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Alexander is a thriving, experienced organizational community psychological consultant working with universities, private companies, non-profits, physicians, and medical clinics with organizational development, diversity, efficiency, and front/back office medical training from a client/patient/patron-centered model, focusing on personenvironment interactions and the ways larger, societal, and systemic factors impact individual and community health and wellness.

Alexander also enjoys ongoing and constantly evolving professional experience as a university instructor, speaker (with thousands of hours of experience), published author, long-time community advocate and activist, musician of stage and studio, performance artist, and queer performance event producer/director. Alexander has presented 100+ papers on gender, health, LGBTIQQ, HIV, sexuality, philosophy, spirituality, race, and disability at symposiums worldwide.

Alexander also attended seminary and earned ordination as a clergyperson and serves as a hospice chaplain.

Alexander has personal and professional experience with the gender component of the LGBTIQQ, as well as deep professional and personal knowledge of all the letters of the aforementioned acronym – the lesbian, gay, bisexual/pansexual, intersex, Queer, and questioning components of the queer umbrella. Alexander serves quite a few gender- and hetero-normative folk as well.

Great lack and need propelled Alexander into LGBTIQQ mental and medical health advocacy, training, and consultation, especially educating health providers – therapists, clergy, and physicians – on the mental, spiritual, and medical health needs of the full spectrum of gender and sexuality.

As a psychotherapist, Alexander’s interests include addiction, trauma, ethnicity and race, especially across generations, couples, youth, elders, aging, death, grief, size-acceptance, and HAES (Health At Every Size), SM, leather, and non-monogamy.

Alexander founded GenderQueer Revolution, an organization celebrating genderqueer, gender-gifted, gender non-conforming individuals and communities, worldwide. Alexander serves as Vice President and newsletter editor of FTM International (non-FTMs have and do serve on the FTMI board) and is the current Co-President and newsletter editor of the Lesbian & Gay Psychotherapy Association.

Bruce R. Watkins, Ph.D.
(current Co-President)

Bruce was born and raised in central Los Angeles. He was reared a Roman Catholic, with 16 years of Catholic education, eight of which were by Jesuit priests at Loyola High and Loyola University, Los Angeles. He received his B.A. degree in his major, psychology, with three full minors in theology, philosophy, and foreign languages. He was a Public Health Service Fellow at the University of Oregon, where he received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in June, 1972. He was a National Institute of Mental Health Fellow both at his predoctoral internship at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA and at his postdoctoral internship at Thalians, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He has been: an Assistant Professor at UCLA, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; an Adjunct Professor at the CaliforniaSchool of Professional Psychology, LA and Ryokan College, LA; and a clinical supervisor at the Center for Legal Psychiatry, Santa Monica. He established his private practice in Westwood in 1972, where he sees mostly high functioning adults with relationship problems. Psychotherapists apprentice to him and his three partners to learn his unique method of psychotherapy, which he calls, Person-Centered Psychoanalysis.

About his work, he says: I am psychoanalytic with a strong dose of Carl Rogers. I call my work person-centered psychoanalysis. I work with personality disorders intensively, with a specialization in codependency, narcissism, OCD and depression. I am also behaviorally trained, and have published in sex therapy. And, I enjoy doing couples therapy. In fact, I work primarily with high functioning adults who have problems in relationships. Finally, I have extensive experience working with religiously traumatized LGBT people.

Gilbert Chalepas, Psy.D.

I have extensive experience dealing with chronic mental illness in the schizophrenia, psychotic and bipolar spectrums as well as LGBT and addiction issues. One of the most valuable parts of my training has been spending 17 years in my own therapy, an invaluable tool that very few others have. Winners get help! Currently I am in private practice in Beverly Hills. I very much look forward to being part of the LAGPA board and helping in any way that I can to make our organization an even more enjoyable and valuable experience for our members. Email

Jen Durham, LCSW
(current Board Member)

I offer short term and long term therapy dealing with depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, body image issues, LGBT and Gender Identity issues, adoption and parenting issues, PTSD, complex stress a substance abuse.

My therapeutic style is based on a combination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Narrative Therapy approaches. I also interweave Mindfulness and Meditation techniques and rely heavily on a strengths-based model. I find that gentle humor and a calm disposition create a safe, welcoming therapeutic space.

As a clinician I approach my work from a holistic perspective. An individual's mental health and overall happiness are based on a number of different factors that are unique to that client. Therapy is a collaborative effort that takes compassion, reflection, personal strength and creativity.

