Commitment to Equity
DBT Center of Silicon Valley is dedicated to promoting an environment of respect and appreciation for the race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, physical/mental ability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, relationship structure, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, and socioeconomic status of all persons. We commit to creating and maintaining an atmosphere of openness, trust, and safety where all people feel a sense of belonging. We fully embrace providing high quality and multiculturally sensitive services that affirm the dignity, worth and value of all individuals. In doing so, we strive to provide a welcoming and enriching environment that is conducive to the intellectual, emotional, and social development of our diverse community.
Inclusion is acknowledging and appreciating the reality and value of our diversity, intentionally enlisting and engaging the spectrum of different identities and experiences, and respecting what each person brings.
We acknowledge that societal power structures, tensions, and complexities related to diversity contribute to disparities in power, control, influence, status, privilege, and opportunities among individuals and groups. Therefore, our commitment to inclusion involves the continuous identification and effective elimination of barriers to access and resources and prompting balanced relationships and to the creation of systems that promote equity for all.
DBT Center of Silicon Valley strives to support, promote, and protect diversity, to value all individuals and groups as free from prejudice and oppression, and to foster a climate where equity and mutual respect are essential.
Tricia Mlnarik
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
Tricia (she/her) is a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification Certified DBT Clinician and specializes in using DBT to help clients heal from traumatic experiences. She enjoys working collaboratively with clients as experts of their own experiences and goals.
Tricia holds dual licensure as both a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Clinical Counselor. She began training in Dialectical Behavior therapy in 2007 and has completed Adolescent DBT Training in 2008; Intensive Training, led by Marsha Linehan, in 2010; DBT-Prolonged Exposure protocol by Drs. Melanie Harned, Kathryn Korslund, and Marsha Linehan in 2015; and Advanced DBT-Prolonged Exposure by Drs. Melanie Harned and Lorie Ritschel in 2021. Tricia holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University.
When not working Tricia likes to hike and spend time with her daughters.
Leah Nascimento
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
Leah (she/her) has specialized in working with adolescents and young adults, and has brought her talents to helping her clients gain healthy behaviors and learn how to manage their feelings, emotions and personal interactions within the DBT framework. Leah’s positions as an associate – working in the Aspire program at El Camino Hospital and Momentum for Mental health – have been focused on assisting people to live meaningful lives.
After graduating from Santa Clara University with a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, Leah completed a post-graduate program, The Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society, through the University of Amsterdam. Leah has also completed Foundational Training through Behavioral Tech.
Out of the office, Leah is a pianist who regularly performs around the Bay Area and enjoys teaching classical piano lessons at the San Jose Academy of Music.
Stormeka Jones
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
A graduate of Holy Names University with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, Stormeka (she/her) enjoys working with people of all ages with an integrative-holistic approach to help them increase self awareness and self acceptance.
Stormeka has utilized CBT, DBT and exposure and response prevention (ERP) with adolescents in inpatient and IOP settings and she approaches clients with trauma informed care.
Stormeka is particularly interested in the impact of nutrition on mental health and she has completed the LGBTQ+ Clinical Academy, a partnership between Santa Clara County and Palo Alto University.
In her downtime, Stormeka loves hiking, cooking, traveling and enjoying the company of family and friends.
Amy Kazem
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Supervised by Tricia J. Mlnarik, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Amy (she/her) holds a Master’s degree in Counseling, with concentrations in Marriage & Family Therapy and School Counseling, from California State University, East Bay. She enjoys working with adults, children of all ages, and their families. She is passionate about mental health and empowering individuals with a strength-based and culturally-competent approach to live healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives.
As a former educator in both a Title I school and in the non-profit sector, Amy has a strong background working with kids, their caregivers, and underserved communities.
Her therapeutic experiences in schools and community-based and private clinics have afforded her the opportunity to initiate wraparound services and provide care from a trauma-informed lens.
With her personal life experiences, including that as a wife and mother in a bicultural and religiously syncretic family, Amy has a unique skill set to offer.
When not working, Amy loves to keep active and enjoy the outdoors with her family, friends, and best buddy/dog Hershey.
