Our entire staff is licensed and certified by Texas State or accredited by their professional associations.

Alefiyah Bharmal, Psy.D., LP

Dr. Bharmal is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her Doctor of Psychology with a concentration in Health and Neuropsychology in 2013 from the American School of Professional Psychology in Washington D.C. (APA accredited). She furthered her training by obtaining a post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychological assessment and therapy of children and adolescents at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California (APA accredited). Dr. Bharmal specializes in understanding and evaluating the relationship between brain disorders and behavior. She is passionate about neuropsychological evaluations and enjoys evaluating individuals two-years-old through young adulthood for a wide range of learning problems, developmental delays, behavioral problems, ADHD, complex medical and neurological problems, emotional-behavioral disorders, brain injuries, strokes, and psychiatric issues. Alone with her professional strengths in psychological and neuropsychological assessment, she is also devoted to working with individuals of all ages with issues related to anxiety, depression, oppositional behavior, building coping skills, direct or vicarious trauma, parenting skills, parent-child relationship issues, and life adjustment difficulties. Dr. Bharmal meets her patients where they are by providing support, guidance, insight and a sense of hope. She is genuinely dedicated to encouraging others and empowering their growth. She works to provide a warm and safe environment for healing to take place while restoring balance and wholeness throughout the therapeutic process. Her distinctive therapeutic style can be described as authentic, nurturing, empathic, patient, creative, and collaborative.

Diane McIntosh, Ph.D, Licensed Psychologist. 

She received a Ph.D. in counseling from North Texas State University in 1975. She did a post-doctoral internship at Callier Center for communication disorders. She was licensed as a psychologist in the state of Texas in 1977. She had a private practice from 1981-1996 doing addiction treatment and family counseling. She served owner and director of ACT counseling, Psychological, and Addiction Services during this period. The organizations had contracts with Texas State Probation and Parole and Federal Probation. She worked as a case manager for a managed care company, Value Options, before working in the public sector at Dallas Metrocare Services for 14 years. From 1998-2012 she served as a clinical supervisor in children's services overseeing family therapy, individual counseling, and also doing psychological testing for the foster care and mental retardation programs. She did training seminars for staff and foster parents at Metrocare Services. She began her career as a teacher and achieved a life time teaching certificate in language arts in the state of Louisiana. She has worked with children with learning disabilities.

Franz Klutschkowski, Ed.D., LPCs

Franz Klutschkowski has worked in the area of counseling since 1994. Dr. Klutschkowski graduated from Wichita State University, Wichita Kansas with a major in psychology. He completed his master’s thesis relating to problem school children within the major large cities of Kansas. He moved to Texas in 1994 and worked with institutionalized juvenile delinquent children and their families until 1990, with the Texas Youth Commission. During this time, he acquired a substantial amount of experience in counseling (including drug abuse counseling), testing, and family therapy. He later went on to work for the next 10 years with children and adults who had developmental disabilities. During this time, he completed and published a significant research project relating to weight loss.

He earned his doctorate degree in the area of counseling from Texas A & M University in 1992. His doctoral dissertation involved a national, three year study concerning drug abuse treatment in the United States, which was published and has contributed to the training standards of drug abuse counselors. Dr. Klutschkowski is semi-retired, teaches Psychology for the North Central Texas College, has a private counseling practice in Gainesville, Texas, and is a consultant for the Dallas SIGMA Counseling Group. He is licensed in the State of Texas as a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist. He is also a Nationally Certified Psychologist. Dr. Klutschkowski is an immigrant from Germany (1952), is a naturalized citizen of the United States, has been married for 40 years and has two adult children.

Mark Dalal, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist

He received a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in 2003. He did his pre-doctoral internship at Western Michigan University’s counseling center. He was licensed as a psychologist in the state of Texas in 2005. He served as the Assistant Director of Clinical Services and Training at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Counseling and Psychological Services. He has a private practice providing assessment of ADHD and Learning Disorders and works at Dallas Sigma Counseling Services in Dallas, TX., performing psychological assessment of personality, ADHD, and Learning Disorders. Dr. Dalal has over 10 years of experience in the areas of individual therapy, consultation, and psychological assessment. He specializes in working with individuals who have depression, anxiety disorders, relationship problems, and ADHD/Learning Disorders.

Bruce Buirkle 

Bruce Buirkle is an LPC, & LMFT. His academic background consists of an M.Ed. in Counseling; an M.A. in Clinical Psychology; and an M.A. in Speech Communication. Mr. Buirkle also has a doctorate in Law (J.D.-Juris Doctorate). His licenses and certifications include; Licensed Professional Counselor; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy; Nationally Certified Vocational Evaluator; Nationally Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor; and Certified Divorce Mediator (Oklahoma). In addition, he is licensed as an Attorney in Texas. He speaks reasonable Spanish and has a working knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. Bruce has worked as an English as a Second Language Instructor of adults in the USA and overseas (China). He worked as a Legal Assistant in Taiwan and as a Legal Intern for The Juvenile Justice Defender’s Office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a Divorce Mediator at the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma court house and a Psycho-Educational/Therapist at the Parent’s Assistance Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He has an extensive background in issues regarding vocational rehabilitation, work hardening, career planning, Worker’s Compensation and related issues. Other experiences include Sand Hills Mental Health Center, West End, North Carolina where He functioned as a Masters level Staff Psychologist (Psychological Associate) doing therapy with families, couples, individuals; and extensive psychological assessments of a wide variety which were used for planning treatment. He was employed as a Licensed Psychological Associate at the ODOM maximum security prison in Jacksonville, North Carolina, doing intakes, psychotherapy and conducting a sex offender group, as well as an anger management group. He is especially interested in areas where legal/psychological issues interest.