With years of experience helping people with change, Monica L. Blume leads Center for Hope with a vision of providing help for all, including those most in need. Monica brings her wisdom, optimism, experience, humor, and heart to the Center.
Monica has been passionate about therapy for more than 30 years, working with individuals, couples, and families. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, obtaining her Bachelor's degree from Weber State University and her Master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.
Monica has several areas of specialty, including family relationship issues, mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, marital struggles and intimacy issues, self-defeating behaviors, trauma, and attachment concerns. She has worked extensively with adolescents and young adults dealing with issues surrounding anxiety, depression, attachment, and social issues. She has helped address eating disorders, family discord, and self-harm.
Monica has also worked extensively with all aspects of the adoption process, helping couples prepare to adopt and complete home studies as well as supporting birth parents in making a decision and placing a child for adoption. She helps support both private and agency adoptions. She has written and presented extensively on the topic of adoption.
Monica has worked over the years in clinical, medical, residential, and academic settings. She taught at Brigham Young University and has several publications, including coauthoring the book For the Love of a Child: The Journey of Adoption, published by Deseret Book. She has spoken to audiences across the country on topics connected to being happy and healthy.
In her spare time, Monica loves to be outdoors, doing almost anything active. She is an avid runner and skier, and also enjoys cycling, rollerblading and swimming. She likes to read, write, and travel. She is the mother of six children and loves to spend time with family and friends.
monicalblume@gmail.com
Emma loves helping people change and is willing to be creative in how she helps that happen. With her solution-centered approach and emphasis on building relationships, Emma works hard to help people find love, purpose, and joy in life.
Emma is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has experience in many therapeutic settings, including juvenile corrections, wilderness therapy, residential treatment, eating disorder treatment, adventure therapy and outpatient clinics. She loves working with teenagers, families and individuals.
Emma is an experienced practitioner with anxiety, depression, trauma, learning differences and autism spectrum disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders, attachment disorders, and family relationship difficulties.
In her spare time, Emma enjoys playing with her husband and daughters, hiking, climbing, photography, building furniture, and learning new things.
emma.hanks.mcadam@gmail.com
Maki received his Master's degree in Social Work from BYU. He has experience working with a variety of populations. He additionally spent 5 years working as a mentor for youth in residential treatment in the state of Utah. He's also spent a year working with family and children, helping with specific needs and connecting them to needed services.
Maki's mental health interest also includes his experience working with the Utah County Department of Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Treatment, specifically working with individuals overcoming
addiction, and those in need of overcoming trauma. Maki also worked for the LDS Church in the Development Counseling services department and spent the majority of his time helping individuals seek
employment or continuing education.
Since 2020 Maki has moved to Jacksonville Florida where he is currently operating our out of state location.
Brandy King completed her Master's degree in Social Work at the University of Utah. She has a passion for life and the potential that people have in their lives. She graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane Washington in 2015 with a double major in Psychology and Theatre. She enjoys taking aspects from both of her undergraduate degrees and integrating them into her Social Work practice. She believes that life is full of beauty that can be shared through all types of art and expression.
After graduating from her undergrad, she worked as a Psychiatric Technician at the in-patient Psychiatric unit at the University of Utah Hospital. Brandy additionally has experience working in school social work and has a passion for working with children. She has experience in working with infants in an orphanage, building attachment.
Brandy is extremely active and enjoys training aerial arts, playing sports (mainly soccer and volleyball), and anything that has to do with theatre. She is married and is happiest when she is spending time with her family and friends.
brandy.king1415@gmail.com
Korey has been a practicing therapist for the past 13 years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Social Work. Korey is great at building a connection with each of his clients and providing a compassionate and authentic atmosphere where discovery and healing can take place. He has experience helping individuals, families, and couples gain additional perspective of their problems and navigate towards solutions that bring understanding and resilience. He has extensive experience working with teenagers, helping them manage anxiety, depression, trauma, and adjustment issues involving change. He also has significant experience helping individuals manage addiction related to pornography and other compulsive behaviors. Additionally, he enjoys working with couples, helping to build attachments with each other that improve communication and connections in their relationships. His modality of choice with couples is Emotion-Focused Therapy.
In his spare time, Korey loves to be with his family, which consists of his wife, four sons, and two lovable boxers. He enjoys golfing, kayaking, and biking. He looks forward to visiting to see if he can help in any way in your efforts to improve relationships and emotional well being.
larsenkorey79@gmail.com
Lynette Baird has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over twenty years. She received her Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Brigham Young University and her Master's degree in Social Work from University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign.
Lynette enjoys working with youth and young adults, helping them work through anxiety, grief, life transitions, and depression. She is easy to talk with, outgoing, and upbeat and positive.
Lynette and her husband are the parents of three daughters. She loves music, hiking, reading, and travel. She enjoys having the chance to serve and lift others.
BandLBaird@yahoo.com
With experience in therapeutic programs spanning nearly 2 decades, Kjrstin (KJ) has expertise and understanding working with adolescents, young adults, and parents. Specifically, she has worked with many people who struggle with ADHD, depression, anxiety, trauma, personality struggles, life transition struggles, identity issues, complicated family issues and relationship issues. With a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapist, trained in systemic family work, Kjrstin is passionate about healing families.
She describes her personal approach as follows:
I love adventure. I love the unexpected growth, challenge, joy, beauty, pain and creativity that springs from entering into an unknown experience. Throughout my career, I have come to appreciate and love supporting parents as they navigate the challenging experience of a struggling child. I work to give parents tools and support to help them approach their experience as an adventure that hopefully can bring growth, challenge, joy, beauty, pain and creativity.
