The LAUNCH Program

There are several options for group therapy. Each group is a skills group in contrast to a typical therapy group. The overarching goal of a skills group is to help each participant increase their own skill level to help cope with challenging life situations or psychological symptoms. The skills groups will typically cover one skill each week and ask each participant to complete a homework assignment.

LAUNCH Group
The Launch Group is a 16-week group that covers a variety of skills to aid in making the transition towards greater independence. Topics covered include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, anxiety management, healthy social media use, healthy sexual behavior and substance use, and effective use of medications.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a treatment developed to help manage intense emotions. The DBT skills group covers the following areas in depth: Mindfulness, Walking the Middle Path, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Emotion Regulation. The full course is 16 weeks.

Dr. Hamrah is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She works with emerging adults in the Launch Clinic, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, and in school-based mental health through the MedStar Center for Wellbeing in School Environments (WISE). Her clinical and research focus is in early and first episode psychosis including the prevention of psychosis, treatment of clinical high-risk for psychosis, CBT for psychosis, and medication management of those experiencing a first episode of psychosis. Dr. Hamrah completed medical school at Georgetown University School of medicine, her adult psychiatry training at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her fellowship training at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Prior to her medical training, Dr. Hamrah earned a BA in Physics and a BS in Chemistry at the University of Virginia and taught middle school physics and math at a public charter school in Washington, DC.

Dr. Ouyang is a pediatrician, and a child and adolescent psychiatrist who loves group therapy and DBT skills. She is thrilled to be leading LAUNCH's DBT Skills Group for teens and young adults. The best part of her work is meeting bright young minds and helping them feel more in charge of their decisions and their direction in life with the help of DBT skills.

Dr. Porter is a relationship scientist with expertise in couple relationships, perinatal mental health, and adolescence and emerging adulthood. She provides clinical care in the outpatient clinic for the Department of Psychiatry and also teaches and supervises psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows. Her research interests include the mental health correlates of relationship challenges, the perinatal period, and adolescence/emerging adulthood. Dr. Porter is clinically trained as a marriage and family therapist and holds a PhD in Family Science (the study of close interpersonal relationships and all of the micro- and macro-level factors that influence them) with an emphasis in maternal and child health.

Dr. Rivers is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker at the WISE Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He has extensive experience working with children and families in schools, community mental health centers, juvenile detention centers, and inpatient psychiatric settings. Dr. Rivers has a strong interest in advocacy work focused on the mental health and well-being of underserved populations and clinical interests that include trauma-informed care, school-based mental health, and work with emerging adults. Dr. Rivers received his doctoral degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree from the University of Michigan.