Tony Rousmaniere’s Directory of Expert Practitioners
I've spent the better part of my career studying one question: how do therapists actually get better at therapy? The research is clear that most therapists do not improve with experience alone. What does work is Deliberate Practice: repeated skills practice under expert supervision, with real performance feedback, over time.
That conviction is why I co-founded Sentio University, and it is why I'm proud to recommend every therapist listed below. These are clinicians who chose the hardest path available to them. They didn't just learn about therapy in a classroom. They practiced specific skills hundreds of times, reviewed video of their own sessions, received twice the supervision hours required by other programs, and tracked their client outcomes with real data. The result is a level of clinical preparation that I would trust for my own family.
Why Training Method Matters
Decades of research on expertise development, from surgery to aviation to athletics, show that the way you train determines how good you get. The same is true in psychotherapy. Every therapist listed here has:
400+ hours of direct client contact during graduate training, across anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship distress, family conflict, grief, life transitions, and more
Intensive video-based supervision where their actual sessions were reviewed and coached by expert supervisors, not just talked about after the fact
Twice the clinical supervision hours required by other MFT graduate programs, translating to hundreds of hours of individualized expert feedback on real clinical work
Systematic outcome tracking using client feedback measures throughout training, so they learned to use data to guide treatment, not just intuition
Deliberate Practice methodology throughout, the same approach I've written about in over 20 books and in publications in The Lancet Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and the APA Essentials of Deliberate Practice book series
Browse Sentio-Trained Therapists
Click on a therapist's name to visit their practice website and learn more about their services, availability, and approach.
Mikaela Abundez Toledo, MA, Registered AMFT #144302
South Bay / Redondo Beach, CA (Telehealth) · Sentio Counseling Center practicum graduate, Class of 2023
Specialties: Anxiety, Perfectionism, Burnout, Relationships, Self-Worth, Family Dynamics
Populations Served: Adults, Young Adults
I trained Mikaela through Sentio University's MFT program, where she completed over 400 hours of direct client contact under intensive video-based supervision. I watched her develop into a skilled, empathic clinician whose approach is relational and experiential, helping clients create meaningful change. What stood out most was her client outcome data. Mikaela consistently demonstrated measurable improvement in her clients' wellbeing, the kind of results that only come from a therapist who is genuinely dedicated to refining her skills session after session. She sought out feedback, studied her own work on video, and pushed herself to grow in ways that most trainees never attempt. She offers virtual therapy to teens and adults in California, and I recommend her without hesitation. Supervised by Cristina Biasetto LCSW81733.
Sheri Sterup, MS, LMFTA
Washington (Telehealth) · Sentio Counseling Washington practicum graduate, Spring 2024
Specialties: Anxiety, Depression, Trauma-Focused Care, Self-Worth, Relationships, Family Dynamics
Populations Served: Adults, Couples
I trained Sheri through Sentio University’s MFT program, where she completed her clinical training under intensive video-based supervision and our deliberate practice model. I watched her develop into a skilled, empathic clinician whose approach is relational and grounded, helping clients create meaningful and lasting change. What stood out most was Sheri’s dedication to growth. She consistently sought out feedback, carefully reviewed her own work, and pushed herself to improve session after session in ways many trainees never fully attempt. She offers virtual therapy to adults and couples throughout Washington, and I recommend her without hesitation. Supervised by Tamela Roby LF60125321.
Why I Publish This Directory
One of the problems I've written about extensively is the gap between how therapists are trained and how well they actually perform in the room with clients. Most graduate programs still rely heavily on lecture and discussion. Very few use video review of real sessions. Even fewer track client outcomes. I believe prospective clients deserve to know the difference, and therapists who trained this way deserve recognition for it.
If you are looking for a therapist and want to understand what to look for in clinical training quality, I'd encourage you to read my work on Deliberate Practice in psychotherapy training or visit Sentio University's program overview.
About the Author
Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD is the President of Sentio University and Executive Director of the Sentio Counseling Center. He is Past-President of the psychotherapy division of the American Psychological Association and the author of over 20 books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training, including The Essentials of Deliberate Practice book series (APA Books). He is a licensed psychologist in California and Washington. Learn more