Category Archives: Staff Member

Maria is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked in a wide variety of care settings for the last thirty years. With early roots in home care and long-term care, she explored her passion for working with older adults. After her hospital experience, she joined an elder and estate planning law firm, assisting clients and families with navigation of their healthcare needs. The need for care management and coordination for elders, those with disabilities, and mental health challenges became apparent, and Maria began Care Choice Care Management in 2012.  Care Choice focuses on helping people navigate the healthcare systems in a personalized fashion, and is one of the leading practices of its kind in the Midwest.  In 2023, she created Decision Advocates, a Guardianship and Powers of Attorney for healthcare decision making service. 

When the prospect of incorporating West County Psychological Associate’s services into the Care Choice family arose, Maria and her husband, Steve, could not think of a better evolution of their original mission to serve others on such a personalized level. Maria feels passionate about honoring Mary Fitzgibbon’s legacy, as owner of WCPA, and continuing the practice’s excellent reputation in the St. Louis counseling and school communities.

Steve is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with twenty-five years’ experience. He began his career with the Missouri Division of Aging (now Division of Senior and Disability Services). He then moved on to lead the social work department for the Alexian Brother’s PACE program, a community health program serving the frail elderly.  He has worked in the field of dementia care with local non-profits: Memory Care Home Solutions, as the Program Director, and the Alzheimer’s Association, as their Care Consultation Program Manager.  Additionally, Steve provided counseling services through WCPA several years ago. Mentoring many social work students entering the field and serving as an adjunct faculty member at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University from 2004-2015 has deepened Steve’s commitment to the field.

Steve is the past-president of Housing Options Provided for the Elderly board and holds the same position for the Gateway Chapter of the American Case Management Association.  His focus on older adults, family caregiving, dementia, and mental health services allows Steve to draw upon a variety of experiences while customizing plans for clients and their families.  He is passionate about providing quality services that help people make informed decisions about their care and the care of loved ones.

With over twenty-five years of healthcare leadership and service, Matt has dedicated his career as an entrepreneur and healthcare executive to enhance the quality of life for all his clients. His extensive experience in the healthcare sector has been pivotal in helping clients within a comprehensive care model.  Matt founded and owned St. Louis-based home care agency Compassionate Nursing.  After selling the business, he spent several years assisting the new owners with home care acquisitions and management across the nation. He has been active in the Alzheimer’s Association, Gateway End of Life Association, Cancer Area Network, ALS Association, Home Care Association of America, and the National Association for Homecare and Hospice.

Under Matt’s guidance, his businesses and organizations have ensured that clients received the physical and emotional support they needed to thrive. While Matt has a marketing degree and business background, he feels excited about returning to the compassion he first felt in this industry. 

I am a licensed psychologist and the director of West County Psychological Associates (WCPA). I began this practice in 1986 after having worked in education for twenty years. Previously, I had been an elementary teacher, and then a counselor and Guidance Director at Lafayette High School.

Because of my familiarity with working with elementary and secondary schools, we, at WCPA, began working extensively with numbers of schools in the form of training and consulting with administrators and teachers through Care Teams, doing presentations for parents in regard to effective child rearing and consulting with various business and educational groups. I have also taught counseling/psychology classes at Webster University, Fontbonne University, the University of Colorado, and the University of San Francisco. 

One of the great joys of my life has been being able to practice therapy in a way that I believe has long-lasting and effective results. I believe that a good therapist never stops learning. I also believe that the efficacy of therapy comes from the relationship between the therapist and the client. The therapeutic relationship is the basis of what creates change. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with pre-adolescents, adolescents, adults, seniors, and couples. My hope is that this work has been helpful to my clients. I am fortunate in that it has also given me great satisfaction.

I specialize in services to schools, including work within public, private, and parochial schools serving students of all ages. Frequently, I provide training to school staff, presentations for parent groups, and consultation and training for Care Teams. A particular joy of mine is providing presentations and workshops to school-related groups of all sizes. I also lead monthly consultation groups for area school principals, and serve as an on-site school social worker for schools that contract for weekly services. Working with students of all ages, their families and school staff has been the focus of my clinical work.

In addition to my work with schools, I am trained to and provide psychoeducational testing services for students age 6 years and older, focusing on issues related to ADHD, depression and anxiety, behavioral problems, and learning differences. Please see our Psychological Testing page for more information.

I provide private therapy for adults, older adults, and caregivers who are facing a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, grief, coping with medical issues, dementia, and end of life.  I meet with clients for sessions in the office, virtually, or in-home/on-site depending on each client’s need. Traditional Medicare does cover psychotherapy, and I am a contracted provider. 

In addition to my work with individual clients, I provide on-site counseling, consultation, and education to staff throughout the continuum of senior living communities and home care agencies. I love speaking with professionals across disciplines about mental health and aging. Grief work is another passion of mine, and I facilitate groups for those experiencing grief and loss.