Counseling Center Staff
The Counseling Center staff is made up of licensed Clinical Social Workers, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists, and we train interns in social work, counseling, and psychology. We are committed to the emotional, physical and spiritual development of undergraduate and graduate students. All staff and interns have been trained to address a wide range of presenting concerns, though we each have unique clinical interests and specialties.
Director
Sherri Ettinger, PhD, LICSW
Sherri began working in the Simmons Counseling Center in the fall of 2000. Sherri received her BA in Sociology and Women's Studies at Brandeis University and her MSW and PhD at the Smith College School for Social Work. Prior to joining the staff at Simmons, Sherri worked with teenage parents at Children's Hospital; on a trauma team at Judge Baker Children's Center; and in the Counseling Center at Wheaton College. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at Smith College, School for Social Work, where she taught Clinical Practice and a course on GLBT identities for a number of years. Sherri has worked with adolescents and young women for 25 years, focusing on life-transitions, self-development, and resilience. Areas of particular interest include sexual identity, trauma, eating problems, parenting, and the impact of oppression on development and self-esteem. In addition to providing clinical services to Counseling Center clients, Sherri supervises interns and serves on various committees at Simmons.
Psychiatric Consultant
Donna Mathias, MD
Donna, the consulting psychiatrist at the Counseling Center, is an integral part of our counseling team. As the psychiatric consultant, Donna meets with staff and clients to develop counseling plans appropriate to clients' needs, with a special emphasis on the role that medication can play in assisting clients to cope more effectively with their concerns.
Staff Social Worker
Lisa Corrin, EdM, LICSW
Lisa is a graduate of Simmons School of Social Work and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Lisa joined the Counseling Center first as a graduate intern in 2002 and then joined the staff in 2005. Her professional experience includes a leadership role in an educational setting where she provided support to families, faculty and young children. She also has experience with women's health issues and worked with individuals and groups to assist with adjustment to and management of chronic and life threatening illnesses. Lisa offers an integrative approach to help students who struggle with a variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, adjustment and identity issues, as well as loss and grief and family and relationship issues.
Staff Social Worker
Seana Peterson, MSW, LCSW
Seana Peterson, MSW, LCSW is a graduate of Smith College School for Social Work. She received her B.A. in Communications and Gender Studies from Northwestern University. Her clinical experience includes providing individual, family, and group therapy for adolescents and young adults navigating depression, anxiety, trauma, and psychosis. She completed graduate training at the Simmons University Counseling Center and is thrilled to be on staff. Seana has an interest in exploring the many challenges common to young adulthood, and is particularly interested in identity development and treatment of trauma-related concerns. She practices counseling through a feminist, social justice lens and incorporates psychodynamic, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness and dialogic approaches in her work. As a counselor, Seana values curiosity, transparency, creativity and humor as pathways to healing.
Staff Social Worker
Jennifer Shiiba, MSW, LICSW
Jenny is a licensed independent clinical social worker and former graduate of the Simmons School of Social Work. She received her B.A. in Women’s Studies and Communicology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her clinical training includes providing individual, group, and family therapy to children, adolescents, and young adults in school-based, home, hospital and outpatient settings. Jenny is passionate about helping people navigate anxiety, depression, shame, productivity, relationship dynamics, family conflict, complex trauma, substance use and immigration experiences. Her recent work involves providing intensive support to families who have experienced homelessness and other systemic challenges. Her warm, curious and collaborative approach offers an opportunity to foster healthy emotional and reparative attachments to sustain a life of joy, healing, liberation and purpose. She views counseling as a co-created space and uses client reflections to build new narratives for the future. She honors each person's infinite capacity for growth to gain a deeper sense of empathy, resilience, and compassion for themselves and others. Jenny returns to Simmons as a staff member eager to continue her interests in identity development using intersectional feminist theory and social justice frameworks through a culturally-responsive lens. As a counselor, she is interested in unraveling intergenerational trauma and collective legacy burdens. She appreciates exploring decolonized, self-healing processes for all gender identities/expressions and orientations.
Staff Psychologist
Angela M. Borges, PhD
Angela holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She has done counseling with underrepresented groups since 2007, specializing in the effects of trauma across the lifespan and the psychological impact of societal oppression. She has experience working with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, food and substance addiction issues, and many other mental health challenges. Previously, she worked as a domestic violence victim advocate. She is the co-author of a number of peer-reviewed publications on violence prevention and intervention and the intersection of social justice and mental health issues and has worked as a consultant on these issues with local colleges and agencies. Angela is also a Lead Trainer with Prevention Innovations at the University of New Hampshire, where since 2003 she has helped adapt the Bringing in the Bystander© sexual assault prevention program for more than 35 national and international non-profit organizations, universities, and military organizations.
