s degree from IPFW, School of Education and Counseling.
Jenn Rickard, MSW, LSW
Jenn believes everyone has a story, and she wants to hear yours. She is curious about how people became who they are, why certain patterns developed, and what those patterns may have once helped them survive, manage, or understand. Her work focuses on looking beneath the surface of a behavior or struggle so clients can better understand themselves and decide what they want to change.
Jenn’s own story has taken her through several parts of the country. She was born and raised in Chicago, lived briefly in Tucson and Northeast Georgia, and spent 25 years in the Memphis area, where she raised her family. She moved to Fort Wayne in 2019 and is proud to be part of the community she now calls home.
Jenn provides affirming, trauma-informed therapy to adolescents age 15 and older and adults. Her approach is eclectic, collaborative, and client-centered. She tailors therapy to the individual rather than expecting the client to fit a particular modality, and she believes clients are the experts on their own lives.
She especially enjoys working with people navigating trauma and PTSD, grief, substance use and recovery, neurodivergence, later-identified ADHD or autism, LGBTQ+ identities, major life transitions, and ENM, polyamory, and other alternative relationship structures. As the spouse of a veteran, Jenn also has a particular interest in working with veterans and military-connected clients.
Jenn connects with people who have spent much of their lives feeling misunderstood and are ready to understand the experiences, needs, and beliefs behind the patterns that keep showing up.
Tavis Schlundt, LSW
Tavis empowers clients to overcome personal obstacles and reach their goals while more richly experiencing the innate joys in life and more capably dealing with its challenges. Through an emphasis on evidence-based mindfulness practice, Tavis guides clients through tailored approaches by enhancing their capacity for change.
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” – Alice Walker
Having significant experience working with clients struggling with substance abuse and addiction, Tavis applies a mindfulness-centered approach, in tandem with other evidence-based recovery strategies, toward helping clients establish a new relationship with their thoughts and feelings. Along the way, Tavis helps them find the relief and peace they have often long sought within themselves rather than externally, while helping them foster the strength to thrive along their journey to rediscovering a fulfilling and meaningful life.
Tavis also uses mindfulness-centered strategies in therapy toward helping clients with behavioral addictions, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, and chronic pain. With an approach largely drawing from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), he is eager to work with you along your personal journey.
Terri Schlundt, Reiki Master
I strongly believe in an innate capacity for self-healing within each and every one of us. My approach seeks to draw this out in each and every one of my clients. Traditionally trained in Reiki since 1994, Master Reiki trained and formally practicing since 2019, then becoming Access Bars Certified in 2021, throughout this journey I was guided by my angels. With the help of universal life force energy, it is within personalized and intuitively guided energy work sessions that I serve as your facilitator.
My sessions are a unique combination of energy work modalities including Reiki (in person or distance), Access Bars, Cord Cutting, Shamanic Modalities, Singing Bowls, Messages from Spirit, Crystal Augmentation, and Heat Therapy. As a client of mine, you will receive treatments however is most comfortable for you: lying or sitting, with or without touch, sleeping or talking about whatever is on your mind. Within the confines of its principles and practice, there is really no wrong or right in Reiki.
For centuries, people have practiced energy work for healing benefits. By transferring unconditional love from the universe, among its many applications, I help people improve their mood, sleep, ease acute/chronic pain, increase focus, and open the flow of energy. While energy work is not a replacement for medical or psychiatric care, it serves to augment your innate self-healing alongside the care received from other practitioners. If this sounds interesting, please reach out to me, by phone or text. With the assistance of your angels and guides, I would like to help you help yourself achieve your goals.
Bonnie Smith, MSW, LCSW
​​Bonnie graduated from the University of Saint Francis in 2018 majoring in Biology with a minor in psychology. She worked as a 911 dispatcher for the city of Fort Wayne and Three Rivers Ambulance Authority and as an EMT at the Aboite Township Fire Department for six years before deciding to pursue her master’s degree in social work. She graduated in December of 2023 from Indiana University. During her Master’s, Bonnie completed internships at FWPD Victim’s Assistance and as an individual therapist at Phoenix Associates. Bonnie continues to volunteer as a member of the NE Indiana Critical Incident Stress Management team that responds to incident debriefings with first responders following traumatic incidents while on duty. In 2022, Bonnie began working as a case manager at Allendale Treatment, a dual-diagnosis inpatient treatment facility that focuses on detoxification, substance dependence, and mental illness. She continues to work full-time there as a therapist and enjoys the variety of experiences she gets while working at Allendale and now with our organization. Bonnie is licensed in the state of Indiana and requires supervision while she pursues full licensure.
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She enjoys working with teens starting at age 15 and young adults. Bonnie works well with clients who struggle with anxiety, depression, life changes, personal and professional
boundaries, addictions, and processing singular traumatic events. She loves working with first responders (firefighters, paramedics, police officers), their families, individuals in the healthcare field, and veterans and their families. Her experience as a first responder makes her especially comfortable with this population. Bonnie is also passionate about working with substance dependency or abuse, especially with teenagers and adults who may be worried their use has gotten a bit out of hand. Finding a therapist that is a good fit can be a daunting task. For this reason, Bonnie offers a free, 15-minute consultation call to verify that she is the right therapist for her clients and their needs. If you are interested in working with Bonnie, call our office so we can verify your insurance and connect you with her!
