Virtual Professional Training Institute
TLC’s Virtual Professional Training Institute (VPTI) is a specialized, one-of-a-kind, comprehensive CBT-based training for medical and therapeutic providers interested in becoming more knowledgeable in treating patients presenting with hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, cheek biting, and associated behaviors.
This 13-hour online, self-guided course, led by clinical pioneers Dr. Charles Mansueto, Dr. Fred Penzel, and Ruth Golomb, M.Ed., LCPC, provides BFRB curriculum and instruction found nowhere else.
TLC's VPTI training is designed for licensed therapeutic providers actively serving patients in a clinical setting or through telehealth, clinical students completing their rotations under supervision, licensed school psychologists, and licensed school counselors. TLC's VPTI offers the option to purchase individual or group supervision to gain additional BFRB treatment knowledge.
Licensed therapeutic providers who successfully complete TLC's VPTI training will receive a certificate of completion and can then apply to be listed on TLC’s Online Referral Directory, provided eligibility criteria is met.
PTI Faculty
Teaching Faculty
Charles S. Mansueto, Ph.D.
PTI Director
TLC Foundation for BFRBs Scientific Advisory Board
Director, Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington
Silver Spring, MD
Ruth Golomb, M.Ed., LCPC
PTI Supervisory Director
TLC Foundation for BFRBs Scientific Advisory Board
Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington
Silver Spring, MD
Fred Penzel, Ph.D.
PTI Senior Faculty
TLC Foundation for BFRBs Scientific Advisory Board
Director, Western Suffolk Psychological Services
Huntington, NY
Suzanne Mouton-Odum, Ph.D.
Vice Chair, TLC Foundation for BFRBs Scientific Advisory Board
Private Practice
Houston, TX
Stacy Shaw Welch, Ph.D.
Director, Anxiety & Stress Reduction Center of Seattle
Seattle, WA
John Piacentini, Ph.D., ABPP
TLC Foundation for BFRBs Board and Scientific Advisory Board Chair
Director, Child Anxiety and Tic Disorders Program
UCLA School of Medicine
Los Angeles, CA
Jon E. Grant, MD, JD, MPH
TLC Foundation for BFRBs Scientific Advisory Board
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Adjunct Faculty
Noah Weintraub, Psy.D.
Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington
Silver Spring, MD
Allen Weg, Ed.D.
Director, Stress and Anxiety Services of NJ
East Brunswick, NJ
Jennifer Kessler, Ph.D.
MidAtlantic Center for OCD and Anxiety
Silver Spring, MD
PTI Individual and Group Supervision
Individual supervision is offered to those who have completed the Professional Training Institute (PTI) or Virtual Professional Training Institute (VPTI). Individual supervision is meant to be a supplement to the training, it involves a 60-minute call with a TLC-appointed faculty member, where you have the opportunity to ask questions and seek advice in providing treatments for your BFRB clients. Upon receipt of your order, TLC staff will assign an available supervisor to you within 5 business days.
