Meet the team
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We provide targeted care for pediatric, adult and geriatric patients. Call 800-825-9989 or 310-825-9989 to learn more about our psychiatry services.
Dr. Joan Asarnow is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine and Director of the Youth Stress and Mood Program. Her current clinical, teaching, research, and policy work focus on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of treatments for self-harm, suicide prevention, and depression in children and adolescents. Dr. Asarnow specializes in cognitive-behavioral, DBT, and patient and family centered treatments and has done extensive work developing, evaluating, and bringing effective treatments into the community care settings where youth receive care. Dr. Asarnow’s work has been recognized by a Research Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and a Distinguished Career Award from the Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association. She has consulted to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organizations and programs in efforts to improve health and mental health in children, adolescents, and young adults.
Dr. Jocelyn Meza is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine and Associate Director of the Youth Stress and Mood Program (position to start in July 2021). Her current clinical, teaching, and research focuses on the development and evaluation of culturally-adapted treatments for self-harm/suicide for ethnic/racial minority youth impacted by different social systems (i.e., juvenile justice and child welfare systems). Dr. Meza is a certified bilingual psychologist trained at UC Berkeley and UCSF in cognitive-behavior and dialectical behavior therapies. Dr. Meza also examines cultural factors that may influence psychopathology in Black and Latinx youth, as well as the impact racial discrimination on self-harm. Dr. Meza’s work in advancing mental health treatments among ethnic/racial minority families has been recognized by the National Latinx Psychology Association and has also received the prestigious UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Lucas Zullo, Ph.D. (pronouns: he/him/his) has trained at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center, Drexel University, and Swarthmore College. He has extensive experience working with suicidal youth and their families in a variety of settings, including intensive outpatient, inpatient, consult liaison, and the emergency department. Dr. Zullo is passionate about implementing the use of evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention (i.e. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) among historically underserved youth, with a specific interest in LGBTQ+ youth, and has trained with several leaders in the field of intervention development from across the country since 2013. Dr. Zullo has been excited to participate in recent workshops hosted by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) on bringing a trauma-informed, anti-racist approach to clinical work and strives to bring this framework to his sessions with families. Dr. Zullo's research reflects his clinical interests and he is currently a NIMH Diversity Fellow.
Erica Rozmid, Ph.D. (she/her) has clinical, research, and academic backgrounds at Stanford University, New York University (NYU), Harbor-UCLA, CBT California, and Kaiser Permanente. Her research interests include clinical economics, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based practices. Dr. Rozmid has extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). She is certified by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy in CBT and works part-time at CBT/DBT California as a DBT therapist. She is passionate about working with youth and their families to promote suicide prevention and improving the youth’s quality of life. Dr. Rozmid is an LGBTQ+ affirming and culturally responsive therapist; she is committed to working collaboratively with patients from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Jamie Bedics, PhD, Psychologist & Clinical Instructor
Jamie Bedics, PhD is an Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Clinical Psychology at Cal Lutheran. Dr. Bedics is also a Clinical Instructor at UCLA in the Youth, Stress and Mood Program under the direction of Dr. Joan Asarnow. In this position he worked as a DBT research therapist on a large, multi-site (UCLA & University of Washington), randomized-controlled trial of DBT for suicidal and self-harming adolescents (Collaborative Adolescent Research on Emotions and Suicide or CARES). Dr. Bedics is the lead DBT trainer on a funded research study examining the effectiveness of a stepped-care model for delivering DBT with the goal of suicide prevention in a large hospital setting.
Kalina Babeva, PhD
Kalina Babeva, PhD continues her work at YSAM while she also works as a psychologist at Children’s Hospital Seattle in the Mood and Anxiety Program. Dr. Babeva is a psychologist whose work emphasizes treatment and research on the prevention and treatment of depression, suicidality, and self-harm in children and adolescents. Dr. Babeva was previously a postdoctoral fellow at YSAM within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, where she also completed her pre-doctoral internship. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California. Her work at YSAM emphasizes assessment and psychotherapy training and quality assurance for both an NIMH-funded Randomized Trial of Stepped Care for Suicide Prevention in Teens & Young Adults and the UCLA-Duke Center for Trauma Informed Suicide and Self-Harm Treatment and Prevention (ASAP) funded as part of SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network. She also contributes to other YSAM research and services initiatives aimed at improving care for youth who suffer from suicidal and self-harm behaviors and improving the lives of youths and families.
Sunhye Bai, PhD
Sunhye Bai, PhD, MPH, is and an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Bai completed an NIMH T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She received her MPH degree from UC Berkeley in 2010, specializing in Maternal and Child Health, and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 2017, where she also completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship. Dr. Bai’s research utilizes naturalistic research methods to understand how stress and risky health behaviors affect internalizing symptoms and suicidality in teens across time, and how family members can help to promote resilience in daily life. Dr. Bai is leading Project SAFE, a research study focusing on evaluating a novel mobile ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention (EMI) tool for use with parents and teens as a companion to brief in-person acute care interventions. This project is funded by the American Psychological Foundation. Dr. Bai also provides expertise in statistical and intensive longitudinal methods.
Chase Venables recently graduated from Harvard University in 2019, with a B.A. in Psychology. In his role as the YSAM Research Coordinator, Chase manages the SAMHSA-funded ASAP Treatment and Prevention Center, coordinates several studies that are currently being conducted within YSAM, and is in charge of patient recruitment and scheduling for the YSAM Dialectical Behavior Therapy Clinic.