Meet Dr. Simon-Thomas
Jenny Simon-Thomas, Ph.D.
Dr. Simon-Thomas (she/her) is a psychologist with over 25 years experience working with children and adolescents in a variety of settings including wilderness therapy, residential treatment, and outpatient settings. Dr. Simon-Thomas values neurodiversity and appreciates that everyone brings their own thoughts, feelings and ways of interacting. She does not view differences as problems to be solved, but rather to be better understood so that supports and accommodations can be offered.
Dr. Simon-Thomas’ path has taken her across the country. She is originally from the east coast, but her love for the outdoors took her to Colorado for her undergraduate studies. She participated in an extensive longitudinal study of twins, which piqued her interest in the effects of environment and genetics on development. Dr. Simon-Thomas returned to the east coast to complete a pre-doctoral internship at the National Institute of Mental Health. She then returned west to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Montana, Missoula.
Dr. Simon-Thomas completed her post-doctoral internship at Denver Health Medical Center before she settled in Kalispell, Montana. She was in private practice for 10 years where she actively collaborated with schools, community agencies, physicians, speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists to provide comprehensive services for children, adolescents and their families. This collaboration led her to move to Portland, Oregon in 2015 to work as part of a large interdisciplinary team at Albertina Kerr’s Children’s Developmental Health Services. She returned to private practice in 2020.
In her free time, Dr. Simon-Thomas and her family are avid outdoor enthusiasts.
Christine Moore, M.S., CCC-SLP
Christine (she/her), is an ASHA certified speech language pathologist and Portland native who has joined JUST Psychological Services to offer parent coaching in collaboration with Dr. Simon-Thomas.
Christine received her master’s degree in communication sciences from Portland State University in 2012. After graduate school, she spent two years working as a school-based speech pathologist in rural central Oregon collaborating closely with classroom teachers and other educators. She returned to Portland in 2014 and spent 10 years working in multidisciplinary clinics alongside occupational therapists, audiologists, developmental behavioral pediatricians, and mental health professionals. She has a strong commitment to multidisciplinary care and has expanded her collaboration to include sleep medicine physicians, ENTs, orthodontists, and pediatric chiropractors. On a day-to-day basis, parents have always been her most important collaborators.
Over her clinical career, Christine has learned a great deal, and has had to unlearn just as much. Her approach to supporting individuals and families is neurodiversity aligned, and this is an area of continued research and learning. She prides herself on being both analytical and creative and understands there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to intervention. She strives to help families see the big picture, identify achievable goals, then work towards them one small step at a time.
In her free time, Christine is an enthusiastic gardener, and a lover of books, dance classes, and geriatric dogs.
Galina Nisley, M.S., CCC-SLP
Galina (she/her) is a speech-language pathologist, with experience working with individuals and families across the lifespan. While her professional career has primarily focused on working with adults, she brings experience and passion for serving children and teens. She is especially interested in neurodiversity, communication and cognition in the pediatric population. She is a first-generation refugee, having lived in multiple countries before being granted asylum in the US. These experiences instilled a curiosity and appreciation for the many different ways people learn, interact, and see the world. Across healthcare settings, Galina has enjoyed collaborating and learning from a multidisciplinary team. Yet her greatest honor is being able to support and educate families through her work.
Galina's spare time is often spent at her son's baseball tournaments, adventuring with her husband, and reading with the company of her dogs