TCHATT Team
Kelly Sopchak, PhD, LSSP
Jennifer Tejada Oller, MD
Jennifer Tejada, MD, is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor with the Texas A&M University Health Science Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She obtained her medical degree from San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, completed her psychiatry residency at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Tejada’s professional interests include providing mental health services to vulnerable populations, enhancing access of care to underserved communities, and contributing to education.
Megan Kresse, EdS
Megan is a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at Texas A&M University. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2013 and her Education Specialist degree in School Psychology in 2016 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She has previous experience working as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) in the Houston area. In this role, she focused on psychological assessment and counseling as a related service. She has experience working with children and adolescents presenting with a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns in schools.
Cynthia Lang, MEd
Cynthia is a fifth-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at Texas A&M University. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin in 2016 and a Masters in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University in 2017. Cynthia incorporates evidence-based cognitive behavioral interventions and a systemic approach in her work with clients. She has experience serving children, adolescents, and young adults in school, community and medical settings. Cynthia has seen clients with a wide variety of presenting behavioral and emotional concerns, including depression, anxiety, adjustment concerns, grief and loss, self-harm, suicidality, oppositional/defiant difficulties, and executive functioning difficulties. Cynthia’s research and clinical interests include anxiety in adolescents and the psychosocial effects of chronic medical diagnoses.
Daira Rodriguez, MA
Daira is a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at Texas A&M University. She currently serves as a Counselor for the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program and a Practicum Counselor for the Texas A&M Counseling and Assessment Clinic (CAC). Daira received her MA in School Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2017, along with a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Language Acquisition and Bilingual Psycho-educational Assessment. She is currently licensed as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) and holds certification as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP). Furthermore, Daira is presently working towards becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Before moving to Texas, Daira spent her early childhood in Mexico. She is bilingual and has a passion for working with bilingual children and families. She was previously employed as an LSSP, providing psychological services to elementary-aged children. The scope of her practice and experience include autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, and more. She has also provided behavior therapy to children with developmental disabilities in home and clinical settings.
Liabette A. Rodriguez-Escamilla, MA
Liabette Rodriguez-Escamilla is a first-year counseling psychology doctoral student at Texas A&M University. She obtained her masters in 2020 from Texas A&M International University in counseling psychology. Liabette gained her clinical experience at Texas A&M International’s student counseling services office where she worked with primarily Latinx, college-aged students who were experiencing anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. Liabette takes a humanistic approach to counseling and uses techniques from solution-focused, positive psychology, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. She strives to create a safe space for her clients to realize their potential and establish healthy coping skills. Liabette’s research is focused on multicultural counseling, religion and therapy, and cultural self-awareness. Liabette is currently working as a counselor in the TCHATT program.
Mariah Stickley, MEd
Mariah is a fourth-year counseling psychology doctoral student at Texas A&M University. She obtained her bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University in 2017 and her master's degree from Texas A&M University in 2018. Mariah has experience working with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, and behavioral concerns as well as trauma-related disorders, self-harm, and suicidality. Mariah’s approach to therapy is trauma-informed and collaborative. She focuses on empowering her clients to identify and utilize existing strengths as well as build new coping skills to aid in managing distress. She works from a Cognitive Behavioral framework and utilizes techniques from a wide range of evidence-based treatments to provide her clients with the best possible care. Mariah’s research is focused on the medical resident education and recognition of trauma disorders in primary care settings.
Aileen Terrazas, MA
Aileen Terrazas is a PhD student in the Counseling Psychology program at Texas A&M University. Aileen works as a graduate assistant as part of the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine program where she provides Telehealth counseling services in English and Spanish to children and adolescents in schools. Growing up in a border town and having worked with immigration shelters, Aileen's interests include working with underserved communities, researching issues affecting immigrant children, adolescents and their families, as well as issues concerning the LGBT+ population within the latino/hispanic community. Aileen enjoys working with individuals from various cultural backgrounds and strives to provide a multicultural and bilingual approach to counseling.
Rachana Talekar, MPH
Rachana is the Technology and Logistics Coordinator for Telebehavioral Care. She has a Master of Public Health Degree with a focus on Community Assessment, Program Designing, Implementation and Evaluation from Boston University. In her current role, she explores and plans for system integrations and collaborates with other professionals to improve mental health outcomes. She identifies patient needs and helps them use features specific to telehealth application and EHR systems. Additionally, she aids in resolving any technical or programmatic issues hindering client-provider sessions and applies strategies for equitable partnerships that facilitate communication and collaboration between clinical care and high-level supports. Rachana was born and raised in India and is passionate about converging digital technologies with healthcare to improve healthcare delivery.
Simone Hutchins Lewer
Amanda Kapchinski, LPC
Amanda Kapchinski is a Licensed Professional Counselor for Telebehavioral Care and a counselor for the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2012 from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Arts in Professional Counseling from Texas State University in 2015. Amanda believes adverse experience and chronic symptoms can over time create coping strategies that perhaps worked when originally formed but have become stuck and unhelpful in the present. Amanda works with clients to form trust and mutual respect—a foundation on which these old ways of being can be discarded and new, more adaptive, ways can be safely practiced and integrated. Amanda uses a trauma informed framework in her work with clients, balancing evidence-based strategies with a warm and caring approach. Amanda has experience with an array of client concern across multiple settings, including long-term residential treatment, private practice, and school based services; Amanda is excited to bring her years of experience in providing counseling to children and adolescents to the TCHATT program.