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.