Betsy Spier

Betsy is a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than 25 years of experience in the mental health and substance abuse treatment fields. She graduated from Antioch University, Los Angeles. In addition to working as a clinician and administrator, she has been teaching at UCLA Extension in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling Certificate for the past 13 years. Betsy received the UCLA Extension Distinguished Instructor award in 2015.

Betsy specializes in working with adolescents and their families, adults with mood disorders, addiction, and co-occurring disorders. She has been working with survivors of trauma for many years. In 1996, she was involved in opening one of the first "dual diagnosis" (co-occurring disorder) programs in South Central LA. The program came out of the need for specialized treatment for women who were chemically dependent and had co-occurring mental illnesses. It still provides superior services for the community.