Our Team

Allen Bishop, PhD

Clinical Supervisor

Allen Bishop, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at Pacifica Graduate Institute having served as faculty member, Department Chair, and Accreditation Liaison Officer for over 15 years. He is a licensed psychologist and certified psychoanalyst. Dr. Bishop completed a Post-Doctoral fellowship in Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Reiss-Davis Child Study Center where he currently serves as Dean of the PsyD Program. He is a former Training and Supervising Analyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis (ICP) and is currently on the faculty of Antioch University in Santa Barbara. His research interests center on the intersection of music, psychoanalytic treatment and creativity. Dr. Bishop is also a concert pianist performing chamber music with a variety of artists in the local area.

Dyan Colven, PhD

Clinical Supervisor

Dr. Dyan Colven completed her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. She most recently served as Clinical Coordinator, Program Coordinator, and Program Director at Vista del Mar Outpatient Program, a social service organization in Los Angeles, for approximately 15 years. She also served as a adjunct faculty member at UCLA and taught mental health awareness to medical students at UCLA. Prior to this, Dyan held a variety of positions at SHIELD for Families, Inc. She also served as Clinical Supervisor for Rosa Parks Sexual Assault Crisis Center. Before obtaining her doctorate, Dyan worked as a human resources professional in the private sector after obtaining her MBA from the University of Oregon.

Miranda Field, MFT

Clinical Supervisor

In practice since 1986, and providing clinical supervision since 1988, Miranda has served as Clinical Director for a number of counseling centers in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, including our own New Beginnings Counseling Center and Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM).

The current focus of Miranda’s practice incorporates the intersecting fields of trauma and attachment theory, mindfulness, and somatically based practices. While maintaining a general practice, Miranda specializes in healing early trauma, including childhood sexual abuse and early attachment injuries, as well as couples therapy. With advanced training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, Miranda values a respectful and relationally oriented approach to healing.

Paul Guido, PhD

Clinical Supervisor

 A native of Los Angeles, Dr. Paul Guido studied English literature at the University of Southern California before earning Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the California School of Professional Psychology. Over the subsequent 30 years he practiced individual and group psychotherapy, at one time serving clientele in both Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara area. A Montecito resident, Dr. Guido currently practices and mentors interns exclusively in the Santa Barbara area. Dr. Guido is a Santa Barbara Museum of Art docent, and has served on the museum’s docent board for four years. He currently serves on the Board of the Music Academy of the West, and volunteers as the on-call counselor for the Academy Fellows during the summer Program.

Robert Fisher, MD

Clinical Supervisor

Dr. Robert Fischer is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, whose background includes serving as co-founder of Optimum Performance Institute – a therapeutic transitional living program for young adults, Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Services at Del Amo Hospital, and his most recent appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Division of Psychoneuroimmuniology, Mindfulness Awareness Research Center. Dr. Fischer recently moved back to Santa Barbara and is returning to private practice.

Dan Schwartz, PhD

Clinical Supervisor

Dr. Dan Schwartz is a psychologist with experience in teaching doctoral students in psychological testing and psychotherapy at both Antioch University, where he was both Department Chair and Director of Clinical Training and as an Adjunct faculty member at the Pacifica Graduate Institute and California Lutheran University.

Prior to moving to Santa Barbara, Dan was engaged in the practice of psychology for twenty-three years in South Florida, working with children, adolescents and adults in psychotherapy. Following his graduation from the Florida Psychoanalytic Institute in January of 2003, he also has seen adults in psychoanalysis. His training in psychoanalysis greatly informs his clinical work; and he has always been drawn to the insights the various dynamic approaches that have added to his discipline. Dan’s early interest was in infancy and the formative power of the infant-parent relationship, and he trained quite early in both attachment theory and infant/parent psychotherapy and these strands of work also have greatly influenced his development as a therapist.

Dan has a strong interest, and much experience, in conducting psychological testing that focuses on assessing personality and psychological functioning. His graduate training in testing was steeped in the psycho-dynamic tradition and it significantly informs his approach to psychological testing, integrated with the rigor of empirically supported testing data.

Barbara Sheffield, MFT

Clinical Supervisor

Barbara S. Sheffield, MFT, received her BA from Duke University and her MA in Education, Counseling Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in California as well as a CAMFT Certified Supervisor and has three years post-graduate training from the Santa Barbara Gestalt Training Center. Her theoretical orientation integrates Gestalt, solution-focused, and psychodynamic theories.

Barbara has been a member of the Antioch University Santa Barbara faculty since 1991. She also has taught at Antioch University Seattle. She is a past instructor at Santa Barbara City College’s Drug/Alcohol Certification Program. She has served as Clinical Coordinator of Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara and Clinical Director of Domestic Violence Solutions of Santa Barbara and New Beginnings Counseling Center.

Barbara had a private practice for 16 years, which included a great deal of group experience. She has worked with perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse, clients in drug/alcohol residential treatment programs, and Employee Assistance programs, and she has 18 years of experience supervising trainees, interns, and clinicians. She is a long-time member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and has served on the Board of Directors of the local chapter. She is currently providing individual supervision to MFT associates and leads two women’s groups, as well as teaching at Antioch University and Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Joan Willcombe, MA, PhD, LMFT

Clinical Supervisor

Joan Willcombe is a licensed marriage and family therapist who maintains a private practice in Santa Barbara. Joan was a volunteer counselor at New Beginnings for many years and now supports our work as one of our supervisors. She works with children, teens, adults, and couples. Her specialties include relationship issues, emotional disturbance, and marital and premarital issues. Joan received her master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and her doctorate in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Susan Wax, PhD

Susan Wax has 30+ years of clinical experience as a psychologist, specializing in psychodynamic psychotherapy with individuals and advanced couple’s work, with couples striving for intimacy and better communication.  She has also received divorce mediation training and a portion of her private practice is devoted to facilitating effective co-parenting.  Susan was a founding board member of SB-Court-Appointed Special Advocates and a trainer for CASA, Associate Professor at Antioch University, Parent Educator for SB County Courts, and Clinical Supervisor at UCSB Hosford Clinic. This is her second year supervising doctoral interns at New Beginnings.