Our Founders

Our founders have more than 20 years combined experience working with a variety of individuals with specialized learning and behavioral needs. 

Courtney Gebhart, M.A. CCC-SLP

Courtney Gebhart is the co-founder and Director of Speech Services for Metamorphosis Therapy Group, Inc., a Central California based multi-specialty therapy group. Metamorphosis Therapy Group, Inc. specializes in providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and speech and language therapy. Courtney has more 13 years experience as an ASHA certified speech language pathologist working in pediatrics serving individuals with Autism, developmental delays, articulation impairments, language impairments, and pragmatic (social) language delays. She is experienced in providing home-, school-, community-, and clinic-based services. Courtney completed her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from California State University, Fresno, where she continues to serve as a mentor for students pursuing a degree in Speech-Language Pathology.  She resides in Fresno, California with her husband and two children, Jameson and Elise.

Maegen Pierce, M.A. BCBA LBA

Maegen Pierce is the co-founder of Metamorphosis Therapy Group, Inc. With more than fourteen years experience in the applied behavior analysis field, Maegen has founded therapy organizations that operate throughout the United States As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), she has specialized in school, clinic and home therapy, providing a unique and personalized treatment plan for hundreds of clients throughout the United States. Maegen received her bachelor's degree in psychology with an emphasis in ABA from California State University, Fresno and master's degree in Special Education from California State University, Monterey Bay. She currently resides in Orlando, Fla., with her husband Ryan, daughters Saoirse and Ella and two dogs Sammi and Charlie.

Our Advantage

What are the benefits of working in collaboration with a behavior analyst and speech therapist?

Regardless of the therapy setting, a therapist with knowledge of behavior techniques translates into double-benefit for a learner since all of his or her instruction will be similarly focused in these highly effective areas. Often, speech language pathologists working in ABA programs are asked to weigh in on decisions about selecting an appropriate communication mode for a learner. Although speech is by far the most desirable choice (it’s fast, easy, accessible, and cheap), some children may not easily acquire verbal speech and so other communication systems must be considered.  Some common alternatives to support the acquisition of verbal speech are picture communication systems, sign language, or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which is commonly thought of as a high-tech device.

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The Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) is a graduate-level certification in behavior analysis. Professionals who are certified at the BCBA level are independent practitioners who provide behavior-analytical services. In addition, BCBAs supervise the work of Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, and others who implement behavior-analytic interventions. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has been empirically shown to be effective in a wide variety of areas, including parent training, substance abuse treatment, dementia management, brain injury rehabilitation, occupational safety intervention, among others. However, because ABA was first applied to the treatment of individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism, this practice area has the largest evidence base and has received the most recognition.  Because ABA is largely based on behavior and its consequences, the techniques generally involve teaching individuals more effective ways of behaving and making changes to social consequences of existing behavior (such as reducing negative behaviors such as hitting or increasing the likelihood of positive behavior such as toilet training).

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Collaboration between behavioral analysts and speech language pathologists can positively impact the lives of the individuals they service for a variety of reasons.  For a pre-verbal child who exhibits behaviors such as hitting or crying because they cannot verbally request items, both the BCBA and SLP will look at implementing a successful communication system.  The SLP and BCBA can collaborate on skills needed to support communication, regardless of the method (verbal, gestures/sign, picture exchange systems, high-tech communication systems such as on a tablet).  The SLP has training on typical language and disordered language development and how it may differ across diagnosis and can help “fill in” the holes to develop a successful communicator, and the BCBA can help support the overall goal by analyzing and implementing behaviorally-based treatment methods.

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