Bay Area Family
Therapy Services
OUR CLINICAL TEAM
Meet our clinicians
Meet the people behind Bay Area Family Therapy Services and learn about their backgrounds and approaches to care.
Keith Kapash
Founding Director · Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
The Founding Director of Bay Area Family Therapy Services, Keith Kapash MFT, brings more than 25 years of experience as a therapist. His style is warm, supportive, intuitive, and at times directive, combining techniques from mindfulness practice with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He began studying mindfulness in 1998 studying with teachers in the US and India and has received training as a Mindfulness Facilitator. He holds additional degrees in Organizational Communication and Management and brings this experience to his work in helping individuals organize for success. Keith also specializes in supporting families through Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and provides Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation to schools in the Bay Area.
Weekly ADHD treatment sessions with Keith are a place to learn and practice concrete skills in managing the symptoms of ADHD and the often co-occurring symptoms of Depression and Anxiety to promote growth and create lasting change.
California LMFT #46140
Clinical Team
Get to know our clinicians and their approaches to care.
Leslie Davidson
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Leslie Davidson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She received her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she specialized in Drama Therapy. Leslie has been working in a variety of settings throughout the Bay Area that include private schools, non-profit agencies and private practice. She has considerable training and experience in trauma treatment, vicarious trauma prevention, bully prevention, restorative justice, DBT, and mindfulness. Leslie has worked with children, youth, families, adults and groups and has specialized in PTSD, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Her treatment approach is both nurturing and directive and draws on several therapeutic models, focusing on guiding clients and families on their path towards their expressed goals.
Additionally, Leslie has experience in clinical supervision for clinicians in training and she facilitates vicarious trauma prevention workshops for direct care providers of victims of trauma.
California LMFT #52343
Thao Bui
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Thao Bui is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been practicing since 2007. She specializes in working with families, children and adults with ADHD, depression, anxiety, PTSD and other trauma related stressors. Thao is experienced in providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy “CBT”, mindfulness and guided meditation, trauma informed care, expressive art therapy, body movement, and narrative therapy. She offers a holistic approach including thoughtful therapeutic interventions, safe, empathic and considerate practices that support clients to gain skills to manage emotionally overwhelming tasks and stressors in their lives to heal, grow, and improve overall functioning.
California LMFT #105105
Hana Nielsen-Kneisler
PsyD · Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Hana Nielsen-Kneisler, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in psychological assessment and therapy for adults. Dr. NK has expertise in assessing for ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and psychological and personality functioning. She is skilled at helping clients understand their behavior and emotions with clarity and compassion. Prior to joining the clinical team at Bay Area Adult ADHD, she spent three years performing diagnostic assessments for an adult ADHD brain research program. Dr. NK is especially interested in the therapeutic principles of assessment and views assessment as an opportunity to empower individuals through increased knowledge and self-compassion. She has experience working with the legal system, disability rights and neurodiversity, and the process of requesting work accommodations. Dr. NK spent four years living abroad in Asia and Latin America and has clinical training in culturally informed assessment.
California PSY #29549
Christa Cusimano
PsyD · Licensed Educational Psychologist
Dr. Christa Cusimano is a Licensed Educational Psychologist with a doctorate in School Psychology. She has over 10 years of experience working in the public education system with children and adults from varied cultural backgrounds. She specializes in the assessment and intervention of learning and behavioral difficulties. Christa has expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, executive functioning skills, learning disabilities, processing disorders, behavioral difficulties, autism spectrum disorders, emotional issues, intellectual disabilities, and trauma. She has experience providing individual, family, and play therapy, utilizing an integrated approach. Christa is passionate about helping individuals understand and overcome obstacles related to ADHD and learn how to manage their life successfully. She works to empower clients to lead successful and happy lives by providing a safe, non-judgmental environment.
California LEP #3522
Rachel Williams
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Rachel Williams is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over a decade of clinical experience. She has worked with children, teens, adults, and families, providing individual, group, and family therapy. Throughout her career, Rachel has worked in a variety of settings, including schools, community mental health, crisis management and stabilization, and private practice. She has considerable experience in providing trauma-informed treatment and is highly trained in working with PTSD, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, Rachel has extensive experience supporting clients in understanding and developing skills to manage challenges related to ADHD through learning techniques to increase time management, prioritize life tasks, and effective organizational methods.
Rachel provides therapeutic care in a manner that encapsulates a holistic approach to healing, honoring all parts of an individual’s identity, cultural experiences and lived perspective. Rachel approaches therapeutic work with compassion and empathy while being authentic in building a safe and non-judgmental space for clients to grow and meet their goals.
California LMFT #92774
Kimberly R. Mascaro
PhD · Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Kimberly R. Mascaro, PhD, LMFT was born and raised in the SF Bay Area and has worked in the fields of mental/behavioral health, and education for over 20 years. Primarily focusing on ADHD and other neurodevelopmental issues she supports her clients in a variety of areas of performance. Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) she helps clients develop more effective systems for organization, task and time management, reducing distraction, and improving communication in relationships.
Additionally Dr. Mascaro has extensive experience in working with trauma, anxiety, life transitions (including pregnancy/postpartum, divorce/separation), gender issues, spirituality, grief/loss, mindfulness, recovery from substance abuse, as well as women’s issues. She is known for her warm, relational approach and holistic, eclectic therapeutic style, integrating evidenced-based and traditional talk therapies as well as offering art therapy and dreamwork to fit the needs of her clientele.
Dr. Mascaro earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2013 from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and a MS in Counseling Psychology in 2003 from Dominican University. She has served as faculty associate at Arizona State University since Fall of 2006, and is the author of two nonfiction books. Dr. Mascaro is a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), as well as a board member and ethics committee chair for the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD).
California LMFT #103066
Let’s find a place to begin.
Explore the next step for yourself, your family, or your child.