Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services
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Ginny Sprang, Ph.D, Executive Director
Ginny Sprang, Ph.D., is a Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Sprang served as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, Irving Harris Program in Child Development and Infant Mental Health during her sabbatical. Dr. Sprang is a Principal Investigator and Executive Director of the Center on Trauma and Children, a center whose mission is dedicated to the enhancement of the health and well-being of children and their families through research, service and dissemination of information about child trauma. Dr. Sprang serves as Principal Investigator for many of CTAC’s state and federal grants and contracts. She served as a member of the National Steering Committee for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), is the current Co-Chair of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Committee for the NCTSN, and is the Chair of the Terrorism and Disaster Special Interest Group of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Her scholarship focuses on the clinical, forensic and empirical aspects of traumatic stress and the efficacy and effectiveness of treatments to address the biopsychosocial impact of violence against children. Dr. Sprang has published extensively in the leading journals focusing on trauma, maltreatment, and treatment efficacy in adults and children. |
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Giovanni Billings, Psy.D.
Giovanni Billings, Psy.D. earned a doctorate in clinical psychology at Wheaton College in 2009. He completed an APA-accredited internship at Children’s Hospital Colorado. His postdoctoral training was with the Irving Harris Fellowship for Early Childhood Development and Infant Mental Health through the University of Colorado—School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. His primary clinical interests are in the assessment and treatment of trauma with preschoolers and their families. He currently serves as a team leader in the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services (CATS) program, where children with complex trauma cases receive multidisciplinary evaluations of their and their family’s functioning to aid in case and treatment planning. |
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Lesli Nicholson
Lesli Nicholson is the Administrative Coordinator for the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services Project (CATS). Ms. Nicholson acts as a liaison to the Cabinet for Health & Family Services to facilitate the referral and evaluation of families at CATS. She received a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation from Eastern Kentucky University. |
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Jennifer Aldarondo, Ph.D.
Jennifer Aldarondo, Ph.D. earned a doctorate from Indiana University in 2000, a master's degree from Mississippi State University in 1994, and a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University in 1992. She completed her internship in general psychology at Madison State Hospital in 2000, and her post-doctoral training at Cummins Mental Health Center in 2001. She has been licensed at the master's and doctoral level in Indiana, and as a Licensed Psychologist in Kentucky since 2002. Her current position is a Psychologist/Clinician/Team leader, with duties that include: assessment of families and children who have an open case with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services which include identifying strengths and weaknesses, how the family interacts with each other, and psychological and developmental examinations. In addition, she generates reports for the Cabinet to aid in making decisions or treatment plans, the supervision of doctoral level clinicians, and conducting school-based/community trainings on skills to use with traumatized children. |
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Bettye Cheves, BSN, MSN
Bettye Cheves, BSN, MSN, is a psychiatric nurse and a key member of the treatment team at the CATS clinic. Ms. Cheves is a highly skilled play therapist with over 30 years of experience working with maltreated children and their families, and an expert on attachment spectrum disorders and relational interventions. |
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Angela Combs, M.S., LPA, LPCC
Angela Combs, M.S., LPA, LPCC, Therapist and Trainer, completed her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Ms. Combs has over eight years of clinical experience working with children who have been impacted by traumatic events and their families in the capacities of an individual and group therapist, in-home therapist and in assessment. As a Clinical Team Leader for the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services (CATS) Project, Ms. Combs coordinates a multidisciplinary team of clinical social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses to conduct multidimensional assessments of maltreated children and their families. Ms. Combs is also the Educator Coordinator for the CATS Project and oversees the development and activities of students of various levels and disciplines and provides clinical supervision. As a Therapist and Trainer for the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training Institute, Ms. Combs provides empirically-based interventions to children and families who have experienced maltreatment and training/mentoring to Regional Clinical Associates involved with this project. |
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Ashley Smith, LCSW
Ashley Smith, is a therapist in the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training Institute and a member of the assessment team in the CATS project. Ashley earned her MSW from the University of Denver in 2007, and worked for five years as a clinical social worker in the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Colorado providing intensive inpatient services to children and adolescents ages 4 -17 years old. Ashley had extensive experience in family therapy and is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. |
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Aimee Mau, MSW, LCSW
Aimee Mau, MSW, LCSW, Treatment and Training Specialist. Ms. Mau completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Prior to graduate school, Ms. Mau gained approximately six years of field experience working with children and adults whose lives were impacted by domestic violence. During graduate school, Ms. Mau was a research assistant and team member with the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services (CATS) Project. Following graduation, Ms. Mau’s role at the CATS Project was expanded into a position as a clinical team leader where she continues to lead a multidisciplinary group of social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurses in the assessment of maltreated children and their families. As Treatment and Training Specialist for the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training Institute (CATTTI), Ms. Mau provides empirically-based interventions to children and families who have experienced maltreatment and training/mentoring on empirically-based interventions to Regional Clinical Associates involved with this project. |
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Heather Risk, Psy.D.
Heather Risk, Psy.D., Project Director. Dr. Risk completed her Master of Science at Eastern Kentucky University and her doctoral studies at Xavier University. Dr. Risk completed an APA accredited internship at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital, CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Sacramento, California and has years of clinical experience with child and adult victims of trauma. As Project Director for the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training Institute (CATTTI), Dr. Risk provides empirically-based treatments with victims of child maltreatment and trains other mental health professionals. Dr. Risk’s clinical interests include providing empirically supported treatments to children and families who have experienced maltreatment. |