Our Local Roots
Community Involvement
Great Basin Behavioral Health, founded in 2013, is determined to provide premium therapeutic services that positively impact the members of our community. Our founders have been determined from day one to create an agency that impacts all of the residents of the Reno/Tahoe area, both directly and indirectly, one client at a time.
By Locals, For Locals
Our community is important to us. Founders Rudy von Ravensberg and Chris Edwards were both born, raised and educated in Reno, Nevada. In fact, most of our staff are from the area and a majority graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. Northern Nevada is our home and we are committed to improving the life of all members of our community.
Giving Back
We believe giving back is at the core of our mission and drives us to work hard every day to simply do good and pay it forward. Some of our more recent commitments to our community include:
- Establishing the Great Basin Behavioral Health - Jason Walenta Memorial Scholarship through the University of Nevada, Reno. This scholarship provides financial support to graduate students preparing to work in mental health.
- Developing an agreement with the University of Nevada, Reno and other academic institutions to train student interns during their final year of study, while providing access to care for those without insurance coverage and who would otherwise be without services.
- Providing both educational and financial support to our schools, local non-profit organizations, and local athletes.
- Great Basin is a Gold Level sponsor for Swope Middle School, sponsors families in need during the holidays through the Children's Cabinet, sponsors local athletes through donations to Gymnastics Nevada, and has paid our staff to volunteer at Casa De Vida's House of Hope.
- Great Basin donates to the Crisis Call Center as a means to provide 24/7 crisis support for our local community.
- Great Basin's Anjie Silveira provides her time annually and at a significantly reduced cost teaching sexual health, interpersonal boundaries, and bullying prevention at Mountainview Montessori in Reno, Nevada.
About Our Founders
Rudy von Ravensberg, PsyD, LMFT, NCC
The founder and co-owner of Great Basin Behavioral Health, Dr. Rudy von Ravensberg is a Native Nevadan and a two time graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno.
In early 2018, Rudy completed his PsyD at California Southern University, with a focus on the modification of lifestyle as an adjunct to CBT and uses his knowledge as a basis for interventions for agency programs, as well as his clientele.
Further, Rudy has Trained with Aaron and Judith Beck, Robert Hindeman, and Amy Wenzel while completing Core 1 and 2 CBT Intensive Training with the renowned Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Philadelphia and works toward diplomate status with the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.
Rudy is a Nevada Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board Certified Counselor through the NBCC, and a health and wellness enthusiast. Additionally, Rudy has completed training as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and completed the NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist certification program.
Rudy lives in Reno with his spouse and two kids, enjoys trail running, camping, reading, and a good book.
Chris Edwards, MSW, LCSW
The co-founder and co-owner of Great Basin Behavioral Health, Chris Edwards grew up in the Reno/Tahoe area and graduated from UNR. He completed his graduate degree in Hawaii and is published in various journals regarding Native Hawaiian youth and substance use.
In early 2015, Chris began doctoral studies at California Southern University in order to further his understanding and integration of lifestyle and behavioral health issues, with specific focus on the use of CBT to address anxiety disorders and trauma.
Chris is a Nevada Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been comprehensively trained in Prolonged Exposure Therapy by Dr. Foa at the University of Pennsylvania as well as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy by Dr. Alan Fruzzetti with the University of Nevada Reno and Harvard Medical School. Further, Chris has completed Core 2 Intensive Training in Anxiety disorders with Amy Wenzel, PhD, from The Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Chris and his wife enjoy domestic and international travel, as well as everything outdoors for fun, especially camping in the woods while listening to a good audiobook into the evening.
Lilli (aka, "The Pig")
Lilli is our local Frenchie. She's got energy, a lot of attitude, and is conviced she's in charge...
About Our Clinical Team
Anjie Silveira, MA, LMFT, LCADC, NCC
Anjie Silveira is our Clinical Manager and is licensed as both an LMFT and a LCADC in the State of Nevada with years of experience working with both adolescents and adults in a variety of capacities and in numerous levels of care, including acute, residential and outpatient practices.
