About

Nicole Nardon’s interest in working with children in the school setting began during her years working as an elementary school teacher. She was most impacted by the social and emotional barriers that got into the way of her student’s education. Her most gratifying experience as a teacher was working in conjunction with the school psychologist to support students struggling emotionally. It was at that point where she decided to go back to school at Pacific Oaks College to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. Ms. Nardon worked as an intern at Hillsides Home for Children where she developed an innovative program to support students aging out of the foster care system. This is where she discovered her second passion, working with at risk youth. Ms. Nardon was fortunate to come across the clinical counseling program at PUC Schools where she is able to apply her experience and foster her passion for working with children in the school setting, school staff and mentoring and teaching the graduate students she supervises. Nicole feels truly fortunate to work for an educational organization that values the importance of mental health. Nicole Nardon is happily married and lives with her husband and daughter in Pasadena. She enjoys hiking with her dogs, gardening and raising chickens.

After graduating with her Master’s in Social Work from Hunter College in NYC in 1997, Promla began her career working as child and family therapist, at Queens Child Guidance Center. After that she spent a year working at an Employee Assistance Program in NYC providing short-term psychotherapy to adults, before moving to Los Angeles with her husband in 2001.

Promla became interested in PUC, after learning about their comprehensive therapy program from her former colleague, who was a clinical supervisor at PUC. She was impressed with their commitment to provide free mental health services for all students and families, and the quality of training and supervision provided to the Trainees. She finds her role as clinical supervisor at PUC to be a wonderful compliment to her private practice in Los Angeles.

Life stressors can alter one’s emotional state sometimes impacting their academic, professional and personal performance. I am passionate about providing support to individuals when they are experiencing various life stressors ranging from academic challenges to severe traumatic experiences. I have years of experience working with child victims of trauma (i.e., physical and sexual abuse, witnesses of domestic violence) and their families. I also have years of experience teaching various undergraduate and graduate psychology courses (i.e., Family Therapy, Introduction to Counseling, Lifespan Development, Human Sexuality, Multicultural Counseling, Practicum, Psychopathology, Personality Disorders). I have also taught several courses in Spanish. Currently, in addition to teaching, I provide supervision to Marriage and Family Therapy trainees.

I understand that one approach doesn’t work for all clients, students or supervisees so I am flexible in my approach when working with different individuals. I am, however, certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and primarily work from a Cognitive Behavioral framework.

My educational background includes an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Mount St. Mary’s University and a Doctorate in Psychology at Walden University.

Richard Bonhama is a bilingual licensed Marriage and Family Psychotherapist. He graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and a MA in Psychology from Antioch University. He completed his internship at Child and Family Guidance Center with an emphasis on trauma and is certified in TF-CBT, Multiple Application Practice, Seeking Safety and Aggression Replacement Therapy. During his internship he counseled children and families who had experienced trauma, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. He worked at Counseling 4 Kids, treating children, adolescents and their families who had experienced trauma and dealing with foster care issues. He has been in private practice for 10 years as well as running his own group practice. He worked as an Adjunct Psychology Professor at Mount Saint Mary’s University for 5 years and has been working at Partnerships to Uplift Communities since 2014 as a Clinical Supervisor.