My therapeutic style is experiential, collaborative and simple. I seek to create teaching experiences that help people learn ways to overcome, embrace or accept the challenges they face. I strive to find ways for others to discover their own solutions that work in their lives.
Laurie enjoys working with people who are open to change and improvement in their lives. She utilizes a solution-focused and strength-based approach to help individuals realize purpose, peace, and joy in themselves, as well as relationships and situations. Laurie believes it is a privilege to meet and assist clients as they work to gain self-worth and confidence in themselves.
Laurie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, obtaining her Bachelor’s degree at Utah State University and her Master’s degree at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA. Since 1995, Laurie has worked in various settings including state agencies, criminal justice, clinical practice, and medical settings, providing care for clients of all ages. Her areas of specialty include family relationship issues, navigating long-term and terminal medical concerns, depression and anxiety, and grief/loss. Laurie enjoys helping individuals build resilience and internal strength, as well as working to heal and establish boundaries for healthy relationships.
Laurie loves spending time with her husband and three children. Her passions include everything outside: long walks, hiking, gardening, skiing, learning, travelling, and being in or near water. Laurie especially enjoys serving others and encouraging the best in people she meets.
Kelly is a licensed Advanced Substance Use Disorder Counselor. She received her Bachelor’s degree and completed her ASUDC certificate at the University of Utah. She believes that every individual has the ability to live a meaningful, joyful, life and is dedicated to helping individuals live a life free of debilitating addiction. Kelly brings her undying optimism, zest for life, and belief in the resiliency of the human soul to overcome difficult challenges and find joy and purpose in living one's life with authenticity and meaning.
Kelly has worked extensively with young adults in residential treatment. She also has years of experience working with adults in an outpatient detox center helping clients to develop relationship skills, stress reduction techniques, and relapse-prevention plans, as well as many other necessary tools in substance abuse recovery. Kelly believes there is nothing more transformative and powerful than an individual who discovers their worth and potential by being willing to seek professional help in overcoming their addiction.
Kelly has served as president for Springville’s Art City Substance Abuse Prevention
Program and has served in numerous leadership positions in various volunteer organizations.
In her spare time, Kelly especially enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She is an outdoor fanatic who finds immense pleasure taking photo’s of nature and people. She’s an avid runner and biker and enjoys the challenge of participating in long distance events.
kellyj529@gmail.com
adamdeltoro@gmail.com
Valerie is currently working on a master of social work at the University of Utah. Valerie has experience working with teenagers and families as an assistant supervisor at a residential treatment center. She also has experience as a research assistant for the Child Adaptation and Neurodevelopment Lab at the University of Utah, while working on her undergraduate degree in psychology.
Valerie enjoys being outdoors, and she especially loves kayaking, longboarding, hiking, camping, and riding her bike. She loves to learn, read, and spend time with family, friends, and pets.
Paige has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University and is working on her Master of Social Work degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has experience engaging with teenagers in a residential treatment facility and understands medical complexities after working as a nurse assistant in multiple departments at the University of Utah hospital. Paige is available to help individuals work through emotional regulation, relationship issues, life transitions, and other difficulties.
Paige loves reading, listening to music, and spending time with her husband, son, and dog in her free time.
Lindsey has worked as a therapy mentor in private practices and at residential treatment centers for teen girls. She loves to help people build confidence and find solutions that work for their personal situations. She is passionate about helping others learn how to set healthy boundaries and develop lasting relationships in their lives.
Lindsey enjoys cooking and sharing her creations and love of cooking with others. She has 3 dogs and loves going on adventures with them and her husband. She also enjoys gardening and caring for houseplants.
lindseykhargett@gmail.com
Jacen is from Highland, Utah, and loves helping others acheive their full potential in life. He is currently pursuing degrees in Social Work and Spanish at University of Utah while serving as a mentor at Center for Hope. In his youth, he learned the importance of having a good role model, and he searches for ways to serve and influence others in his daily life.
Jacen served a full-time church mission in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia mission, where he met his wife, Tyree. He loves to play baseball, basketball, football, and golf. Some of his other hobbies include photography, cooking, and learning.
CallJacen@gmail.com
Kenna is from Heber UT and received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Utah Valley University. She has worked at different treatment and behavior centers that focus on autism, eating disorders, anxiety and depression. She enjoys human connection and loves helping where she can!
Outside of people, Kenna’s main passion is music. She spends a lot of her time writing and recording uplifting music. When she’s not working, you can find her with her husband, family, friends, taking care of house plants or doing some kind of art project.
Starla Briggs has a passion for helping people. After moving from Washington to Utah, she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from BYU, taking additional courses to become a certified billing and coding expert. She has worked as an office manager and has expertise in academic advisement. She worked for BYU as a student advisor and has organized large community events for organization including The Epilepsy Alliance group in SLC, Inland Northwest Dance Organization, and the Ronald McDonald Charity House Foundation.
Starla is the primary administrative assistant for Center for Hope and works with clients on all administrative and billing questions. She is a great resource for answering questions and remedying concerns.
Starla loves dancing, acting and choreographing stage productions for colleges, community theatres, schools and private organizations. She loves to travel and explore different cultures and environments. Other interests include backpacking, canyoneering, reading and going to movies.
starcor84@msn.com