talley webb, mA, crmc, CEP
I truly love the work I do. Nothing is more rewarding than being trusted as an advisor when a family is in crisis, and then witnessing the positive growth once a plan is in motion. I blend my clinical expertise and industry knowledge with heart-felt empathy as a mother who has experienced this journey firsthand.
I’m proud of the lengths I go to to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of treatment options. I spend time every month visiting schools and programs, getting to know the people who run them and how they work. I also attend subject matter conferences all over the country to stay abreast of best-practices. This a fascinating, ever changing field. The more I learn the more I can help my clients transform.
As a therapist, I worked with children, adolescents and young adults after earning my Master’s degree in 2005. When my own child began to struggle with mental health and substance abuse challenges, my life turned upside down. What followed was a journey that profoundly changed me and my family. After surviving this experience, I knew my true calling was to help other families navigate their own challenges and that’s when I created Journey to Better.”
Talley holds a MA in Psychology (MFT), a graduate Conflict Resolution and Mediation Certification, and is a Certified Educational Planner through AICEP. Talley is the current Board Chair for the Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA), a Professional Member of IECA, and a member of YATA and NATSAP.
She spends her free time with her family and two dogs, and loves to dance.
Founder & Principal Consultant
Certified Educational Planner
Marisa Huston, MA, LMFT
Senior Consultant
Marisa holds a MA in Counseling Psychology and is a licensed MFT. Her background is in coordinating triage response to undergraduate and graduate students experiencing mental health distress. Marisa’s greatest sense of joy and satisfaction came from working with parents to help them understand the challenges that lay ahead, being a part of the response team, and assisting them in finding the most effective and appropriate treatment options. She is thrilled to be doing this important work at Journey to Better.
As the Acting Director of Student Mental Health Coordination Services at UC Santa Barbara, Marisa managed the responses to crisis events such as hospitalizations, arrests, and high-level safety concerns. As primary point-of-contact, Marisa analyzed the situation, worked closely with treatment providers, and engaged in psycho-education with the student and their parents, including working with therapeutic consultants to find appropriate placements for residential or outpatient treatment.
Prior to her work on a university campus, she was in private practice in Santa Barbara, California, counseling young adults, couples, and families. Marisa and her husband currently live in Bend, Oregon, where she spends as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors and hiking in the mountains.
Stacy Barnard
Family Care Coordinator and Certified Coach
Likely your first point of contact here at Journey to Better, Stacy Barnard brings a grounded and personalized approach to supporting our families from day one. Having worn many different hats in a variety of therapeutic settings since 2012, including leadership administration, business development, residential management & client mentorship, Stacy brings a wealth of program knowledge and expertise to our team. Of all her roles, she found her heart was most called to helping families through the admissions process.
Stacy is a Certified Coach through an International Coaching Federation-accredited program and interweaves these skills into her work assisting Journey to Better clients and families.
As an Admissions Director, Stacy spent many years guiding families past their initial fears of the unknown, to taking that big leap of faith, placing their struggling child in the hands of professionals. A decision that never comes easily, yet it is so often met with relief. Having witnessed that the most fluid and supportive journeys were those of families who worked with Therapeutic & Educational Consultants, Stacy knows firsthand the tremendous value of having consultants like Talley in your corner.
A student of life, Stacy identifies as a mother (adoptive, bereaved, & IVF), wife, sister, daughter, and friend who values authenticity and play, whenever possible.
DJ Anderson
Affiliate Consultant
DJ is a Therapeutic Educational Consultant and Certified Coach skilled with helping clients navigate the delicate and challenging journey of supporting a struggling child.
She travels extensively, visiting programs and schools to meet with the leadership teams, therapists, staff, and students. Averaging over 60 program visits each year allows her to deeply understand and effectively evaluate programs. She also knows this territory well, having experienced it directly with her children.
DJ earned her coaching certification from New Ventures West, an International Coaching Federation-accredited program. She studies relational parenting, attachment theory, trauma, somatic healing, and childhood development with leading experts. Her consulting is influenced by her work with several spiritual teachers over the last 20 years.
DJ also attends conferences to ensure she knows the leading-edge and most effective outcome-based treatments and modalities. She is a member of the Independent Education Consultant Association (IECA), Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA), and the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).
JOANNE COHEN, MFT, MSW
Parent Coach / Consultant (on sabbatical)
Joanne Cohen joins Journey to Better in the role of parent coach and consultant. Joanne’s natural warmth and non-judgmental grace are of immediate comfort to parents seeking to better understand their children’s struggles, build new parenting skills, or set goals to managing difficult situations. She is particularly helpful with families looking for alternative school options throughout the greater Bay Area.
Joanne has been working as a therapist with children and adolescents for almost twenty years. Joanne has worked in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment programs, intensive outpatient programs and in a variety of school settings. Joanne sees students individually, leads SEL groups and works with parents running psychoeducational workshops and supporting families through transitional periods. She also works as the coordinator of the mental health program at a camp working with children, adolescents and young adults as well as parents to provide care support. When not working, Joanne enjoys dancing, being outdoors and spending time with her family including her young adult daughter and teen son.
Team qualifications
Masters level clinicians • Certified Coaches • Professional Memberships • Kind • Committed • Caring
“If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”
