UCCF Staff:

Jerry Miller, Ph.D. is the director of the Center. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1975. He joined the staff of the Center in 1992, and became director in 1994. He has been a member of the Psychology Department faculty, and directed numerous mental health service and training programs, since receiving his Ph.D.

Dr. Miller has very wide ranging interests in the child and family mental health field. He has directly worked with hundreds of children and their families. His special interests include the evaluation and treatment of gifted children and those with learning disabilities, couple’s therapy, and the management of human service organizations.

Eileen Bond, L.M.S.W., A.C.S.W. (Supervising Faculty) is a Clinical Social Worker with over 30 years experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She has expertise in Mind/body approaches to behavioral health including hypnosis, relaxation training, and stress management. She is also interested in parent education and the utilization of spirituality in psychotherapy.

Peggy Buttenheim, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and senior supervisor who joined the staff at the Center’s inception in 1987. She received a BA from Yale and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Buttenheim has broad clinical interests which include the development of a parenting identity, the divorce and remarriage process as they affect partners and children, gay and lesbian identity development, and the protective aspects of a strong mother-daughter relationship. She has extensive clinical experience working with college students, adults, and couples, and facilitates dialogues between mothers and daughters in conflict. She is a certified Imago therapist.

Kristen M. Chapman, M.A. is a senior Speech/Language/Learning Specialist with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of children with speech, language, learning, attention, and cognitive differences. She has a particular interest in the psychological impact of these differences on individuals and families, and educating individuals with learning difficulties, as well as their parents and teachers, about their learning strengths and weaknesses in order to facilitate maximal lifelong compensation and effective advocacy in educational and work environments.

Sharon Gold-Steinberg, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who has been a clinical supervisor at the University Center for the Child and the Family (UCCF) since 1995. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan University, her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UCCF. Dr. Gold-Steinberg is the coordinator of the Strong Moms Strong Girls program, a collaborative venture between UCCF and the Junior League of Ann Arbor, to support healthy relationships among girls and women.

Dr. Gold-Steinberg has extensive clinical experience working with children, teens, adults, couples and families. Her clinical interests include child-parent psychotherapy, anxiety, trauma, divorce, and enhancing attachment and communication in family relationships.

Joseph Harvey, M.D. (Faculty) Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with expertise in both biological and psychotherapeutic treatment of adolescents and children. Particularly interested in the integration and use of appropriate medication with ongoing psychotherapy.

James W. Plunkett, Ph.D. (Faculty) Clinical Psychologist with expertise in play therapy, parent consultation, the impact of divorce on children and families, and in the development and disruption of early parent-child relationships.

César Valdez, L.M.S.W. is a Clinical Social Worker who received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He has practiced in juvenile justice, foster care, and community mental health settings where he worked with a broad range of significantly distressed populations. He also has a background in consulting and training on issues of diversity and multiculturalism.

Mr. Valdez has worked with a wide range of presenting problems for adults, families, children, adolescents, and couples. As a certified EMDR therapist he has had extensive experience treating trauma, and his clinical interests include a focus on neurobiological approaches to psychotherapy and the development of spirituality in clients' lives.