She is an Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who believes that people can recover from the destructive patterns they learned during abuse or other terrible life events. Sometimes these destructive patterns are found in relationships, work or emotions, but all can be healed over time. Grace approaches counseling as a guide through these dark places back into the light of a full life again. 

Johanna M. Hershenson, D.D., M.A.H.L., M.S., LPC, Consultant,  lives and works  in Central Oregon.   Johanna started her professional endeavors  serving  communities in Oregon, Alaska,  California, Prague, and New Zealand. Johanna  values diverse human experience and learning  from friends and family, colleagues, and clients. Johanna completed a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Oregon State University-Cascades twenty-five years into her professional journey as a synagogue rabbi. She believes effective counseling must address the mind, body, and spirit.

Johanna is dedicated to person-centered and solution-focused approaches to counseling, and works with clients according to their own sense of what is wrong and what needs to happen to make it right. She is passionate about finding which point of entry (mind, body, spirit) is right for both the client and the moment. The mind stores thoughts and beliefs, while the body integrates those thoughts and beliefs into our responses to our situations and encounters in our daily life. The spirit then reflects the ease (or lack of) in communication between mind and body. A lack of ease in the spirit alerts us to the fact that there is a disconnect between mind and body.

Grace Thornton, MS, LPC, Consultant, is new to Bend after pursuing her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at George Fox University in Portland. Grace ran a private practice in Portland for 3 years before moving to Bend.

Grace specialized in the treatment of trauma in graduate school and has since continued her trauma education with EMDR training. 

Our Consultants

Gail Klein, COO, has over 25 years of experience in the University of Alaska system focused on supporting students to achieve their academic goals. She was a recipient of the statewide “Make Students Count” award for a high level of dedication to students. She has a BBA from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  Gail provides exceptional operational oversight to all aspects of the company including R&D, Marketing, Sales, and Administration.

Lisa Bartelment, M.S., Consultant, is an  experienced  HR professional with years of  diversified human resources  experience including training and organizational development. Lisa’s main areas of interest include organizational change, group  psychology, research methods, performance enhancement and motivation. Lisa is an exceptionally strong mentor, counselor and coach.

Our people make the difference.


​Dr. Fred Rafilson, CEO, an established national expert in industrial/organizational psychology, organizational and individual assessment and a resident of Bend, OR, will help you to select leaders who will succeed in your organization.  Dr. Rafilson has conducted assessments for private sector, federal, state and county/municipal agencies.  He also serves as an expert for employment litigation cases and works closely with agencies under DOJ consent ​decrees. All assessments meet EEOC and ADA ​legal requirements.​​In addition, Dr. Rafilson has served as a consultant on numerous independent program evaluations. Some of the organizations he has provided evaluation consulting services for include:

- Taglit Birthright Israel
- Israel Business Pipeline
- TAMID Group
​- The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

- The Paul E. Singer Foundation

- and many others


Rafilson & Associates, LLC

Erica Myers, EdM, MS, LPC, ACS, Consultant, received her Master’s in Education from Harvard and her Master’s in Counseling from Western Carolina University. She is an Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) whose private practice (www.emcounseling.com) is grounded in Cognitive-Behavioral theory and a Person-Centered approach. As an Approved Clinical Supervisor and a Registered Supervisor for the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, Erica provides clinical supervision to graduate students in OSU-Cascades Masters of Counseling program and offers LPC-Interns supervision towards licensure.