Lauren D. Costine, Ph.D.
(current Board Member)

Lauren Costine, PhD is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, writer, educator, instructor and activist with an office in Beverly Hills.

She received her MA in Psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles in 2001 and her PhD in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2007. Her dissertation focused on the role of the repression of the sacred feminine in the heteronormative society and how it affects female sexuality at it relates to the creation of consciousness. Her focus is on addiction and codependence issues, cooccurring disorders, depth psychology, LGBT-affirmative psychotherapy, lesbian-centered psychotherapy, psychodynamic and family systems modalities She works with both individuals and couples.

She was the Family Counselor at Exodus Recovery Center (substance abuse recovery center) for over five years where she was actively involved in helping the patients and their families find direction and solutions, educating each individual on the realities of substance abuse and how to develop new coping skills, plus treatment planning and implementation for co-occurring disorders and chronic substance abuse problems.

She has also played a pivotal role in the development and management of The LGBT Specialization in Clinical Psychology, one of the first such programs of its kind in the country, as an Associate Faculty member and instructor in the Masters in Psychology program. Besides guiding the development and implementation of the groundbreaking affirmative curriculum she has helped produce a variety of grassroots psychological cultural events aimed to promulgate LGBT-Affirmative psychological ideas for the community in an accessible way through various mediums, such as multiple events at Highways Performance Space and Gallery, the “Clothesline Project”, several books readings on campus and at A Different Light Bookstore, The Trans Teach In, The LGBT-Umoja 5 part series, The Sapphic Salon, and The LGBT-Affirmative Psychotherapy Conference cosponsored with LAGPA.

She teaches such courses as LGBT History & Myth; LGBT- Affirmative Psychotherapy; Human Sexuality; Lesbian Liberation: Finding it through Identity, Love, and Sexuality, LGBT Community Action and Independent Studies; Process I: Beginning Therapeutic Techniques; Society and the Individual; and Women's Spirituality: Lesbian and Women- Centered Reading of the Sumerian Myth--Descent of Inanna. She has also presented workshops at such Conferences as American Psychological Association (2007, 2010), Los Angeles County Psychology Association (2010), Lesbian and Gay Psychology Association (2007, 2010), the Gay and Lesbian Center’s Lesbian Health Conference (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and Lesbian Plus 50 Organization (2011); The Writer’s Guild Association (2011).

Liliane Quon McCain, MFT
(current Board Member)

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist currently in private practice. Prior to this, she provided volunteer therapy at the Pacific Center of AIDS Project Los Angeles and retired as a counselor after 28 years being employed in Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Liliane is currently completing her dissertation, “A Phenomenological Study of Self-Identified Heterosexual Men who are Now Living in an Openly Gay Relationship.”

Liliane has been on the LAGPA board for four years.

Monica Dremann, Psy.D.

Adolescent, Adult, Family & Couples Psychotherapy

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Phillip Pierce, Ph.D.
(current Board Member)

My training includes helping people from very diverse backgrounds, and I specialize in same sex relationship dynamics, couples therapy and affirming one's sexual orientation. I am a Lecturer at UCLA and my extensive experience with the LGBT community gives me a broad and well-rounded perspective when working with LGBT individuals; I also have wide experience working with those affected by HIV. I specialize in using cognitive behavioral therapy to treat anxiety isorders (panic attacks, OCD, social anxiety), depression and artist's issues. I have a background in the film industry and have a special interest in those working in the field. Check out my website for more information.

Thuy Cao, MA, MFTI
(current Board Member)

Beyond Thuy’s formal education and training in clinical psychology, she brings to the therapeutic setting her diverse career experiences in the field of education and business. Thuy’s educational expertise started as a classroom teacher and then as a curriculum developer and trainer. In this field, she was nominated as the Teacher of the Year.

After several years, Thuy left the education profession to seek more intellectual challenges. For over 12 years, she worked for a Fortune 100 company, managing and deploying multi-million dollar projects.

Thuy continues to strive for excellence in the pursuit of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. Her mission as a psychotherapist is to help lesbian and bisexual women move towards a place of emotional and mental health where they gain selfawareness and learn to create the life they want. Although her specialty is working with gay women,

Thuy welcomes individuals and couples of any sexual orientation and background.

Travis Stobbe, BFA
(current Board Member)

Travis Stobbe is a native of the San Fernando Valley and graduate of California Institute of the Arts (1999). His current career is real estate management. His real love is motion picture art. He has been involved with PFLAG, Toast Masters International, and various classic car clubs. Travis is a big supporter of LAGPA because of the important work the members perform for the LGBT community.

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