Our Faculty

Please click on faculty photos for further biographical information

Senior Faculty


Candace J. Erickson, MD, MPH, FAAP (2010-) Associate Professor, Clinical Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Director, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York, New York


Melanie A. Gold, DO, DABMA, DMQ, FAAP, FACOP (2010-) Professor, Adolescent Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center; Professor, Department of Population & Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health; Medical Director, School Based Health Centers, New York Presbyterian Hospital


Howard Hall, PhD, PsyD, BCB (2010-) Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics and Psychology, Case Medical Center, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital; Board Certified in Biofeedback (BCB); ASCH Approved Consultant


: Daniel P. Kohen, MD, FAAP, ABMH (2010-)
Co-Founder/Co-Director of Education, National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute (NPHTI), Golden Valley, Minnesota; Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine and Community Health (retired), Departments of Pediatrics, Family Practice and Community Health, University of Minnesota; Former Director, Fellowship Training in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota

: Leora Kuttner, PhD (2010-)
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics, University of British Columbia & BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; www.drleorakuttner.com; Karen Olness, MD, FAAP, ABMH (2010-)
Board certified in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Professor Emerita of Pediatrics, Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio; Inaugural President of the NPHTI Board of Directors (2016-2020), NPHTI Co-director of Education (2010-2021), and past president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, the American Board of Hypnosis, the International Society of Hypnosis and the Society for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics

: Laurence I. Sugarman, MD, FAAP, ABMH (2010-)
Research Professor and Director, Center for Applied Psychophysiology and Self-regulation; Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York

: Jody Thomas, PhD (2012-)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Denver, Colorado; Adjunct Faculty, Stanford Department of Psychiatry

Core Faculty

Andrew Barnes, MD, MPH, FAAP (2010-)
Associate Professor, Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN https://cnbd.umn.edu/bio/cnbd-faculty-staff/andrew-barnes

Cheryl S. Bemel, PhD, LP, NCSP, CTTS (2015-)
Licensed Child/Adolescent Psychologist, Nationally Certified School Psychologist; Minnesota Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps; www.drcherylbemel.com

Camilla Gabriella Ceppi Cozzio, MD, FMH (2014-)
Private practice, Zollikon, Switzerland Kinder Jugend Praxis

Rebecca L. Kajander, MPH, APRN, CPMHS, BSB (2010-)
Retired, Noran Neurological Clinic (retired Dec. 2015), Minnetonka, Minnesota; Associate, Partners In Resilience

Adam Keating, MD, FAAP (2014-)
Section Head, Community Pediatrics, Cleveland Clinic Children’s, Wooster, Ohio; Quality Improvement Officer, Cleveland Clinic Community Pediatrics; Former Medical Director, Longbrake Student Wellness Center The College of Wooster; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine; Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

Harriet Kohen, MA, MSW, LICSW, CPT (2010-)
Clinical Social Worker, Kohen Therapy Associates, Minnetonka, Minnesota

Jeff Lazarus, MD, FAAP (2014-)
Medical Hypnosis, Private Practice, Menlo Park, California; Former Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Lisa Lombard, PhD, President of the NPHTI Board of Directors (2020- )
Clinical Psychologist in Chicago independent private practice; former Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; school-based psychologist; psychological advisor to start-up tech company, Alerje; Founder of Comfort Kits for Children Initiative. See Our Board of Directors for more details.

Robert A. Pendergrast, Jr. MD, MPH, FAAP, Member of the NPHTI Board of Directors (2021- )
Professor, Pediatrics. Director, Adolescent Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Eileen Poulin, MD, FAAP (2014-)
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Tufts Medical School (Maine Medical Center Campus); Faculty, Maine Medical Partners, Pediatric Clinic at Maine Medical Center and Department of Family Medicine, Portland, Maine

Core Small Group Facilitators

: David K Becker, MD, MPH, MA, LMFT
Clinical Professor, UCSF Department of Pediatrics; UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine; Co-Medical Director, IP3 Pediatric Pain Management Clinic

F. Ralph Berberich, MD, FAAP

Frederick Bogin, MD
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine (retired); Part-time private practice pediatric hypnosis; CLINIC Alternative Medicines, Northampton, MA

Lynda Richtsmeier Cyr, PhD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Private Practice, Golden Valley, Minnesota; Associate Clinical Director, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)

Carla Frankenhuis, RN

Kate Pfaffinger, PhD, LP, BSN, MSPH
Health psychologist and consultant in private practice

Teresa Quinn, MD, FAAFP, ABMH
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota/ Methodist Hospital Family Medicine Residency, St. Louis Park

Michele Semerit Strachan, MD
Director of Medicine, Cultural Wellness Center, Minneapolis, MN

Mark Weisberg, PhD, ABPP, LP
Licensed Clinical Health Psychologist, Private Practice, Minneapolis

Elaine Wynne, MA, LP
Licensed Psychologist; President/Founder, Veteran Resilience Project

Guest Webinar Speakers

Bryan Kono, MD
Bryan Kono, M.D. is an integrative pediatrician, founder of Highlands Integrative Pediatrics in Denver and Clinical Instructor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Mary Wilde, MD

Former Faculty

: Timothy P. Culbert, MD, FAAP, ABMH, BCB (2010-2013)
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota; Medical Director, Center for Integrative Pediatrics and Family Wellness, Ridgeview Medical Center; Board Certified in Biofeedback (BCIA), Medical Hypnosis (ABMH), Holistic Medicine (ABHIM) and Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics (ABP)

Bob Deutsch, PhD (2010-2011)
Private Practice in Adult, Child & Family Psychology, West Hartford, CT; Allied Health Professional (Division of Psychiatry) & Consulting Psychologist (Department of Hematology-Oncology) at CT Children’s Medical Center; Consulting Psychologist, Social Security Department Bureau of Disability, Hartford, CT; ASCH Approved Consultant

Kevin Harrington, PhD (2011-2013)
Private Practice, Bloomington, MN

Pamela Kaiser, PhD, CPNP, CNS (2010-2021)
Child/adolescent psychologist, pediatric nurse practitioner, pediatric clinical nurse specialist, and developmental specialist. She is Co-Founder of NPHTI, a founding member of NPHTI’s Board of Directors, and NPHTI Co-director of Education (2010 – 2021). Incorporating hypnosis for more than 30 years with CBT and multi-modal pediatric integrative health approaches, she is recognized internationally for her expertise in pediatric self-regulation and resilience, with emphasis on clinical anxiety, stress, and mind-body and medical conditions.

David Wark, PhD (2010-2016)
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Past President, MSCH; Board Member, International Society of Hypnosis; Past President, Fellow, and Approved Consultant, ASCH; Fellow, SCEH

The Rev. James W. Warnke, MA, MSW, LCSW (2010-2014)
Former President, Member of the Board of Directors, and Senior Faculty Member of the New York Milton H. Erickson Society for Psychotherapy and Hypnosis

Deceased

: Judson B. Reaney, MD, FAAP, BCB; (Senior Faculty, 2010-2012); April 29, 1949 — February 24, 2012; In memoriam