The MCRC team includes an outstanding group of staff and associates who have proven themselves in both public, nonprofit and private sector careers, and who bring commitment and dedication to quality work and responsive, client-focused consulting.
Richard Rash Executive Director/Therapist Email: rrash@mcrcstl.org
Tel: 314-724-1486
Richard Rash, MA, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified English/ESL Instructor. Richard provides counseling services to people of all ages, including children and adolescents. His primary therapeutic approach is cognitive behavioral therapy with an emphasis on setting solution-focused goals and connecting with individuals in a therapeutic setting. Some of his areas of expertise include depression, anxiety, job-related difficulties, school related issues, behavioral concerns, cultural concerns, and cross cultural marriage and relationships. He has worked in the social service and mental health field for over 20 years with over fifteen years experience working for the Department of Mental Health. He has extensive experience doing outreach and community support work with the various immigrant communities in the St. Louis area. He has Master's degrees in Professional Counseling and in Teaching English as a Second Language and has worked at the International Institute for over 11 years as an ESOL and Citizenship teacher. He is currently supervising graduate level practicum and internship students and is offering clinical supervision. Richard was born and raised in the St. Louis area.
Tel: 314-724-1486
Richard Rash, MA, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified English/ESL Instructor. Richard provides counseling services to people of all ages, including children and adolescents. His primary therapeutic approach is cognitive behavioral therapy with an emphasis on setting solution-focused goals and connecting with individuals in a therapeutic setting. Some of his areas of expertise include depression, anxiety, job-related difficulties, school related issues, behavioral concerns, cultural concerns, and cross cultural marriage and relationships. He has worked in the social service and mental health field for over 20 years with over fifteen years experience working for the Department of Mental Health. He has extensive experience doing outreach and community support work with the various immigrant communities in the St. Louis area. He has Master's degrees in Professional Counseling and in Teaching English as a Second Language and has worked at the International Institute for over 11 years as an ESOL and Citizenship teacher. He is currently supervising graduate level practicum and internship students and is offering clinical supervision. Richard was born and raised in the St. Louis area.
Aya Kawasaki Therapist Email: ayak5lcsw@gmail.com
Tel: 314-873-1992
Aya Kawasaki, MSW, LCSW, LLM, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Aya is a graduate of Washington University School of Social Work. Aya is originally from Japan and is married to an American husband. They adopted a daughter from China in 2006. Aya lost her sister to suicide and is especially interested in suicide prevention, grief and death counseling. Aya has extensive clinical and research experience. She previously worked at Bilingual Internationals Assistant services as a Therapist and case manager prior to going into private practice. Aya also previously worked in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine Aya’s work in the area of mental health research has been published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (2004), British Journal of Psychiatry (2005), Annals of Clinical Psychiatry (2004) and Comprehensive Psychiatry (2011).
Tel: 314-873-1992
Aya Kawasaki, MSW, LCSW, LLM, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Aya is a graduate of Washington University School of Social Work. Aya is originally from Japan and is married to an American husband. They adopted a daughter from China in 2006. Aya lost her sister to suicide and is especially interested in suicide prevention, grief and death counseling. Aya has extensive clinical and research experience. She previously worked at Bilingual Internationals Assistant services as a Therapist and case manager prior to going into private practice. Aya also previously worked in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine Aya’s work in the area of mental health research has been published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (2004), British Journal of Psychiatry (2005), Annals of Clinical Psychiatry (2004) and Comprehensive Psychiatry (2011).
Michael M. Orihuela Board Member
Michael Orihuela, MA, MSW, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Michael has extensive experience working with both immigrants and children of immigrants dealing with stress related to living/growing up in America. Prior to his entry into the field of mental health, Michael was a Senior Research Assistant at the Washington University Medical School. He has also worked at the Mount Sinai Medical Center (NYC) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work has been published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (1995), Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (1996), Immunity (2004) & Immunogenetics (2008). Michael holds a Master's degree of Social Work from Washington University, a Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from Southern Illinois University and a Bachelor's degree in Biological Science from Rutgers University. He taught English in Japan and South Korea. Michael is originally from the New Jersey/New York City area. Being the son of immigrant parents from Peru, Michael is fluent in Spanish and his interests are in the area of Bicultural Identity, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and education in America.
