Our Team A-B

Jessica Ashcraft, MS, MFT-T, is a Marriage and Family Therapy student who provides services, crisis intervention, and support to residents in Clermont County through Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) at Child Focus, Inc. Mrs. Ashcraft received a Master of Science in Child and Developmental Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies. She is currently enrolled at Northcentral University to complete licensing requirements toward becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is a military spouse and special needs parent that was born and raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati. Her family has lived in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Washington, and the northern Virginia/DC area. She has experience with applied behavior analysis, early childhood education, and special education services. Her past work experiences include: preschool teacher, school-based therapeutic day treatment counselor, mental health caseworker, and foster care family consultant.

Katie Barker BA, QMHS is qualified mental health specialist providing services in the Clermont county area. Katie earned her bachelor degree from Bellevue University.  Katie began working for Child focus in 1997 in the early childhood division, providing services for children birth to 5 years old. Katie left Child Focus to stay home with her family and then returned to work in the mental health division in September 2019.  Outside of Child Focus, Katie enjoys camping with family, watching soccer and hiking to see waterfalls. 

Shelly Baxter, MA, LPCC-S, completed her Master of Art in Agency and Community Counseling in 2004 from Xavier University. Mrs. Baxter is an independently licensed Supervising Professional Clinical Counselor and has been employed with Child Focus Inc. since March of 1995. She has served in many roles including the Associate Behavioral Health Division Officer and is now in the role of pieceworker supervisor.  Mrs. Baxter’s areas of competences include Child and Adolescent counseling, family counseling, mental health counseling, Crisis Counseling, Consultation, Supervision, Administration, as well as Independently Diagnoses and treatment of Mental and Emotional Disorders.

Kara Bene, BSN, RN, is an outpatient nurse at Child Focus, Inc.  She received her BSN from Xavier University in 2014.  She also works as a pediatric oncology nurse at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and has been employed there since 2014. 

McKenna Benjamin, BS, is a Qualified Mental Health Specialist providing Community Psychiatric Support Treatment (CPST) services, Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) and prevention services at Clermont Northeastern (CNE) Local Schools. McKenna obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The University of Cincinnati in 2019. McKenna has experience working with children with behavioral issues in the school setting and enjoys working with adolescents and teenagers while engaging with humor and using a client’s strengths to help encourage positive change.

Aleesha Covert-Blank BA, CDCA, QMHS, is a Community-Based Mental Health Provider for Child Focus Inc. Ms. Blank received her Bachelor of Arts from Shawnee State University in 2016. Ms. Blank has over 3 years of experience working with clients with mental illness and substance abuse. Currently, Mrs. Blank is the Community-Based Qualified Mental Health Specialist for Bethel High School and Batavia High School. Prior to working with Child Focus, Ms. Blank worked with adults diagnosed with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse as a community case manager and as a men’s AOD Counselor. As a Community-Based Case Manager for Child Focus Ms. Blank works with students one-on-one, or in a group, to reduce barriers to learning and assist them in being successful in school. Ms. Blank provides prevention and case management services to assist her clients with increasing social skills/self-esteem, learning anger management techniques, developing coping skills for depression, managing anxiety, working through emotions during difficult situations, decision making, transition to independent living, and conflict resolution. Aside from her job duties with Child Focus, Ms. Blank enjoys spending quality time on her family farm and being outdoors.

Akemi Brewer, Psy.D., completed her graduate training in clinical psychology in the field of health psychology at Spalding University, Louisville, KY. Her internship training was at University of Louisville, School of Medicine: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, The Bingham Clinic, Louisville, KY. The training included provision of individual/family therapy and group therapy to children, adolescents, and their families. Rotation included inpatient pediatric consultation-liaison services, psychiatric day treatment services, inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry and outpatient clinic services, and emergency room assessment as well as psychological testing. Dr. Brewerhas been working at Child Focus, Inc. since 2010 and completed her fellowship training at Child Focus, Inc. She obtained licensure as a clinical psychologist in November 2014. She provides individual/family therapy, psychological testing, and crisis intervention. She has a lot of experiences with different populations (from children to adults) and settings (e.g., elementary school, private practice, adult inpatient hospital, primary care setting, community mental health center). While Dr. Brewer uses integrated treatments to fit each client, her theoretical orientation represents the importance of attachment, meaning-based communication process, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Jennifer Brinkdopke, MA, LPCC-S, completed her graduate training in Community Counseling at the University of Cincinnati in 2000.  Her internship training was at Child Focus, Inc.  This training included diagnostic assessment of mental and emotional disorders, child and adolescent counseling, individual counseling, family counseling, and group counseling.  Ms. Brinkdopke has been in practice in the Outpatient Division of Child Focus, Inc. since 2000.  Ms. Brinkdopke serves at the Director of Compliance and Performance Improvement which includes the shared role as a Privacy Officer for the agency, a leadership role in internal Quality Improvement efforts, and responsibility in securing compliance with CARF and OMHAS standards.  This role also includes that of Triage Coordinator, through which Ms. Brinkdopke reviews registrations and transfers of Child Focus, Inc. clients to ensure they are properly assigned to providers who are trained to meet each client's individual needs, with a focus on the application of Evidenced Based Treatment Strategies.  As a Clinical Supervisor, Ms. Brinkdopke provides weekly supervision to several staff who are working on their independent licensure or are in counseling graduate programs.  In her role as a Community Mental Health Therapist, Ms. Brinkdopke provides diagnostic assessment of mental and emotional disorders, child and adolescent counseling, individual counseling, family counseling, and group counseling for children on the Autism Spectrum. Ms. Brinkdopke has received special training in the areas of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) as well as having attended several trainings on working with children on the Autism Spectrum.

Christina Britton, MSW, LSW, received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Cincinnati. She also has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Cincinnati. Christina began her internship at Child Focus, Inc. in September 2017 and became a full-time therapist with Child Focus in August 2018. Christina is a therapist for the Wasserman Day Treatment program.

Renae Butcher, M.Ed, LSW, is a Licensed Social Worker in the State of Ohio. She is currently working as a Mobile Crisis Responder and Jail Liaison on the Crisis Services Team at Child Focus, Inc. Renae earned her Master’s Degree in Social Agency Counseling from the University of Dayton in 1993. She earned additional certification in the Treatment of Juvenile Sexual Offenders from the University of Louisville. Renae has an extensive history providing assessment and mental health services to clients in both community and residential setting. Renae joined the Child Focus Inc. team in June 2015.  She received a 2018 NAMI Excellence in Mental Health Care Award for Criminal Justice/Mental Health.