Self-Injury & Crisis Lifeline CALL or TEXT (988). For a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit Befrienders Worldwide
ASIF was founded by Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Joan Goodman. During her 35 year career, Joan has worked with hundreds of self-injurious adolescents, young adults, and their parents. Joan has been a pioneer in clinical research associated with adolescent self-injury. She has successfully worked with adolescents and their families to find a path to recovery for more than three decades. Most recently, Joan was invited to work with Australia by the University of Melbourne. She participated as an expert panel member to provide insight into the effective treatment of suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious adolescents. The Melbourne School of Population at the University of Melbourne is working with the Australian government to update their mental health first aid guidelines for members of the public providing first aid for people who were having suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, or engaging in non-suicidal self-injury to better meet the needs of the Australian population in the 21st century. In addition, Joan has served as an expert witness for the Maryland State Attorney's Office. Joan conducts workshops to train counselors. teachers, nurses, and administrators of public and private schools to better understand the unique needs of the adolescent self-injurious student. As a nationally recognized expert, Joan has participated in many professional and lay conferences as a keynote speaker. Joan also specializes in the treatment of adolescent depression and suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and dual diagnosis, She offers adolescent group therapy, effective-parenting sessions, and animal-assisted therapy. The integration of therapy dogs into her treatment protocol has proven to be highly effective and distinguishes her practice.
Joan obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology from the George Washington University and her Master's in Social Work from the Catholic University of America. Licensed in both Maryland and the District of Columbia, she has received extensive postgraduate training in the Advanced Studies Program from Georgetown University Medical Center from 1995-2002. Joan is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and is a designated Diplomate in Clinical Social Work, the highest level of recognition available through professional societies. In 2005, Joan joined a panel of experts at USA Today as well as provided training to the Montgomery County Fatality Committee on adolescent depression and suicide. Joan is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class of 1996 and was the Chairperson for the Montgomery County Youth Workers Training Committee for 17 years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit foundation Foods4Thought. She has been interviewed for the Washington Post, the Bethesda Magazine, the Gazette newspapers, and has been featured on television news and radio shows throughout the East Coast. Today, Joan maintains a private practice as an adolescent specialist in Rockville, MD.
Joan Goodman, LCSW-C, BCD
Troy Crites offers first-hand experience about self-injurious adolescents. On January 19, 2007, his daughter Rachel Crites and her friend Rachel Smith went missing. Two weeks later, after a nationwide search, the two girls, age 18 and 16, were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. They had committed suicide. After a thorough review of all the factors that led to this tragic event, it is clear that more could have been done to prevent this great loss.
Mr. Crites has dedicated his time and talents to help other parents avoid the same experience. As a speaker at various forums in the Greater Washington DC area, Mr. Crites brings passion to the understandably personal cause. He has been a keynote speaker at several symposiums on Adolescent Depression and Suicide and has been featured in the Washington Post, Gazette newspapers, The Bethesda Magazine, and interviewed on local news and radio programs. As a senior executive in the defense industry, Mr. Crites brings solid leadership and business experience to ASIF. He is the founder of Foods-4-thought.org, a nonprofit foundation to increase the awareness of adolescent depression and suicide, one conversation at a time.
Troy Crites
Dr. Steven Israel is a board-certified psychiatrist and has been the medical director of Adventist Behavioral Health at Rockville since 2006. Licensed in the State of Maryland, before joining the Adventist HealthCare System in 2000, Dr. Israel worked for ten years as a staff psychiatrist for Chestnut Lodge, an inpatient adolescent service. He has also served as a consulting psychiatrist for the Jewish Social Service Agency of Washington and Community Psychiatric Clinics, Inc.
Dr. Israel completed his Postgraduate Fellowship in Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine after earning his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University. Dr. Israel runs a private practice of adolescent and adult psychiatry in Rockville, Maryland, and has been interviewed frequently as an expert for WTOP News Radio, The Washington Post Newspaper, and the Bethesda Magazine.
Dr. Stephen Israel
Ed Reed is serving as the Vice President on the Board for ASIF. Ed contributes to the local community by serving as the Head of a School Counseling Department for a local middle school. He is also the founder of Academic Management Group, LLC and serves as an Executive Director on the John C. Maxwell Team to provide global leadership development. Prior to serving in his local school system, Ed gained valuable leadership experience in the private sector. Ed is a highly educated specialist with over 25 years of expertise in developing students, teachers, administrators and strengthening communities.
Ed's life mission is to transform lives through leadership development, wellness & self-care, and personal growth. He believes people are the most valuable resources in every organization and that cultivating a culture of leadership is critical to long-term organizational success. His coaching and leadership training focuses on empowering and equipping people to effectively connect with others, stretch beyond their comfort zone, and apply sound wisdom to build their foundation for long-term success. Internationally, he has worked with leaders in Paraguay, Nigeria, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, and Philippines.
Ed has served in various leadership roles in private industry and secondary schools. Ed is currently a Town Commissioner for the Town of Poolesville. He is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and often serves as a guest speaker to graduate students at various universities. He has served on advisory boards for nonprofit organizations dedicated to equipping the next generation for success. He also served as the 2016 - 2017 President of the Maryland School Counselor Association. In 2017 he was honored as the MCPS Middle School Counselor of the Year. Ed earned a “Telly Award” as an educational expert for his contributions to the award-winning television show, “Congratulations! You’re In!” Afterwards, he served as the host for two seasons. Ed was also the 2017 John Maxwell Team Award Winner for Equipping Others.
The combination of Ed’s faith, compassion, leadership, rich experiences, keen insight into human behavior & organizational development has resulted in effectively navigating individuals, teams, and organizations through challenges to successfully exceed their desired outcome.
Edward Reed
Jessica Twedt, a licensed Certified Social Worker and Prevention Specialist has worked for the past 18 years in violence and substance abuse prevention. She has worked for EveryMindrunning Voices VS Violence, and for SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention researching and writing online tutorials and training on topics related to suicide, dating violence and bullying. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Catholic University and is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.
Jessica Sara Twedt
Panda and Cozmo are working therapy dogs. As such they help teenagers feel more comfortable talking about difficult subjects. Our mascots show unconditional love to all, and are always ready to listen.
Panda and Cozmo often joined members of our ASIF team at events and speaking engagements.
After many years of service, Cozmo is now at the end of the rainbow.