Tim has over 21 years of experience in the Social Work field, eight of them in the Sycamore area. His therapeutic approach is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy using brief solution-focused treatment. He provides a caring, sensitive approach to assessment and treatment of personal, relationship and family problems. Tim focuses on practical solutions to help you through the stress of life adjustments and the pain of more long standing problems. Tim has provided clinical social work services to clients at all levels of care from outpatient, partial, and inpatient mental health settings. Tim has experience in assessing and treating substance abuse.



Jeff Maney, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist

Jeff Maney, Ph.D., is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with over twenty years of experience in the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults.  He has also consulted with hospitals and businesses, trained students through clinical supervision, and taught a number of graduate courses. 

Dr. Maney’s areas of special interest include depression, behavioral medicine (e.g., services for those with pain or heart disease), and post-traumatic stress disorder.  In addition, he maintains a strong interest in psychological testing and evaluation for disability, workers compensation, personal injury, and screening for dementia. 

Dr. Maney is a participating provider for a number of insurance carriers, and is available by appointment.   

Heidi Muntjanoff, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Therapist

Heidi Muntjanoff is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a long-time resident of DeKalb County, she has devoted years of social service work-both volunteer and paid-to this community. Ms. Muntjanoff has extensive experience with relationship issues.

One area of relationship experience is parents and children. Ms. Muntjanoff was a Parent Educator for several years. During that time, she presented educational material on such topics as self-esteem in children and managing as a family. She immensely enjoyed assisting families in having fun together. Of particular interest is assisting parents of preschoolers as this can be both an exciting time but also a very challenging one too, a time when laying the groundwork for children's future successes is crucial. Ms. Muntjanoff also has experience with chronic medical conditions and can help parents of children who have chronic conditions, specifically adapting to their changing roles in the lives of their children.

Ms. Muntjanoff also has appreciated her work with women's relationship issues. She has 40 hours of required training in both domestic violence and sexual assault and abuse issues. Sometimes an outgrowth of abuse issues is coping in unhealthy ways, such as addictive behaviors. Ms. Muntjanoff has experience with eating disorders, specifically with the cycle of overeating and the emotional, social, and physical ramifications.

Teresa Barnes, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Therapist

Teresa’s primary treatment approaches are in Christian counseling and overall wellness addressing personal and relational issues associated with stress, trauma, and weight management.  Her goal is to provide holistic options to help treat the mind, body, and spirit. 

Teresa is a licensed clinical social worker who has practiced in the field of mental health for over 15 years.  Her background is in child welfare, school social work, hospital social work, and clinical therapy. 

She has worked extensively with adolescent depression, aggression, and trauma since 1994.  Since joining Associates in Counseling in 2006, Teresa has also provided clinical treatment to children, adolescents, families and individual adults. Combining the use of psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral methods, Teresa seeks to provide a therapeutic environment that will support overall wellness from a faith-based perspective.   This diverse milieu has given Teresa many opportunities to collaborate and consult with clergy, medical staff, and educators.

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Michael D. Gara, Psy.D.,
Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Gara is a Licensed Clincal Psychologist with over 17 years of experience working with individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, grief, relationship problems, trauma, co-morbid substance abuse, ADHD, and developmental disorders.

He has extensive experience working with families, children and adolescents presenting with a wide variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Dr. Gara received his Psy. D from The Illinois School of Professional Psychology, and then practiced in a community mental health center in both inpatient and outpatient programs for children, adolescents and adults.

Dr. Gara has substantial training in intellectual and personality assessment using a variety of different measures of psychological functioning. He also has considerable experience working with clients who experienced trauma and is actively involved in training other professionals to work with their own clients who have experienced trauma.

Dr. Gara's primary treatment style uses cognitive therapy techniques as well as other solution focused and developmentally sensitive approaches.

With Dr. Gara, you can be assured of compassionate, confidential care. When needed, Dr. Gara coordinates his care with area physicians and schools to provide a more comprehensive approach.



Starline Crouch
Speech-Language Pathologist

Starline Crouch is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in the state of Illinois. She obtained a master of arts degree from Northern Illinois University. She has 25+ years experience including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Phonological Impairments, Cognitive Disorders, Augmentative/Alternative Communication as well as Social Communication Development.

For the school aged population, Star has taught regular education classes in written expression in addition to all aspects of public speaking.

Toney Xidis, MSW, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago, a Master’s degree in Community Mental Health from Northern Illinois University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from University of Illinois.

Toney has over thirty-five years of therapeutic and consulting experience in the social service, mental health and educational fields.  His clinical experience includes 13 years in the Sycamore School District, five years at Ben Gordon Community Mental Health Center, five years in the Kane County Court Services System and over eighteen years in private practice and working with Employee Service Programs. Toney is a long time resident of DeKalb County and he is well known in the counseling community. His clinical experience encompasses working with adults, adolescents, children and families. 

Katherine Godfrey, MD
Adult & Child Psychiatry

NOW seeing patients at Associates in Counseling on Tuesdays. Call Toll Free (866) 272-6974 to schedule.

Board Certification
General Psychiatry
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Medical School (Piscataway, New Jersey):
University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey
Rutgers Medical School

Residency Training (New York, New York):
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Fellowship (New York, New York):
Mount Sinai Medical Center

Tracy Curtin
Office Manager