WHO WE ARE

young adult dbt and mental health therapists california

Our founding staff and young adult mental health treatment specialists have years of experience helping young adults make progress on a path to healing and personal growth. Pacific Pathways is our combined effort at creating an ideal environment for young adults to move past the major mental health obstacles in their path. We work with our clients providing  comprehensive treatment, clinically proven therapies, and psychiatric care, to help them meet their goals. It is our mission to help our clients firmly find a path that leads to resilience and empowerment. Here are some of our caring, compassionate, and experienced staff.

mental health treatment specialists

Dr. Sanjai Thankachen, MD

Medical Director
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Brooke Brody, LCSW

Agency Director & Therapist
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Mike Beswick, LCSW

Clinical Director & Therapist
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Meg Sweetman

Lead Residential Assistant & Life Coach

Kobe Biederman, PhD

Director of Sustainability, Educational Programs and Outreach
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Phillip Jones, MA

"Life Worth Living" Program Director
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Our founding staff and young adult mental health treatment specialists have years of experience helping young adults make progress on a path to healing and personal growth. Pacific Pathways is our combined effort at creating an ideal environment for young adults to move past the major mental health obstacles in their path. We work with our clients providing comprehensive treatment, clinically proven therapies, and psychiatric care, to help them meet their goals. It is our mission to help our clients firmly find a path that leads to resilience and empowerment. Here are some of our caring, compassionate, and experience staff.

Sanjai Thankachen, MD

Dr. Sanjai Thankachen graduated from Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medicine in 2000. He completed his residency in psychiatry in 2008 from Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in New York, where fifty percent of his rotations were at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. After his residency he worked at Ventura County Medical Centers in an adult out-patient setting and now lives in Orange County, California.
Dr. Thankachen is currently working with Pacific Neuropsychiatric Specialists in an out-patient practice, as well as working at multiple in-patient psychiatric and medical units bringing his patients the most advanced health care treatment in psychiatry. Dr. Thankachen sees patients with an array of disorders, including depression, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, anxiety, and dementia-related problems. Dr. Thankachen is also involved in professional organizations and societies in good standing including the American Psychiatric Association, Indian Medical Association, and the Karnataka Medical Association.

Who We Are Behavioral Health Agency Director

Brooke Brody, LCSWC

Brooke Brody, MSW is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California. Brooke is a doctoral student at Prescott College, completing his dissertation in the area of “Advances in the treatment of trauma.” He has worked as a therapist in wilderness therapy programs, other clinical facilities and therapeutic schools for the past 21 years. Brooke was the founder in 2006 of the Potomac Pathways outpatient behavioral health facility in the Washington, DC  area and operated the program for 14 years. The facility offered psychiatric day treatment and intensive outpatient programs for teens and young adults with moderate-to-severe mental health and/or substance use challenges. Brooke is an “intensively-trained” Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) therapist, trained by the Behavioral Tech institute, founded by the developer of the DBT model, Marsha Linehan, PhD. DBT (Linehan, 1993) was developed to treat persons with a history of severe trauma, suicidal ideation, self-injury, and borderline personality disorder. Brooke is the Director of Pacific Pathways.

 

Mike Beswick, LICSW

Michael Beswick LICSW, BCD has been a licensed independent therapist for many years. He has extensive training and experience in working with addictions, family systems, psychodrama, DBT, and has directed several experiential wilderness programs. He is well known for his dynamic group work with families and has been a presenter at numerous national conferences. Mike embodies passion, enthusiasm and compassion in his work and has developed the Pacific Pathways sustainability based model to help young people and families rediscover their sense of meaning and purpose, and create “a life worth living.”

Kobe Biederman, PhD

Kobe serves as the Director of Sustainability and Higher Education Programs.  Kobe’s passion is encouraging young adults to learn and grow through connections with their community and the natural world.  Kobe holds a B.S. from the University of Oregon, an M.A. in Recreation Administration from Aurora University, a ME.d. from Northern Arizona University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College.

Kobe has facilitated a wide variety of experiential learning programs, including working with first-year and transfer students at the University of California, San Diego.  Kobe also spent several years serving as the Director at Boston University’s Sargent Center for Outdoor Education.

Kobe’s role at Pacific Pathways includes designing and implementing college-level courses for our clients in conjunction with Prescott College. He also coordinates company-wide social, ecological, and economic sustainability initiatives as part of our process of becoming a Certified B-Corp.

Who We Are Behavioral Health Program Director

Phillip Jones, MA, LMHC

Phillip Jones is a licensed psychotherapist, a personal and
organizational development program coordinator, and a rites of passage facilitator. He is the author of Transcendence: Finding Peace at the End of Life.

After military service and organizational development work at a DOD submarine base, Phillip took some years of study as a monk and interfaith program director. He returned to school to complete a Masters degree in counseling, and has worked with young men and their families, people going through mid-life crises, and those near the end of life, in various organizations and venues. Phillip has created and used his Life Wheel Assessment (based on Jungian personality psychology) and personal  coaching to support the development of numerous individuals and organizations in finding their unique strength patterns and growth opportunities.

For two decades, Phillip and his wife Ana have led groups and transformative retreats in inspiring places in North and
South America, Europe and Hawaii. He is currently a Director at the Mandala Springs Retreat Center in Northern
California, and is an editor of publishing projects in the
self-help and personal development genre with Insight Editions publishers.