Anjie completed her Masters in Counseling and Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Nevada, Reno. After graduate school, Anjie completed an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Addiction Treatment and Prevention Services at UNR.
Anjie has completed several trainings focusing on CBT, including a multi-day intensive through The Beck Institute with a focus on anxiety. Furthermore, Anjie has training in risk assessment and working with trauma, as well as in Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD and DBT through several years of supervision with Alan Fruzetti, PhD.
In addition to the above, Anjie is also a Certified Positive Discipline Parenting Educator and has led parenting groups based on this philosophy. Anjie now continues in her quest to earn her doctorate and is near completion of her PsyD through California Southern University.
Anjie enjoys spending her time outside, is an accomplished ultra trail-runner, skier, globe trotter and backpacker.
Janet Laxalt, MSW, LCSW
Janet completed her MSW at the University of Kansas, with a concentration in advanced clinical practice after her completion of a bachelors in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Subsequently, Janet worked in numerous environments related to mental health, including acute hospital work as a case manager, in a group home working with dual diagnosis individuals and their families, as well as a therapist in residential and outpatient environments. Further, Janet worked as the executive director for a local group home for adolescent boys.
Janet has lived in the Reno/Tahoe basin for 25+ years and could never consider leaving the Sierra Nevada mountains. Further, Janet loves her work and holds dear her family history of aiding others with life challenges, including growing up as the daughter of a prominent French psychologist, while raising a daughter who now practices therapy in Portland, Oregon.
As a Great Basin practitioner, Janet lends significant attention to lifestyle choice, spirituality, social and relational issues, while utilizing empirically proven methodology, such as CBT (intensively trained), in her work. In her free time, Janet enjoys her family, her dog Biscuit, spending time outdoors, traveling, enjoying theater and practicing the ukulele around a campfire.
Betsy Ossler, MSW, LCSW
Passion and commitment best describes Betsy and her work and nothing brings her more joy than helping families heal, grow and succeed. In fact, Betsy often talks about the fact that she has "never worked a day in her life" ever since finishing her MSW at the University of Nevada Reno nearly 2 decades ago.
Betsy works primarily with kids, adolescents and younger adults, however, very much enjoys a "sprinkle of variety" in her cases, working with a small handful of older adults who present with a variety of struggles. With younger kiddo's, Betsy has significant history in her work with high conflict divorce, parenting issues, youth struggling with grief, adjustment issues, anxiety and behavioral problems.
Betsy enjoys living in the Sierra's and is very close to her two adult daughters, one of which recently graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in psychology and plans for graduate school and the other who dreams of being an equine assisted therapist.
Sharlene Hill, MA, LMFT
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sharlene works with both children and adults and has received comprehensive training by both Drs. Burns and Wenzel in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Childhood Disorders, Play Therapy, and Parent Training. Furthermore, Sharlene uses an integrative approach to treat all domains of a person’s life (mental, emotional, spiritual, physical health).
Sharlene is experienced in and most enjoys working with anxiety disorders, depression, women’s issues, sleep disorders, grief and loss, child and adulthood ADHD, developmental issues, difficulty with teens launching from the home, parenting issues, blended family issues, struggles with chronic pain, issues related to self-concept, body image issues, and aging issues.
In 2017, Sharlene began training through the Nutritional Therapy Association. As a Nutritional Therapy Consultant, Sharlene will have the ability to utilize nutrition in treating a variety of issues that commonly present in her office.
A Native Nevadan, Sharlene grew up in the Sierra's camping, fishing, hiking, and spending time at Lake Tahoe. Today, Sharlene enjoys these activities with her own family and her dog Nahla. Other than being outdoors, Sharlene loves cooking, gardening, reading, and being active in church. Lastly, Sharlene is passionate about supporting and bringing awareness to children in poverty through organizations, such as Compassion International, and victims of human trafficking through Rahab’s Rope.
