Clinical Staff Bios
Katie Perzel MSW, LICSW, Director of Senior Mental Health Services
Katie is a licensed mental health professional and has worked with older adults as a Mental Health Therapist since 2005, providing Senior Day Treatment services, group mental health therapy, individual mental health therapy, and family mental health therapy. Areas of interest include addressing issues with mood instability, grief & loss, caregiver stress, trauma recovery, and adjusting to life transitions. Katie also gives educational presentations to older adult communities and to professionals on various topics related to mental health and seniors.
Caroline Johnson, LICSW, Mental Health Professional
Caroline is a licensed mental health professional and has worked with older adults as a Mental Health Therapist since 2007, providing individual mental health therapy & family mental health therapy. Areas of interest include chronic mood symptoms, anxiety disorders, relationship concerns, chronic physical health problems, and grief/ loss issues. Caroline’s clinical social work experience spans across 7 years and includes serving adults with serious and persistent mental illness, bereaved hospice families, seniors in a long term care facility, and families involved in the child welfare system.
Joan Stauffer MSW, LICSW, CSW-G, Mental Health Professional
Joan is a licensed mental health professional with a specialty certification as a Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Joan has worked with older adults as a Mental Health Therapist since 2008 providing individual mental health therapy, group mental health therapy, and Senior Day Treatment services. In addition, Joan has worked as the coordinator of the Senior Suicide Prevention Grant providing senior specific mental health trainings to seniors and senior service providers. Areas of interest include grief & age-related loss, anxiety symptoms, chronic mood symptoms, co-occurring illnesses, trauma recovery & resilience, and crises intervention.
John Simon, MD, Program Psychiatrist
Dr. Simon is a board certified psychiatrist who has additional competencies in geriatric psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and addiction psychiatry. He has 30 years of experience in providing both inpatient and outpatient psychiatry services. He graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical School, and completed his Internship and Residency at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Simon is the president of Creative psychopharmacology.