Pacific Clinics Training Institute

Christopher Amenson, Ph.D., has been with Pacific Clinics for more than 25 years in a number of increasingly responsible clinical, management and administrative positions. In his work with the Pacific Clinics Training Institute, he provides training on treatment, supervision, and management of psychiatric rehabilitation programs. Dr. Amenson focuses on real world implementation of evidence-based treatments. He was one of the first to implement programs of psychosocial rehabilitation and family psycho-education in a non-research setting. He is the author of Schizophrenia: A Family Education Curriculum, a series of training manuals that teach mental health professionals how to educate and inform consumers and family members about schizophrenia. This series has been taught in several languages and is published in English, Spanish and Japanese. Dr. Amenson is a well-known speaker on behavioral healthcare topics across California, the U.S. and abroad. He is a recipient -- among his other honors – of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)’s highest professional award – “Psychologist of the Year”.

John S. Brekke, Ph.D., is the Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Southern California School of Social Work. He teaches research and clinical courses on treatment outcome research and research grant writing. Dr. Brekke has been the principal investigator on five longitudinal studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and one funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Dr. Brekke publishes widely in mental health journals, serves on the editorial boards of Social Service Review, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal and Research on Social Work Practice, and is a consulting editor for Social Work Research. He received the Armin Loeb Achievement in Research Award from the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services and the Excellence in Research Award from the Society for Social Work and Research.

Marie Schulte, M.A., serves as Director of the Pacific Clinics Training Institute. In this role, she develops and implements the Institute’s business plan and provides leadership and management over the Institute’s operations, ensuring training programs are consistent with the Clinics’ mission, goals, and objectives, including to enhance and support consumers’ recovery, to educate consumers and their families on mental health issues, to foster trainings that are culturally diverse, and to train mental health professionals in the most effective methods of treatment. Her professional experience includes strong project management, team building and communication skills, and also includes experience as an Event Coordinator with the Muscular Dystrophy Association where Ms. Schulte coordinated events generating contributions of more than $2.5 million to the agency during an 18-month period. She is also a community service activist, volunteering her time to local organizations in support of eliminating domestic violence, providing holiday gifts to displaced children, and creating food packages for needy families at local food banks. Ms. Schulte holds a Master of Arts Degree in American Literature and Theory from the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

Gordon A. St. Mary Jr., Psy.D., has served as a Senior Vice President at Pacific Clinics since 2007. He is a licensed clinical psychologist who received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Ryokan College. Dr. St. Mary began his mental health career with Portals in 1994 as a Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist at the agency’s Mariposa Clubhouse, gaining experience in psychosocial rehabilitation while completing his doctoral studies. He has provided oversight in a variety of outpatient settings, including day treatment, group homes, foster family, EPSDT, family preservation, probation, juvenile hall, Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST), dual diagnosis. Most recently, he directed Mental Health Services Act Full Service Partnership wraparound programs serving Transitional Age Youth (16-25 years) and children (0-18) and their families. Among his other accomplishments in training and teaching, Dr. St. Mary has developed and implemented cultural competency training to improve cultural awareness and provide more effective treatment to persons of various ethnic backgrounds and cultures. He has been a board member of several programs including New Directions for Women in Costa Mesa, the Multi-Ethnic Task Force of Orange County and the Mental Health Board Housing Forum.