DJ Lane- LMHC, CCMHC, NCC, CMHS, EMMHS, DBTC, EAS-C
“Hard work makes the way!”
As the business owner of his own agency, he knows the importance of getting results and he enjoys being a point of contact for both agencies and others to call. As a licensed therapist, he utilizes a variety of styles and modalities that will help to develop better mental health for his clients. He diligently works with his clients to set achievable goals, then endeavors to find the right tools for them to do the hard work that leads to their success!
DJ graduated from Walden University with honors: cum laude and magna cum laude. He majored in Mental Health Counseling and minored in Forensic Counseling. DJ’s interest in human behavior and problem solving began much earlier in his life and his pursuit to utilize his skills has always involved a balance of educated learning: utilizing books, research, seminars, videos, and currently he continues to add specialties- (Ethnic Minority, Children’s mental health, Clinical, DBT) and he strives to stay up to date on ways that he can more effectively help his clients.
Throughout the years of his professional life, before he began to develop successful strategies for operating his own agency, he garnered a satisfaction with helping people to achieve their goals. As a service writer in the automotive industry, he operated between customer and mechanic, keeping the customer confident that they would receive quality service, thus retaining top rated customer loyalty while gaining the mechanic’s trust that he’d get them plenty of work so that they wouldn’t worry. As a bonus, he taught car clinics to new customers.
The satisfaction of helping people set and reach their goals continued on into his professional career in mental health. Whether teaching therapy interns the use of innovation, creativity and technology in the treatment of trauma, or assisting clients at a mental health facility prepare for mental health court, as well as working with many youths from a multitude of socio-economic backgrounds. DJ’s goal is to continue to help people set goals and do the work it takes moving towards achieving them.
Anique E. DeVoe
Creative Development and Support
“Connection is most important.”
I am pleased to have worked on Develop Minded Therapies with DJ since the beginning, not only are we related, but we are also very good friends. People often ask about the name. I chose the name because of how I saw that DJ solves problems and promotes change, and it turns out that the name is a perfect fit for us and our culture here.
Red, grey, black and white, are the colors of our offices. Frequently, people comment on how comfortable they feel in our spaces, and they are surprised that these colors are calming instead of alarming. I chose these colors to do an innovated move away from the calming colors that are often chosen for most therapy offices.
It’s been a great pleasure for me to work on Develop Minded Therapies from the beginning when I designed the logo, through all of the projects that I’ve done that represents us, including designs for our current spaces and moving forward for our expansions. And the work for me just keeps on growing!
Anthea Zeise
Administrative Support
“Experiences and opportunities are key to a person’s character.”
Anthea attended Pierce College and received her Associates degree in Administrative Assistance for Healthcare and a Certificate for Medical billing and Coding.
Ten years of customer service work and her own smarts, has contributed greatly to her smooth operation of the front desk. She has her hands full with scheduling, and performing various office projects. There are many aspects to the work that she does at the front desk, like learning to use online Practice Management Software for setting appointments, color coding them and customizing codes needed in the office. In addition to that, introducing electronic billing has cut down on paper waste and is much faster than checks.
She’s always learning more ways to make her work easier whether it’s facilitating calls between clients and the office, or calls with insurances or EAPs as well as with other agencies. It can be a tall order explaining changes in insurance policies to clients. She says it’s important to her to work with the client explaining to them so that they understand their policy. She says co-pays and deductibles are discussed the most and can be confusing. Dealing with insurance companies can be very challenging, however she’s even come up with helpful tips to more easily facilitate those calls.
She takes much pride in the work that she does, her skills continue to improve and compliments all the work we do at Develop Minded Therapies
Mercy Benitez
Administrative Support
“The best way to earn respect, is by treating others with respect.”
Mercy was born in Me’rida, the capital and largest city in Yucatan state in Mexico. At 18, she joined her family when she moved to Tacoma.
After graduating high school, she worked and earned professional certifications in collections. One of her earlier jobs was at a property management firm which piqued her interest in attending college and one day owning an agency that handles real estate and property management.
Mercy has interest in a wide variety of things. She loves the Seahawks. She enjoys cooking family recipes and going to the movies with her nephews. She enjoys 80’s movies- especially those starring Molly Ringwald or Michael J. Fox, and she loves the TV sitcom “Friends”.
