Mental Health Clinic | About Us

Staff

Dr. Erum Shahab, M.D, Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Dr. Shahab received her medical degree from the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She completed her psychiatry residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, N.Y., where she also served as the chief resident in her fourth year. She received the distinguished award of “Resident Teacher of the Year” from Cornell during her third year of residency. Following her graduation from Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, she joined Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y. Prior to joining Saint Francis, Dr. Shahab was on the staff of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, Yonkers, N.Y., and at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, N.Y. She has served as a captain in the United State Air Force Medical Corps and is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, and the American Academy of Women Psychiatrists. Dr. Shahab works with the addiction population, forensic population, adolescents, adults as well as the geriatric population. Dr. Shahab has been in private practice since 2008 serving the Ellington area and local communities. She was the first private provider east of the River to provide an innovative treatment for depression named Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Urdu and Hindi.

Joseph D. Boivin, LPc, ladc

Joseph Boivin, a graduate of Springfield College, is a board certified Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Connecticut practicing as a licensed professional counselor and licensed drug and alcohol counselor. With over 30 years of experience, Joseph’s education and professional background in both the mind and the body gives him a unique and effective approach to counseling. He works to provide clients with tailored treatment plans that can be integrated into their daily lives. Joseph has a master’s level education in rehabilitation counseling. Prior to becoming a counselor, he has worked as a clinician and group facilitator at several upheld CT hospitals and clinics. In addition to Joseph’s license, he holds many distinguished certifications in Health Promotion, Wellness Management as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He continues to educate himself by attending national and local conferences, keeping up with current therapy research and peer to peer supervision. Joseph resides in Manchester with his wife and enjoys volunteering at his local church as well as a knack for carpentry and home renovations.

Kelly A. Schmidt, Ph.D. Psychologist

Dr. Schmidt is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, providing compassionate care for adults and adolescents at Ellington Behavioral Health in Ellington, CT. Dr. Schmidt received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Swarthmore College, and then worked for 3 years as a psychotherapy researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. She subsequently earned her clinical psychology degree at George Washington University in Washington DC. She completed her internship at the Alexandria Community Mental Health Center in Virginia, an APA-approved site. She completed post-doctoral studies at the Hartford Institute of Living. Dr. Schmidt received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Swarthmore College, and then worked for 3 years as a psychotherapy researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. She subsequently earned her clinical psychology degree at George Washington University in Washington DC. She completed her internship at the Alexandria Community Mental Health Center in Virginia, an APA-approved site. She completed post-doctoral studies at the Hartford Institute of Living. Dr. Schmidt has worked for several years as a field interviewer for RTI International, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC. This critical research project is part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Schmidt has also spent considerable time dedicated to youth at My Sisters’ Place, in Hartford, CT, where she has worked with homeless families in specialized transitional and supported housing programs. As a tobacco treatment specialist, she was able to bring that expertise to her work as a case manager for a program blending behavioral and physical wellness care at CMHA in New Britain. She has also worked in an outpatient substance abuse program run by Phoenix House. Dr. Schmidt is an activist and humanitarian. She was the founder and organizer for the Connecticut Meetup to Enhance Humanitarian Knowledge and Action. This was a local social group focused on learning more about humanitarian causes both globally and locally and taking action to aid these causes. In that role she organized successful fundraising events to aid Haitian orphans and building schools in Sudan. As a therapist, she appreciates that we all have varied experiences, and that no one moment or one behavior or one trait defines us. Therapy is a chance to gain perspective and to use that new perspective to move forward. Her early background was as a psychodynamic therapist but more recently she has adopted cognitive behavioral and other evidence-based therapies geared toward treating anxiety disorders and related conditions. At Ellington Behavioral Health, she works to help people attain new perspectives and new senses of well-being in their lives.

Mojdeh Heidari, DNP

Dr. Mojdeh Heidari is a family nurse practitioner specializing in mental health. She has experience in hospitals, rehabilitation centers and long-term care institutions. Dr. Heidari obtained her doctorate of nuring practice at Chamberlain University and attended United States University, Saint Joseph University and Isfshan University to further her nursing education. She has worked in various medical settings, nationally and abroad since 2005. She has a fondness of the geriatric population and their unique individual needs.

Christian Klein, LCSW

Christian Klein began working in the mental health field as a mental health worker at residential programs and Partial Hospitalization programs. He chose to attend Springfield College’s weekend Masters’ in Social Work program and also began doing individual counseling for adult clients with mental health and substance abuse issues, as part of his internship for his Masters’. Christian worked in the foster care system for a number of years and also worked in a psychiatric unit for children, adolescents and adults. Most recently, Christian was a school counselor at a clinical school. He also did private counseling with kids, teenagers, and adults, part time. Christian has experience doing couples and individual counseling. Moreover, he has received specialized training in ART- Accelerated Resolution Therapy. This is a specialized therapy that allows the counselor to help the client lose the visual memory of trauma and the depression and anxiety connected to that trauma. Christian has a wealth of clinical experience with children and hopes to utilize his skills to provide young patients with skills of their own to improve overall mental health.

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