Haley Hoffman, MSW, LCSW
After completion of her MSW from the University of Kansas, Haley worked for several years with kids and adolescents in residential and outpatient settings, and focusing on integrated mental health care, involving the use of PSR workers, coordination of care between providers, and involving herself with CPS, Social Services, and other entities to create wrap around care for her clientele. Additionally, Haley used to be a level 9 gymnast and later a girls gymnastics coach, which has given her a firsthand perspective of the challenges involved with competitive sports as a teen.
Haley works often with abuse, neglect, trauma and more severe anxiety with youth and adults. Further, Haley was intensively trained in trauma focused CBT (TF-CBT), has been trained in DBT, and applies a strength based emphasis in her work.
Looking for a change and as a way to have better access to the outdoors, Haley moved to the Reno/Tahoe area with her long term partner and her Golden Retriever Tioga. For recreation, Haley enjoys all things outdoors, including paddle boarding, long boarding, surfing, hiking, camping, snowboarding, yoga, aerial silks, and painting.
Andrea Johnson, MA, LCPC
Andrea is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, as well as Multnomah University, where she received her MA in Counseling. Andrea utilizes an integrative, holistic approach and believes that in doing so, we are able to incorporate the whole person, rather than treating an isolated symptom.
Andrea works with individuals who are experiencing feelings of depression, anxiety, relational distress, spiritual issues, and grief/loss. Many of Andrea's clients are trying to cope with the effects of trauma in their life in addition to feelings of insecurity, perfectionism, self-hatred or shame. Andrea appreciates finding common elements between DBT and CBT in her work with both mood and anxiety disorders. Andrea has been intensively trained in CBT for anxiety disorders by The Beck Institute.
Andrea enjoys all things outdoors and especially loves amateur photography and travel with her husband and two children. Andrea has a strong history of international volunteer work in East Asia, Costa Rica and Africa.
Steven Barcia, MA, LMFT, LCADC
Steven completed his graduate training as well as an Advanced Certificate in Addiction Treatment and Prevention at the University of Nevada, Reno. Further, Steven is an approved domestic violence treatment provider for the State of Nevada.
Steven's clinical focus is on adolescents and adults. His clinical focus is in the use of CBT while integrating concepts such as Motivational Interviewing and family systems. Further, Steven focuses heavily on emotional roundedness in his work.
Originally from upstate New York, Steven has lived in Northern Nevada for nearly a decade and truly considers Reno to be his home. For recreation, Steven enjoys outdoor activities including mountain biking, as well as engaging in self exploration through the creation of art and music.
Lisa Oliveto, EdS, LMFT-Intern
Lisa enjoys working with families, couples and individuals and uses an eclectic blend of theories to help people with anxiety, depression, relationship problems, adolescent behavioral problems and communication and family difficulties. Further, Lisa has been intensively trained in both CBT and DBT and has significant experience working with at risk adolescents in outpatient settings, as well as juvenile detention system and residential treatment.
Spending much of her life living in the Reno/Tahoe area, Lisa received both her Masters and Educational Specialist Degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her Professional paper and research addressed the issues of at risk adolescent females with a program to help with restorative justice for a community.
In addition to her work with Great Basin, Lisa enjoys golf, boating and water sports with her husband. Her loves of her life include her two grandchildren and two dogs!
Our Part Time Clinical Team
Catherine Delpizzo, MSW, LCSW
Catherine is a graduate of the University of Milan, Italy, as well as Latrobe University, located in Melbourne, Australia. Catherine is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and has an additional Family Therapy Accreditation through The Relationship Center and completion of basic training through The Beck Institute.
Catherine is a very experienced clinician and is approved by the Nevada State Board of Social Work Examiners as an intern supervisor. Catherine has a history working as clinical director of several local and state run behavioral health organizations and enjoys her work with children, adolescents and adults.
Furthermore, Catherine is trilingual and is fluent in both Spanish and Italian in addition to English. Outside of her work with Great Basin, Catherine enjoys spending her time outside hiking the Sierra Nevada Mountains and enjoying her partial retirement with her husband.
Erin Levenberg, MS, LMFT
Erin has a BS in psychology from the City University of New York, Baruch College and completed her graduate and clinical training at the esteemed University of Maryland, College Park. Additionally, Erin was trained by Dr. Eliana Gil to provide play therapy techniques to her clients.
