Brewer, Onna

I am NOT accepting new patients or referrals at this time.

CBT-I Services:

I offer CBT-I as an evidence-based psychotherapy service within my private practice via both face-to-face and video telehealth sessions. My practice is located in Tallahassee, Florida, and I am a licensed psychologist in Florida (PY 10655).

CBT-I Background:

As a previous staff psychologist with the Veteran Health Administration (William S. Middleton Memorial VAMC in Madison, WI and Rockford VA Outpatient Clinic), I completed competency-based training in CBT-I in 2015 as part of the VA's National Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Training Initiative. This training involved an initial 3-day workshop in CBT-I in San Antonio, Texas in February 2016, followed by four months of weekly consultation group phone calls and submission of audio-recorded sessions of my practice of individual CBT-I with Veterans, reviewed by a VA CBT-I consultant. Following completion of this training, I was able to learn Group CBT-I facilitation from James Findley, PhD, who facilitated a CBT-I group via video telehealth to the Rockford VA Outpatient Clinic where I provided care and was able to observe, co-facilitate, and receive technical assistance from Dr. Findley. I continued to provide individual and group CBT-I with Veterans in this clinic, with excellent retention and measurement-based outcomes, until my resignation from VA in May 2017. During that time, I also conducted empirical research with colleagues in the VA on the efficacy of combining CBT-I with hypnotic medication tapering (Frazier, E. & Van Orden, O. (2016, April). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia with hypnotic medication tapering component. Poster presentation at the Annual College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO).

Training & Professional Background:

I completed my PhD in Human Services Psychology with concentrations in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), an APA-accredited doctoral program, in 2013 under the mentorship of Carlo DiClemente, PhD. My research has focused on addictions, health behaviors, and mental health treatments with an emphasis on underserved populations and processes of change. I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the VA Maryland Health Care System where I specialized in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I then worked as a staff psychologist with the Veterans Health Administration for 3 years where I was a provider in the Outpatient Mental Heath Clinic, Trauma Recovery Program, and DBT Team, as well as a Motivational Interviewing Consultant and Regional Trainer for the VA’s National Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Initiative. My passion for learning and teaching brought me to Rockford University where I was an Assistant Professor of Psychology for 3 years, getting “back to basics” teaching introductory psychology as well as brain and behavior, research methods, and advanced undergraduate courses in approaches to understanding mental illness and recovery before moving to Florida and opening my private practice in 2020, where I provide psychotherapy services and as well professional consulting and training.