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Kent R. Blocker, M.A.
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Elizabeth M. Capecchi, Ph.D
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Glenn G. Geralds, Ph.D
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Timothy Jennings, M.D.
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George O. Karasievich, Psy.D
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Sarah (Peggy) Muller, M.S.
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Charles M. Nies, Ph.D
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John W. Oldham, LSCW, D.Min.
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Stephen Muller, Intern
FEES
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Fees
are based on the type of individual provider,
and an estimate of charges and co-pays will be
provided at your first appointment. Payment is
expected for each office visit at the time of
the session.
Our
providers are covered by most insurance
policies, which, typically, will cover most or
all of the cost of the sessions. As a
courtesy, we will file the claims for you.
However, you are responsible for any and all
co-payments, deductibles, and non-covered
charges.
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PROFESSIONAL LINKS
NEW
BEGINNINGS |
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At New Beginnings Counseling
Center (NBCC) we have an excellent professional staff. Our
clinicians are licensed, credentialed and experienced. Our
staff psychiatrist is Board Certified in Adult and Child
Psychiatry. We have Licensed Clinical Psychologists and
Licensed Professional Counselors to help you.
Kent R.
Blocker, M.A.
Licensed Professional
Counselor
Licensed Senior Psychological Examiner
Licensed in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia
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Kent
Blocker has over 38 years experience in the mental
health field, including working in a state
psychiatric hospital, a U.S. Army mental hygiene
clinic, a community mental health center where he
was the Clinical Director for the last five years
there, and private practice in Tennessee and
Alabama. He is a Licensed Professional
Counselor/Mental Health Services Provider and a
Licensed Senior Psychological Examiner/Health
Services Provider in Tennessee. He is a Certified
Employee Assistance Professional and contracts with
numerous national and local employee assistance
programs, working with employees who have a wide
range of problems. He is nationally board
certified in counseling, mental health counseling
and addictions. He is also qualified as a
Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) under U.S.
Department of Transportation regulations, able to
conduct SAP evaluations of employees in DOT safety
sensitive positions who have tested positive for
banned substances, and coordinate appropriate
education and/or treatment programs for them, to
help them return to their jobs, while protecting the
public. He also conducts pre-employment
psychological evaluations of persons seeking to go
into law enforcement positions.
The son of a career Army officer, he traveled
extensively while growing up, living in 25 places by
the time he was 21 years old, and is proud to be an
Army "brat". "I feel that my childhood exposed me
to a wide range of cultures and people, and is
probably a big reason why I choose mental health as
my life's work, and why I enjoyed working with
people so much." He received his B.A. in
Psychology from the University of Virginia and his
M.A. plus additional hours towards a Ph.D. in
Clinical Psychology from Miami University of Ohio.
He has been married to his wife, Ellen since 1971,
and has a daughter and son-in-law.
While I
specialize in anxiety and depressive disorders,
including PTSD, I also work with both families and
couples who have problems, especially in
communication and joint problems solving. I have
learned to deal with the entire range of emotional
problems that people can have, and develop
constructive ways of dealing with them. I
think you have to look at the whole person, both
strengths and weaknesses, to help them repair hurts
and build a positive and happy life.
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Elizabeth M. Capecchi,
Ph.D.
Licensed Professional
Psychologist |
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Dr.
Beth Capecchi has over 14 years experience in her
field. Her hobbies are
jogging and
antiquing.
"I love what I do and consider it a privilege to
help people with their life struggles. We all
have them!" She earned her BS and MEd degrees
from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D from the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
She specializes in the following areas of expertise:
Depression/BiPolar,
Child/Adolescent,
Marriage and Family,
Multicultural
Issues,
Anxiety/Stress,
Grief and Loss,
and Personality
Disorders.
I
do
a lot of relational work and a lot of cognitive
behavioral work. I tend to be on the more active and
directive end of the spectrum.
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Glenn G. Geralds, Ph.D.
Licensed School and
Clinical Psychologist
Licensed in Tennessee |
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Glenn
grew up outside of Detroit, Michigan. After
graduating from Ferndale High School in June of
1961, he attended Northwestern University,
Merrill-Palmer Institute and Culver-Stockton
College, obtaining his BA in Psychology in June of
1965. He then moved to Tennessee in order to attend
graduate school at the University of Tennessee where
he earned his MA in August of 1967 and his Ph.D. in
August of 1970. Glenn did his pre-doctoral
internship in Memphis during the 1969-70 academic
year split between the Gailor Mental Health Center,
a part of the University of Tennessee Medical
School, and the Memphis City Schools.
Following his internship, Glenn worked for the
Memphis City Schools as a Supervising School
Psychologist for 6 years and then moved to
Chattanooga in June of 1976 in order to take the
position of Director of Psychology and Education
Services at Team Evaluation Center. After
working at Team for 10 years, he went into private
practice for 3 years prior to joining the staff at
Southeastern Counseling Center which eventually
became Greenleaf Counseling Center. In
November of 1999, he and five colleagues, founded
New Beginnings Counseling Center where he continues
to practice.
Glenn is licensed as a Psychologist in Tennessee,
with Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology
recognition of competency as a Health Care Provider
in both School and Clinical Psychology. Over
the years, Glenn has been active in various local,
state and national psychological associations,
serving in several local and state organization
leadership roles. His current practice involves
doing psychological evaluations for a number of
purposes, individual, couple and family therapy,
supervision of trainees and consultation with
various community agencies and organizations.