Joshua White PhD Research Associate/Board member Email: jwhite@mcrcstl.org
Joshua White Ed.D is a dual-board certified, Licensed Professional Counselor, Board Certified Hypnotherapist, and member of Grant Professionals Association. His clinical experience includes over 11 years providing clinical services with individuals with severe mental illness, co-occurring disorders, and correctional and re-entry offenders. Joshua holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from University of Missouri-St. Louis, Master's degree of Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University, a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Anderson University in Indiana. Joshua’s research evaluation experiences include serving as a member of Missouri Grant Professional Association (2019) while serving as a Coordinator with Bureau of Justice Association grant with St. Louis Treatment Court. Joshua work on the BJA grant evaluation process includes data entry, data collection, monitoring, and ensuring evaluations meet national standards through consulting, surveying, and analyzing data; preparing reports; and presenting to community stakeholders. Joshua’s assisted in the renewal and revision of program design & implementation, integration of best practices methods, while using SPSS and SAS software. His collaboration provided recommendations for improvement from program evaluation studies reviewed. Joshua is currently offering clinical supervision for aspiring professional counselors.
Raymond Poon Therapist
Raymond Poon, MS, EdS, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified School Psychologist in Missouri. As a native from Hong Kong, he has practiced in the mental health field for over 25 years, providing counseling/behavior modification services to individuals of all ages, especially those who are developmentally and mentally challenged. Mr. Poon holds a Masters of Science in psychology from Illinois State University as well as an Educational Specialist degree from University of Missouri in St. Louis. Prior to joining the Special School District of St. Louis County in 2006, he was employed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health as an associate psychologist from 1985 to 2006. Currently, Mr. Poon is also a Deputy Juvenile Officer with the Family Court of St. Louis County on a part time basis.
Patavee Vanadilok Board member
Yuima Mizutani
Yuima Mizutani, M.Ed., NCC, LPC is a Licenses Professional Counselor and currently working on her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Her focus is on multicultural counseling and family counseling. Yuima works with all ages from 4 years old to adults with various needs including depression, anxiety, gender/sexual minorities, racial/ethnic minorities, culture shock, and other behavior concerns and emotional distress from school or work. Yuima is originally from Japan and has lived in St. Louis since 2009. Yuima is a trained Eye Movements Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist to work with clients with trauma backgrounds. Yuima is bilingual in both Japanese and English.
Yuima Mizutani, M.Ed., NCC, LPC is a Licenses Professional Counselor and currently working on her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Her focus is on multicultural counseling and family counseling. Yuima works with all ages from 4 years old to adults with various needs including depression, anxiety, gender/sexual minorities, racial/ethnic minorities, culture shock, and other behavior concerns and emotional distress from school or work. Yuima is originally from Japan and has lived in St. Louis since 2009. Yuima is a trained Eye Movements Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist to work with clients with trauma backgrounds. Yuima is bilingual in both Japanese and English.
Lingli Zhang, PhD, MEd, NCC, PLCP
Lingli Zhang, PhD, MEd, NCC, PLPC has a PhD in Neuroscience from University of Pennsylvania and a MEd in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is also a Certified Facilitator of Embodied Transformation and a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor in MO. Lingli brings her personal journey into her counseling through embodied transformation and mindfulness practice, as well as decades of Neuroscience research that gave her a deep appreciation of the intricacy and capacity of our body, emotion and the thinking mind and their capability of healing. Lingli accompanies her clients on their journey of healing and growth by building a safe and supportive physical and relational space. In that space, she facilitates understanding and transformation of emotions, thoughts, memories, desires and behavioral patterns with embodied and interpersonal approaches that are rooted in neurobiology of trauma formation and healing and the power of self-awareness and self-love. Lingli helps people build nourishing relationships with their own self, with others and with the life at large, to lay the foundation for a life of meaning and joy. Her specialties include: anxiety, depression, anger, stress, grief and loss, life transition, trauma in general, sexual trauma in particular, body-image, substance and behavioral addiction, eating disorder, cultural adjustment, self-confidence, life purpose, generational trauma, and relationships in couple and in family.
Practicum Opportunities available for Counseling Students
Volunteer Opportunities- We are always looking for individuals interested in working with children and diverse populations
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