About Us
Dr. Andrea Goddard
Founder, Psychologist
From a young age, I had a personal interest in understanding and helping others from all walks of life, which led me to invest years of time and energy into pursuing this endeavor. I had my first opportunity to support people in a meaningful way when I served as a Peace Corps volunteer. I developed connections with the people there and learned how to best support their needs by meeting them where they were at the time.
This passion led me to pursue my doctorate in clinical psychology from Adler University, right here in Chicago. I went on to complete my doctoral internship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and my postdoctoral fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Prior to founding Breakthrough, I served as the Clinical Director of Child and Family Behavioral Health in Baltimore, Maryland. There, I specialized in treatment for individuals and families with challenges with self-esteem, life-transitions, self-identity, and relationships.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps individuals with high sensitivity and quick reactivity to emotional situations. These individuals may react to emotional situations with ineffective or extreme responses, and often require a longer period of time to return back to baseline. This may feel like an emotional roller coaster or constant state of crisis leaving them feeling out
of control and hopeless.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) transforms an individual’s ways of thinking and behaving that stand in the way of how a they would like to live their life. This involves identifying negative perceptions or thinking mistakes that are affecting behavior.
Comprehensive Behavioral Interventions for Tics (CBIT) is non-pharmacological intervention for tic management that consists training the individual to be more aware of tics, training the individual to do competing behavior when they feel the urge to tic and making changes to day to day activities in ways that can be helpful in reducing tics relationships.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is an evidence-based model to work with families to address risk and protective factors within and outside of the family. FFT assesses the family dynamics that have contributed to the child’s behavior, modifies strained family communication, improves parenting skills, and supports positive reinforcement within community contexts and
relationships.
Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP) helps individuals learn to tolerate, rather than get rid of, distressing thoughts or physical sensations and live out a meaningful life despite their Anxiety.
Dr. Marissa Kol PhD
Clinical Director
Overcoming adversity at a young age set a solid foundation for the person I am today. My true passion in helping others, combined with my research background, over twenty years of
clinical experience, and my creativity, allows me to personalize my treatment approaches to most effectively meet the needs of each of my clients. I utilize evidence-based interventions, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and tailor each treatment to meet clients where they are and support their specific needs. My ability to form strong therapeutic
alliances with my clients, provides a safe space, simultaneously empowering my clients to trust in their own therapeutic processes.
I received my MSW from University of Michigan and PhD from Loyola University of Chicago. I’m a member of The American Group Psychotherapy Association, Certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and certified in direct patient care work with hospice patients and bereavement groups in four different states (Illinois, California, Michigan and Indiana). I have been instrumental in publishing articles while managing research projects in the Medical Social Science Department and Feinberg School of Medicine departments at Northwestern University, in the department of Social Work at Loyola, in the hands and arms lab at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, and in the Psychology Department affiliated with University of Michigan at Domino Farms in Ann Arbor. Additionally, I have taught as an adjunct Professor at Loyola and Chicago State in the PhD, MSW, and BSW programs. I passed my dissertation defense with distinction in 2015.
Currently, I receive bi-weekly supervision from Chicago-based Psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffery Roth, MD and weekly collaboration with Founder and Clinical Psychologist of Breakthrough, Dr. Andrea Goddard, PsyD. Furthermore, I publish monthly journal articles focusing on relevant mental health topics, ensuring Breakthrough Psychotherapy’s methodologies reflect up-to-date research and proven effective evidence-based practice.
We've Helped People Just Like You