Administrative Assistant
Nina Williams
Nina is a Simmons alumna and is looking forward to being part of the Simmons Community again. During her time here at Simmons, Nina studied Psychology and Education. She has always been drawn to helping others, and finds that every moment can be a teaching moment. She has worked with diverse and underrepresented populations from teenagers who experienced emotional, neurological, behavioral or learning difficulties to helping inmates of all ages navigate through the most difficult time in their life. She believes that everyone has their own unique journey, and should be honored for where they are at now and how far they have come. After graduating Simmons, Nina worked in the Restaurant Industry. She spent many years managing at the well-known pizza restaurant here in Boston, Area Four. During her time at Area Four she learned to expand her gift of helping others. She developed her own managing style that no only honored herself, but her staff and guests. During her time here at the Counseling Center she hopes to create a safe environment where students can learn, have fun and feel supported throughout their journey with counseling. She has learned to embrace change with grace, positivity and patience and this is a skill she brings to the Simmons Community and Counseling Center. On her free time, she loves to stay active with a Kickboxing or Zumba class, explore the newest restaurants in Boston, and paint while listening to her favorite vinyl records.
Counseling Center Interns
Siloh Cermak is a 2nd year mental health counseling student at Saybrook University, and received their BA in political economy and sustainable agriculture from The Evergreen State College. They have a long history of community organizing, and are inspired by the resilience and healing of collective trauma that is borne through construction of a shared story and resistance, in the endless ways that work can take place. Siloh's clinical experience and interests include working with young adults navigating interpersonal and systemic trauma, connections between individual and community mental, physical, and spiritual health, LGBTQ+ issues and coming out, and addiction and substance use. In their spare time, they play with their great pyrenees pup, practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and listen to many, many podcasts.
Sarah Garrity is a second-year student at Boston University in the School of Social Work. She studied Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies as an undergraduate and strives to ground her work in a social-justice perspective that acknowledges the systemic issues that all people negotiate in their daily lives.
Prior to entering Boston University, Sarah spent the past 5 years working with survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence. From this work, Sarah has become passionate about exploring sexual health and wellbeing, and relationships of all kinds. Most recently, Sarah has worked with persons with disabilities who have experienced trauma. Sarah’s practice has focused on working creatively and collaboratively with individuals to help them heal in a holistic way while incorporating a disability justice perspective. Humor is also important to Sarah’s work, and she strives to hold space for lightheartedness and laughter with individuals.
Sarah’s clinical interests include working with survivors of interpersonal violence, sexual health and wellbeing, family dynamics and intergenerational trauma, and body liberation. In her free time, Sarah loves trying new foods and restaurants, and taking walks to the local beach.
Hannah Vasconcellos Hastings is a second-year clinical student at Boston University School of Social Work. She received her B.A. in Government and Portuguese & Brazilian Studies from Smith College in 2012. Her first-year placement was at Milton High School where she counseled students managing anxiety, depression, trauma, and coming out. Hannah’s clinical interests include providing an LGBTQIA+ affirming space for clients to explore identity, utilizing the Liberation Health Model toward healing, and incorporating mindfulness methods. Outside of pursuing her MSW, Hannah enjoys baking, camping, and dreaming about having a small farm with a cow mascot.
Nimita is a Masters of Social Work student at Boston University. She completed her BA at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Nimita has spent the last 5 years working with homeless and low-income individuals in the Boston area, as well as adults experiencing severe mental illness and substance misuse disorders. Nimita is interested in trauma-informed therapy; somatic therapy; feminist theory; attachment theory; and issues surrounding identity, race, and culture. She believes in the transformational ability of providing a safe, consistent, and supportive environment for clients to explore their thoughts and feelings. In her free time, Nimita enjoys practicing Forrest yoga, drinking iced lattes, and listening to tons of R&B.
Jazmyne is a second-year master's student at the Boston University School of Social Work. Previously, she attended Smith College where she studied Biology and Africana Studies. Over the past six years, she has worked in various roles providing support to young adults who are transitioning from high school to college. She is very invested in promoting access and wellness for underrepresented groups of students, including people of color, first-generation, and low-income students. She also has experience supporting undocumented youth, children with disabilities and their families, people who identify within the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and survivors of interpersonal violence. As a counselor, she has experience working with young adults navigating anxiety, depression, grief, disability, academic challenges, interpersonal relationships, life transitions and identity development. In the counseling space, Jazmyne values social justice frameworks, mindfulness, creativity, and collaboration to support individual and collective wellness. Outside of pursuing her MSW, Jazmyne likes to experiment in the kitchen, listen to podcasts, spend time in nature, and connect with community.
Diana is a second-year MSW student at Smith College School for Social Work and received her B.A. in Health: Science, Society, and Policy and African and Afro-American Studies from Brandeis University. Diana’s most recent clinical experience includes working in the outpatient counseling center at Jewish Family and Career Services in Atlanta, GA providing individual and group therapy to survivors of all forms of domestic violence and adults experiencing depression, anxiety, psychosis, relationship concerns, traumatic experiences, terminal illness, and financial and food insecurity. Before returning to school for her Masters degree, Diana worked as a Mobile Mental Health Clinician at Advocates Inc. providing in-home support, case management, and crisis intervention services for adults living with diagnoses of mental illness that significantly impacted their daily living. Diana has also worked supporting adolescents and young adults after experiencing their first episode of psychosis through the Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis (PREP) Program. Diana’s clinical interests center around issues related to interpersonal and systemic trauma, identity formation, LGBTQ+ issues, and connections between individual and community mental, physical, and spiritual health. Diana believes the essence of working with another person is to be present as a living being. To hold space for the soulful dance of this work, Diana uses presence, the Liberation Health Model, focusing, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and creative modalities. In her free time Diana dances, gardens, plays basketball, engrosses herself in art and music, and relishes the presence of her two cats.