Our Staff
Dr. Sandrine Hildembrand, Ph. D., MA. – Owner and Clinical Director
Dr. Hildembrand is a clinical and forensic psychologist with over 16 years of experience in the sex offender assessment and treatment field in a variety of outpatient and inpatient settings. She completed an externship at the DC Superior Court of the District of Columbia where she conducted sexual and violence risk assessment as well as psycho-educational evaluations for adjudicated youths. She also completed additional training with the Psychiatric Institute of Washington where she provided therapy services and comprehensive psychological evaluations to a diverse population of adults and children presenting with a variety of acute psychiatric and co-morbid disorders. In 2017, she completed an APA accredited internship at Saint Elizabeths’ Hospital in the District of Columbia in the forensic inpatient division where she conducted Competency to Stand Trial evaluations, Integrated and Comprehensive psychological evaluations, and Psychosexual and Violence Risk assessments for adult defendants. She also provided individual and group psychotherapy to an underserved and diverse population of adults suffering from chronic and severe psychiatric illnesses and co-occurring substance abuse. She also has experience conducting Dialectical Behavior Therapy based psychotherapy groups aimed at adults diagnosed with severe psychopathology and Personality Disorders.
Dr. Hildembrand is a recipient of the honorary Social Justice award for her distinguished research on the social imposition of stigma and self-stigma, a qualitive exploration of the lived experiences of labeled sex offenders and its impact on rehabilitation.
Dr. Hildembrand currently provides forensic psychological assessments and consultation to attorneys and the courts in criminal matters. She is qualified as an expert witness in the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia; Superior Court of the District of Columbia; Prince George’s and Montgomery County Circuit and Fairfax County Circuit Courts where she provides expert testimony on various and complex forensic matters. She also provides training and consultation to various local and federal agencies on forensic matters related to the assessment, treatment and management of sex offenders as well as violent offenders in the community. Those agencies include USPO (United States Probation Office); Maryland Division of Parole and Probation; Montgomery County Pre-Release Center and the Office of the Public Defender. In her clinical practice, she also conducts diagnostic assessment, consultation and treatment services for individuals who present with sexual behavior problems and co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Dr. Hildembrand also provides supervision to licensed clinicians as well as undergraduate and graduate Social Work and Psychology students.
Dr. Hildembrand has been Certified as a Sex Offender Treatment Provider (CSOTP) by the Virginia Board of Psychology since 2017; and is clinical member with ATSA (the Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers), which is an internationally recognized organization. Dr. Hildembrand is fluent in English; French (native language) and Spanish and has gained extensive experience working with Spanish speaking clients.
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Cindy Rivera – Office Manager/Clinical Coordinator
Cindy Rivera is a skilled Office Manager and Clinical Coordinator who excels in high-pressure situations. She specializes in managing clinical and forensic operations, with strengths in time management, communication, and organization. Over the past eight years, Ms. Rivera has accrued significant and relevant experience in administering psychological tests for clinical and forensic population, including incarcerated individuals, notably at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, and has worked very closely with criminal defense attorneys, probation officers, and case managers on various complex cases to facilitate various administrative and clinical tasks critical to the assessment process.
Committed to ethical standards and legal compliance, Ms. Rivera is trusted in the mental health field for her ability to foster partnerships and ensure effective communication among diverse stakeholders. Throughout her career, she has proven her ability to handle complex situations with calmness and to deliver results. Cindy's dedication has earned her respect as an asset in her field. Overall, her biography highlights her expertise in clinical coordination, bilingual proficiency (she is fluent in Spanish).
Ms. Rivera’s primary responsibilities at our clinic entail the following: timely submission of all financial invoices to private clients and in accordance with our contract requirements, maintaining financial records in accordance with standard accounting procedures for auditing purposes. Ms. Rivera is also the designated contract compliance officer for our clinic and has direct responsibility for ensuring that all services and other contracts are being implemented as required. In addition, she is responsible for scheduling clients for treatment services, and for the coordination and administration of psychosocial and psychosexual testing used at our clinic.
Elizabeth Freeland, MSW, LCSW-C, CSOTP – Senior Clinical Associate
Elizabeth Freeland has 14 years of direct experience working with both juvenile and adult sexual offenders. She is a skilled and empathic clinician with a strong clinical acumen that has allowed her to work effectively with individuals who present with acute psychopathology and complex personality structure. While working in the sex offender field, she has also gained extensive experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and various skate holders (including attorneys, judges, probation officers, and various agencies at a local and federal levels as well as mental health clinicians) in an effort to collect meaningful clinical data and to produce a variety of comprehensive and integrated assessments (psychosexual and violence risk assessment as well as psychological assessments) which have all reflected a clear and coherent case conceptualization highlighting clients’ complex and unique risk management and treatment needs.
Further, over the course of her career in the clinical and forensic mental health field, Ms. Freeland has accrued unique experience working with individuals presenting with a wide variety of enduring personality traits and acute mood disorders (both in the context of assessment and mental health treatment), and has developed a unique set of skills that has allowed her to work skillfully with individuals with antisocial personality disorders as well as those who present with neuro-developmental challenges such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Ms. Freeland is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Maryland and in the District of Columbia. She is also a licensed CSOTP in Virginia (Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider), is a Clinical Member of ATSA, and adheres to the clinical practice and ethical standards of ATSA. She is certified as an expert witness in Montgomery County. Ms. Freeland is currently a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology with the Chicago School of Psychology with an anticipated graduation date of 2026.
Jennifer Gross, LCSW-C, CSOTP – Senior Clinical Associate
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Jennifer Gross first entered the field of social work as a Child Protective Services social worker, working primarily with Spanish speaking families surrounding issues of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence. Over the past 30 years, Ms. Gross has worked and volunteered in a variety of settings and agencies supporting families who have experienced some form of abuse. Ms. Gross has held positions as a supervisor, therapist, educator and case manager. She has in depth experience in prevention, investigation, identification, education, evaluation and treatment regarding offenders, child abuse victims and non-offending caretakers. She conducts crisis assessments for youth and children regarding both mental health and substance abuse issues. She has advocated for change to protect children and prevent abuse.
Ms. Gross has worked with sex offenders since 1997 in private practice, conducting assessments and seeing clients in both individual and group treatment settings. She has also accrued extensive experience working with the Roman Catholic Church, where she is continuing to provide valued expertise in addressing clergy abuse and fostering safe environment policies and implementation. She is an ATSA member and is a licensed Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider with the Virginia Board of Psychology.
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Alex Honigman, LCSW - Senior Clinical Associate
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Alex is a forensic therapist with extensive expertise in navigating the dynamics between the psyche and society. With dual degrees in Psychology and Sociology, coupled with a Masters of Social Work emphasizing clinical interventions, he brings over two decades of comprehensive experience to his practice. Alex has honed his skills as a therapist for the Department of State Hospitals in California, where he specialized in Criminally Committed Offenders and Rehabilitation, Addiction, Relapse Prevention alongside forensic mental health. His professional journey underscores a commitment to guiding individuals towards lives defined by health, confidence, and value.