Mercy’s big dream would be to travel to Japan, and to enjoy the culture, landscaping, architecture and food. The peak of that dream would be for her to climb Mt Fuji. She has become enamored with Mt. Fuji after viewing countless videos about Japan.
She says going to college is the hardest thing that she’s done. For many years there was one obstacle after another in her way; including financial challenges and bad timing. She reveals that because she was born with one arm that the physical aspects of trying to get around and carrying things are part of what makes going to college challenging for her. However, she has a goal to finish her associate’s degree for business in 3 years and she says she’s determined to finish it!
Ellie Lucas- LICSW
Mental Health Therapist
“Treat yourself with kindness.”
Ellie received her Bachelors in Psychology from Bloomsburg University in PA, and her Masters in Social Work from Temple University also in PA. She is Bilingual in English and Spanish.
Her background in social work has trained her to consider not only a person’s “internal struggles” but also their work, community, environment, family history and policy. When working with a client who speaks Spanish, she considers the client’s culture as part of the treatment plan.
Though she says she’s always had an inclination to listen to people, and give them support. It was an “aha” moment, as an undergraduate in a mental health clubhouse, where she was inspired to learn how recovery and mental health go hand-in-hand. This led her away from the experimental side of psychology and to change her interest to clinical social work in order to become a therapist. Now she’s excited to continue learning and growing as a therapist. She says that she enjoys the diversity that each client brings to the session and the changes that clients make when they do their work keeps her excited and is the reason why she keeps coming back to therapy.
Irma Flamenco
Case Manager
Irma is originally from Eastern WA. in the Tri-cities area. Irma has previously worked in supportive housing in a larger agency. So she brings her former experience of working in housing with her along with the understanding that housing issues can be multifaceted.
Moving away from family and friends, was no doubt difficult, however, it has impacted her duties as a housing case manager in a positive way. She is able to assess and evaluate what is required to find solutions for a client’s health and living needs.
Irma’s active life revolves around a love of dancing, photography, poetry, cooking dishes
from other cultures and continuing her education. Her favorite Leonardo Da Vinci quote
is, “Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.”
Kyanna Ogilvie
Case Manager
Kyanna was born in Ellensburg, WA but has enjoyed living in North Dakota, Montana, Oregon and Colorado. Watersports such as swimming, surfing, and wakeboarding, along with putting puzzles together are some of her favorite pastimes.
Kyanna is a new Case Worker here at DMT. She says her interest in this work comes from understanding that sometimes people can’t help themselves when life throws them a curveball
and it puts their livelihood at risk. As she works individually with clients, she will learn the client’s needs and situations, and thus become a part of helping to create a new path for them.
Kyanna has spent the last couple of years working in a treatment facility for at risk youth with psychiatric and behavioral disorders as well as substance abuse. She’s also worked at a relief nursery. Thus far in her professional life she has worked with youth, families and the elderly.
Her favorite saying is “There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking”-Brian Tracy. Personal experience with these words has prepared her for future challenges because she knows she can overcome them.
Early on, in Kyanna’s educational journey she struggled, which put her behind the curve and made her feel less than enough when it came to learning. With family support, a push-through attitude, and hard study, she became an honors student and graduated Summa cum laude.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family sciences, focus in Human Services and a minor in Psychology. Her current education goal is to achieve her MSW (Master of Social Work).
Paul Monroe
Certified Peer/Case Manager
“Adversity does not define me, how I choose to deal with it does.”
Paul is a Case Manager/Certified Peer at Develop Minded Therapies. He does this work because he wants to be able to use all of his experiences and lessons to help people. He maintains an outlook that any adverse situation can be helped with a healthy and positive attitude.
Paul is a California native and a sports enthusiast. He’s a fan of both the NFL and the NBA. His enthusiasm has led him to coach little league in two sports: baseball and football. Paul began his interest in counseling by working with youths at the National Youth Program at USC (University of Southern California). Paul also has a fondness for working with young people. Through the Tacoma Urban League, he mentored youths at 4 Tacoma middle schools.
After moving to Tacoma, he came to learn about a family member’s mental health condition, which led him to take a deeper dive into learning more. His quest to learn more about his family member’s mental health next led him to become a mental health technician at MDC (Metropolitan Development Council) and while working there he received his Peer Counseling certification and remains open to always learning more and continues his education even now.