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Timothy R. Jennings, M.D.
Board Certified
Psychiatrist
Master Psychopharmacologist
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Dr.
Tim Jennings is a resident of Tennessee and obtained
his M.D. degree in 1990 from the University Of
Tennessee College Of Medicine in Memphis, TN. He
completed psychiatric residency at Dwight D.
Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, GA and
has served as the Division Psychiatrist for the 24th
and 3rd Infantry Divisions. He has also served as
the United States Army Surgeon General's delegate to
the American Medical Association's Resident section
and as the Chief of Psychiatry at Winn Army
Community Hospital at Fort Stewart, GA. He is
currently President of the Southeast Tennessee
Psychiatric Association and was named one of
America’s Top Psychiatrists in 2008 by the Consumer
Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
Dr.
Jennings is board certified in psychiatry by the
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is
licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee, Georgia,
and Arkansas. He is also board certified in adult
psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology, a Master Psychopharmacologist certified
by the Neuroscience Education Institute, Diplomate
of American Board of Forensic Examiners and the
American Board of Forensic Medicine.
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George O. Karasievich,
Psy.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Licensed in Georgia and Tennessee |
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Known
also in the office as just Dr. "K", he is a licensed
clinical psychologist with 31 years experience.
He has worked in the Chattanooga area his whole
career, but has worked both inpatient and
outpatient, organization consultant to schools and
children's agencies, and now has morning employment
part-time at Hamilton Medical Center, where he does
adult medical and mental disabilities. There
are lots of mid-day and afternoon hours available in
the New Beginnings Office for children, adolescents,
and family issues. Dr. "K" sees a lot of
people with ADD or ADHD, from age 4 to age 40.
There are many possible reasons for obtaining
psychological evaluation, whether to help a failing
child in school, help decide the kind of educational
program needed by an autistic or disabled child, or
help college students who are in desperation from
stress and struggling to study (who cannot because
of ADD).
There are also many types of therapy
offered, from behavior training of an oppositional
and temperamental young child to motivating passive
aggressive adolescents who likes to upset and
frustrate his/her elders. Family and marital
therapy for divorce, domestic violence, and child
abuse is also available. Specific problems, like
anger management, panic disorder, and anxiety
disorder are also given specific
cognitive-behavioral treatment plans with or without
medication. Consultation for medication is
available with the "house" psychiatrists or with the
patient's own physician. At this stage of his
career, some physicians regularly send their new
patients to Dr. "K" for full evaluation before they
get put on any medication program and to provide
them the best care available. Dr. "K" is
married, has one grown son, and has a strong
Christian belief and commitment. People of all
faiths/backgrounds are welcome. |
Sarah (Peggy) Muller,
M.S.
Licensed Professional
Counselor
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Licensed in Tennessee |
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Peggy
Muller grew up in small towns near LaGrange,
Georgia. She received her undergraduate degree
from the University of Georgia, and then attended
Florida State University where she completed her
master of science degree in clinical psychology. She
has written articles on the prevention of family
burnout, effective use of discipline within the
Christian family, and the use of desensitization
techniques with anxious middle school students.
She and her husband produced a videotape series on
the traits of a healthy family. Mrs. Muller is
a licensed and board certified professional
counselor. In practice full-time for 24 year,
she and her husband have 3 adult children. Her
favorite hobby is spending time with her two
grandchildren. |
Charles M. Nies, Ph.D
Licensed Clinical
Psychologist
Licensed in Tennessee |
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Charles M. Nies, Ph.D.
has extensive experience with marriage and family
counseling as well as treatment of the individual
with a Christian based counseling program.
Taking the holistic approach helps in the evaluation
and treatment of the individual in their natural
family environment.
Dr. Nies
received his BA from Wheaton College in 1968 and his
Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1974. He
was licensed in Tennessee in 1990. |
John Oldham, LCSW, D.Min.
Licensed Clinical Social
Worker |
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John
Oldham has over twenty years of experience and
currently works with New Beginnings Counseling
Center. His hobbies include hiking, reading,
fitness, movies and music. "I
am very thankful to have the opportunity and
privilege to do this special work of counseling,
which I consider a ministry."
He
received his BA in Psychology and his MS in Social
Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, his
MDiv at Emory University and his DMin of Pastoral
from Columbia Theological Seminary. His areas of
expertise include: Depression/BiPolar, Domestic
Violence, Marriage and Family, Sexual Issues,
Drug/Alcohol/Addictions, Anxiety/Stress,
Spirituality, GLBTG, and Group Work.
"I enjoy working with families and
children/teenagers from a family systems, cognitive
therapy, and pastoral counseling perspective. It is
a lot of fun to see the changes that people make in
their lives over time. This seems to be an era that
some families need support from counselors who also
offer spiritual guidance. My practice has extended
over a twenty-two year period in which I have been
blessed to see two generations of children and then
their children."
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Stephen Muller, M.A.
Intern Counselor |
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Stephen
Muller is working as a counseling intern as part of
the process of becoming a licensed professional
counselor in the state of Tennessee. He graduated
from Vanderbilt University with a degree in
psychology and received his master's degree from
Auburn University in counseling psychology.
He is offering counseling services for the current
year and should be a licensed professional counselor
by the year 2010. He is currently specializing
in counseling adolescents and children at New
Beginnings Counseling Center. |
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