Serving children, adults, couples and families in Southeastern North Carolina for more than 30 years
Welcome to Cape Fear Psychological Services, a cornerstone of Wilmington’s mental health care. We help people of all ages address challenges, identify areas of change and growth, and develop strategies to help meet their goals. Our multidisciplinary team includes a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, psychologists, certified perinatal mental health professionals, and therapists. The Cape Fear Psychological Services team is passionate about serving our community, accepts a variety of insurance plans, and offers in-person and virtual sessions.
Ashli Gibson, PMHNP, CNM
Ashli Gibson is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specializing in Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry. Ashli has a background as a Certified Nurse-Midwife in which she developed expertise in prenatal care, birth, postpartum care, and gynecology over the span of six years. Ashli also holds a certificate in Perinatal Mental Health through Postpartum Support International adding an additional level of proficiency to her skill set.
Ashli is committed to holistic care and empowering individuals in optimizing their health. She offers individualized health counseling, lab assessment, pharmacogenomic testing, and medication management. In addition to being a PMHNP and CNM, Ashli holds a BSN in Nursing, a BA in Psychology, and a BA in Spanish. Ashli also holds a certificate as a yoga instructor and incorporates mindfulness into her practice approach.
In her free time, Ashli enjoys paddle boarding, yoga, participating in her book club, and playing music with her family band.
Chris Savard, PhD
Christopher Savard Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who's been practicing in southeastern North Carolina since 1990. He has held positions as staff psychologist at the Brunswick Hospital Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, and at New Hanover Regional Medical Center's psychiatric facility, The Oaks, on the child and adolescent unit. Dr. Savard has been in private practice at Cape Fear Psychological Services since 1993.
His therapeutic approach typically involves application of cognitive/behavioral strategies to problems involving children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families.
Dr. Savard has extensive training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and treatment of substance abuse. He has been a consulting psychologist with the Brunswick and Columbus County school systems, for whom he has conducted psychological evaluations. He is the professional liaison for the Anxiety and OCD Support Group, which he first organized in Wilmington in 1995.
Dr. Savard has received training in behavior therapy for OCD at the Behavior Therapy Training Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Savard's academic history includes graduation from the Honor's Program at Boston College, cum laude, with a BA in English literature. He obtained a Masters degree in English literature from University of Florida. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama and completed his clinical internship at Harvard University's McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Outside the office, Dr. Savard spends his time training for the Wrightsville Beach sprint triathalon, golfing and playing with his grandchildren.
Jennifer Cameron, PhD
Jennifer Cameron, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who practiced in the Washington, DC area before relocating to Wilmington in 2018. She held a staff psychologist position at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD for 16 years, providing diagnostic and treatment services to clients having anxiety and mood disorders. She also worked with the Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Services at NIH providing psychiatric consultation for medically ill patients. In addition to her position at NIMH, Dr. Cameron has been involved in private practice since 2005.
Dr. Cameron’s therapeutic approach typically involves application of cognitive/behavioral strategies to problems involving children, adolescents, and adults. She specializes in treating social anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, insomnia, ADHD, specific phobias and depression. With a strong medical background, Dr. Cameron is experienced with treating the mental health needs of clients facing significant medical issues. She has also worked with clients with serious mental illnesses.
Dr. Cameron attended training in cognitive behavior therapy for children and adolescents at Alvord/Baker & Associates in Bethesda, MD. She received formal training in trauma-focused CBT, traumatic grief, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, and CBT-insomnia. She also received training with the Center for Deployment Psychology and has experience treating military families.
Dr. Cameron's academic history includes graduation from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, with a BS in Nursing. She obtained a Masters Degree as a Nurse Practitioner from University of Cincinnati, Ohio. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from American University, Washington, DC. She is a member of the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.
Outside the office, Dr. Cameron spends her free time playing the flute, cooking, biking, and traveling internationally with her husband to visit children and grandchildren.
Emily Savard Barlas, MA, LCMHC, PMH-C
Emily Savard Barlas is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional with varied experience from providing counseling to college students at a University Counseling Center to offering enhanced services to people suffering from severe and persistent mental illnesses.
Emily especially enjoys working with young adults, pregnant women, and new moms. She works with issues including anxiety, depression, self-esteem, stress, time management, and relational concerns. She also assists women with postpartum adjustment, stress and depression.
In addition to being a LCMHC, she holds a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a certificate in Addictions Counseling from Appalachian State University and a BA in International Studies from the University of San Francisco. She is a member of Postpartum Support International and is a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional through PSI.
Emily provides trainings on perinatal mental health; has been a guest speaker on the Inspiration Lab Podcast, Episode 5: Mental Health for Moms; and is a 2022 recipient of the 40 Under 40 award by the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and Star News.
During her spare time, Emily enjoys yoga and loves being on the beach with her family and dog, Boone.
Jenna Lavoie, MA, LCMHC, RPT, PMH-C
Jenna Lavoie is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, a Registered Play Therapist, and a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional with experience working in community-based agencies as well as office settings providing mental health services for clients of all ages. Jenna enjoys working with children, teen girls, and young women with issues such as anxiety, depression, family concerns, parenting, peer relationships, self-confidence, stress, and life transitions. She also has a passion for helping others on their journey through pregnancy and the postpartum stage.
Jenna utilizes a person-centered approach to therapy, focusing on each client’s individual needs and goals, and believes the counseling relationship is foundational to the process. Jenna seeks to build the counseling relationship by providing a relaxed, compassionate, and non-judgmental environment. She is committed to walking alongside clients to help them find a new sense of peace and hope.
Jenna graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before serving on a mission team in Argentina for two years. She received her degree in Biblical Counseling while also completing an internship at a pregnancy resource center in Wake Forest, NC.
In her free time, Jenna enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two children. She also loves running, horseback riding, baking, and painting.
Mark N. Gaskill, PhD
Mark Gaskill, Ph.D. has practiced as a clinical psychologist in the Wilmington area for the past 30 years. Originally, his doctoral training is from the University of New Mexico with a background in child development, art therapy, and adult and family psychotherapy. While Dr. Gaskill often works extensively with emotional trauma and recovery from abuse, he treats a wide range of behavioral health problems in serving adults, children and families.
Overall, Dr. Gaskill uses an insight-oriented and holistic approach to psychotherapy. His approach is integrative and helps clients develop the tools to live their lives with purpose and meaning; one that not only integrates personal relationships, work and family, but addresses physical wellbeing, lifestyle, cultural identity and living mindfully in the world.
Since 1993, Dr. Gaskill has also been an adjunct faculty instructor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the arts in both creative writing and film making. While he often works specifically with creative artists, Dr. Gaskill has found that the tools to live more creatively and fully can be beneficial in healing for anyone.