Prior to starting her graduate training, Erin held a variety of roles in the mental health and educational fields. Further, Erin has served in AmeriCorps as an adult literacy instructor and facilitated therapeutic groups and activities for adolescents at a local outpatient behavioral health facility.
Erin is responsible for both individual and group based CBT interventions at Great Basin Behavioral and specifically loves working with young parents and new mothers.
Erin grew up in the Reno/Tahoe area and is grateful to have the opportunity to raise her children in Nevada's beautiful open spaces. She loves to recharge by hiking, practicing yoga, cooking, and spending time with her family.
Monica Vanderheiden, MS, LCPC, NCC
Monica originally comes from Las Vegas and completed both her undergraduate and graduate training at UNLV, emphasizing psychology and counseling. Further, Monica is a board certified counselor through the NBCC.
Monica works with teens and adults struggling with a variety of issues. Monica has specific training and experience with issues surrounding school issues and bullying, military members and veterans, as well as women issues. Further, Monica has a work history involving the use of telehealth in treatment.
Though Monica grew up in Southern Nevada, she enjoys spending time in the mountainous climate of the Sierra Nevada's. Monica enjoys outdoor activities, especially camping with her husband, children, and dogs.
Diane Schroder, Grad Student Intern
Diane has a BA in Communications from Boise State University and is currently completing her Masters in Counseling at UNR with a dual emphasis in School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Prior to starting her graduate training, Diane held a variety of roles in Human Resources and Organizational Development. She finds it rewarding to work with both children and adults who are experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief & loss. With her extensive Human Resources experience, she also enjoys working with clients in need of career counseling.
As a long-term resident of the Reno/Tahoe area, Diane loves camping, hiking, and spending time with her extended family. Diane loves to travel with her husband, enjoys walks with her dog Toby, and exploring her creativity.
Our Admin Team
Carrie von Ravensberg, CPA - Finance/Office Manager
Carrie has lived in the Reno area since 1999 after relocating to Northern Nevada to study accounting at the University of Nevada, Reno. Upon graduation, Carrie worked in public accounting and has spent a majority of her career working in health care finance at several major local hospitals as a CPA.
In 2017, Carrie left her career in the corporate accounting world to join the team at Great Basin and take the lead on managing day to day office and finance management of the company.
In her free time, Carrie enjoys spending time outdoors camping, hiking and backpacking, as well as amateur aerial silks and, above most anything else, getting lost in a good book. Despite growing up in Montana, Carrie is very committed to our local community and finds it difficult to imagine leaving the beautiful Sierra Nevada region.
Mary Hernandez
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada (Home means Nevada!), Mary graduated with advanced standing from Galena High School and is only a short stint away from finishing her BA at the University of Nevada, Reno. Upon completion of her BA, Mary intends to enroll in grad school to become Great Basin's next therapist, planning to specialize in work with children and teens.
Beginning at the young age of 12, Mary has spent her life devoted to helping others, especially children and adolescents. In fact, Mary has volunteered thousands of hours at a local preschool, implementing a program teaching native Spanish speaking students struggling with behavior problems English.
Work is great, but fun is just as important. To unwind, Mary enjoys spending time with her husband and family, curling up at home for a good read, going for a short run while jamming to Coldplay, hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains around Tahoe during a crisp fall or winter morning, and amateur photography.
Jen Baumgartel
Jen grew up in Northern California and relocated to the area in 2005 after finishing school and in order to follow her passion in working with animals as a licensed vet tech. As life would have it, Jen's passion changed and she decided she wanted to shift her focus toward working in healthcare with the intention on returning to school to become a therapist.
While Jen finishes her education at the University of Nevada, Reno, she assists at Great Basin and works diligently every day as the lead scheduler.
For fun, Jen spends time with her fur babies Mohawk and Link, as well as her longterm boyfriend and son. Spending time outdoors is very important to Jen and she regularly spends time hiking, as well as weight training, yoga, cooking, and having fun as often as possible..