It is our pleasure to introduce to you the members of the Mental Health Contributors Board for MatchBook. These individuals have volunteered to provide valuable leadership through actively submitting articles for publication, encouraging colleagues to submit articles or information to both the journal and the website, being available for immediate comment or response to issues, and to provide feedback as to the value and direction of the mental health information provided by MatchBook Journal.
Robert Stadolnik, Ed.D., President of FirePsych, Inc., is a licensed psychologist and author of Drawn to the Flame: Assessment and Treatment of Juvenile Firesetting (Professional Resource Press, 2000). Dr. Stadolnik has recently completed research studies on specialized firesetting populations including adolescents in residential care and adolescent females. He also consults to fire safety programs, residential treatment centers, public school systems, and state child welfare agencies. Dr. Stadolnik has recently partnered with Brandon Residential Treatment Center (Natick, MA) to pilot a comprehensive, evidence-based firesetting assessment protocol for short-term residential placement. Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Stadolnik has completed or supervised over 1500 firesetting behavior assessments. His special interest areas include assessment modeling, residential treatment programming, and firesetting among adolescent females.
Dr. Rebekah Doley started her career as an Organizational Psychologist before moving into the area of Clinical Psychology and subsequently into Forensic Psychology, training in criminal behaviour analysis (profiling) and specializing in the psychology of deliberate fire-setting. Rebekah has researched and lectured in the psychology of serial firesetting to mental health professionals, fire industry personnel, police services and insurance agencies in the UK, USA, NZ and Australia. She has a specific interest in the progression of firesetting behavior from childhood into adulthood and in firefighters who commit arson. Rebekah is Director of the Clinical Masters in Psychology program, Bond University (Australia) and maintains a private practice. She is also appointed by the Minister for Health (NSW) as an Official Visitor with a role in monitoring compliance with mandated mental health policies and procedures of local facilities of mental health services.
Dr. Donna Faranda received her Psy.D. from Carlos Albizu University (Miami, FL) in 2000 and completed post doctoral work in clinical psychopharmacology at Nova Southeastern University (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) in 2005. She holds certification from the Board of Forensic Counselors as a CBT clinician, is an approved instructor for the National Fire Academy, and for 17 years was the Executive Director for the South Florida Chapter of the National Safety Council. Dr. Faranda currently serves as psychologist for the Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, Fire Marshal’s Bureau, and Fire Chiefs Association. She has extensive experience as adjunct professor, clinical supervisor, psychological evaluator and treating clinician. Dr. Faranda has been active in research in firesetting behavior, pre-school intervention, and parenting skills work. Her current interest areas include developmental aspects of juvenile firesetting, risk assessment, and treatment protocols for a community-based population.
Dr. Brad Jackson received his Ph.D. in Child Clinical and Developmental Psychology from the University of Denver in 1999. Since that time Dr. Jackson’s varied experiences have included working in private practice, serving as a clinician and supervisor in both inpatient and day treatment settings, and serving as staff psychologist for the eating disorders program at Children’s Hospital in Denver. Dr. Jackson is currently the Clinical Director for the Juvenile Firesetting Evaluation and Treatment Program through the Burn Center at Children’s Hospital in Denver, CO and also consults to the hospitals rehabilitation camp for burn injured children. Dr. Jackson is one of the lead investigators on a study looking at gender differences among adolescents with firesetting.
Dr. Ian Lambie is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand where he teaches clinical, forensic, and child psychology. He has been providing treatment for adolescent offenders for over 18 years and has published nationally and internationally in this area. His specialist clinical and research interests are youth forensic psychology and in particular severe conduct disorder, adolescent sexual offending and arson. Ian is on the board of Youth Horizons Trust – a treatment programme for youth with severe conduct disorder, is a consultant to the New Zealand Government on youth offending, and a member of the Ministry of Justice Independent Advisory Group on Youth Offending. Ian is also the consultant psychologist for the New Zealand Fire Service National Fire Awareness and Youth Intervention Programme. Ian has been awarded both the Public Interest Award and the Ann Ballin Award from the New Zealand Psychological Society for services to Clinical Psychology in New Zealand. His areas of particular interest is the interface of technology with firesetting assessment and intervention efforts.
Dr. Sherri MacKay is a Psychologist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is the Provincial Director and founder of TAPP-C (The Arson Prevention Program for Children). Dr. MacKay has worked with youth in conflict with the law for 20 years and currently is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and has a cross-appointment to the Department of Psychiatry at the Hospital for Sick Children. She is actively engaged in the education and supervision of clinical and research students and fellows, and conducts TAPP-C workshops and seminars for professionals across Canada. She is a Director on the Fire Marshal of Ontario’s Public Fire Safety Council and in 2004 received the Award for Excellence in Fire Safety from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. Dr. MacKay is the lead author or co-author on numerous research publications devoted to child and juvenile firesetting as well as presenting nationally and internationally on the topic. Her areas of interest include further development of university training programs and the evaluation of intervention models for firesetting.
Paul Schwartzman has been a licensed mental health counselor in the Rochester (NY) area for more than twenty five years. Paul was a member of the original research team that originated the Fire Related Youth Unit for the City of Rochester (NY) Fire Department and the BIC preschool fire safety education curriculum, both award winning programs that address issues of children and fire. Paul has co-authored books and produced several research articles for professional journals, has written a chapter on treatment of juvenile firesetters, and is working on a book on treating juvenile and adult arson. Paul is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Education Section and is the co-chairperson of the NFPA Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Committee. Paul is also the President of the Finger Lake Regional Burn Association and is a board member of SOSFIRES. Paul has a special interest in treatment issues, increasing access to professional training opportunities, and national coordination and advocacy.
Dr. Michael Slavkin is an Assistant Professor, and the Director of Graduate Studies, in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Southern Indiana. Dr. Slavkin has extensive experience in firesetting intervention and treatment as a practitioner, coordinator, and researcher. He previously served in leadership positions for the Juvenile Firesetters Psychoeducational Program in Indianapolis and the Hoosier Burn Camp in Lafaytte, IN and has also been associated with firesetting programs in Illinois, New York, Ohio, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Slavkin is author and co-author of numerous publications on intervention, interviewing, and treatment of juvenile firesetting. He served as the head research coordinator for the National Association of State Fire Marshals and the Federal Emergency Management Agency projects to explore developmental issues associated with juvenile firesetting. Dr. Slavkin’s special interests include service learning, teacher education, and developmental issues associated with firesetting.
Dr. Williams, is the founding President of the Center for Arson Research and is a full-time member of the Criminal Justice Department faculty at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Dr. Williams lectures at home and abroad on firesetting, fire bombing and domestic terrorism and is the author of “Understanding the Arsonist: From Assessment to Confession” (Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company) with an expanded version of the text planned to be available in 2010. The Center for Arson Research has a sub-specialty working with forensic and task force teams around the country and in other countries in the identification of adult suspects and in designing interrogation and interviewing strategies to elicit a truthful account of firesetting and fire bombing behavior and its motivation. Her current projects include writing an article on sociopathic arsonists, serving as a feature editor on ethics and legal nurse consulting issues for the Journal of Forensic Nursing, serving as an expert witness throughout the US, and providing arson profiling expertise for Court TV. Dr. Williams was recently appointed editor-in-chief of the Forensic Digest and is a founding board member of the International Academy of Forensic Professionals.
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