Alex Fratus
Clinician, Youth & Family Services
Alex Fratus is a Master Level Clinician within Youth & Family Services. She started with Thrive Behavioral Health as a Clinical Mental Health Intern in 2020 and also worked as a Case Manager in 2021. Upon receiving her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis on Family and Marriage in May of 2022, she became a Clinician in Thrive's Youth & Family program.
In her current roll, Alex works one-on-one with clients ages 4 through adulthood providing them with treatment, coping skills, de-escalation techniques, family therapy, Triple P parenting, and other treatment options. She also leads group sessions in the areas of parenting, social skills and Dialectal Behavioral Therapy.
Alex likes working at Thrive not only for the rewarding, supportive staff but also for Thrive's dedication to the community. She volunteers her time with some of Thrive's special efforts geared to the less fortunate families within its client community such as the Back-To-School supply drive and Gift Gather during the holidays. Alex has also shared her expertise by presenting at Thrive's free monthly workshops offered at the West Warwick Public Library.
Carris Transue
Clinical Supervisor, Youth & Family Services
Carris Transue has been with Thrive Behavioral Health since 2016. She is a Clinical Supervisor for Youth & Family Services. In her role as Clinical Supervisor, she supervises the clinicians on the Youth & Family team, mentor new staff and students, and help with the administrative oversight of the unit to support the program’s goals of delivering quality care to Thrive’s clients and their families.
Carris’ favorite part about working at Thrive is her colleagues. She feels that the supportive, nurturing work environment here at Thrive supports her growth on both a personal and professional level.
Cori Cramer, LCDP
Substance Use Disorder Counselor
Corinne (Cori) Cramer joined Thrive Behavioral Health in September of 2019 as a Substance Use Disorder Counselor within our Community Services Program. In this role, she works with clients that have dual diagnosis, i.e., a co-occurring mental health diagnosis, one of which is Substance Use Disorder. As part of her role, she assesses, educates, and counsels clients on the effects substance use has on the symptoms associated with mental health and the dangerous interaction it can have with medications. The part of her job that she loves most is meeting her clients out in the community which enables her to develop more personal relationships with them, more so than she would in an office setting. Cori is very proud of her team and a strong advocate of her colleagues, especially with all they have endured throughout the pandemic. She describes her team members as “a type of family who are battling the impact of the pandemic together to attend to the needs of their clients, who have a piece of their hearts”.
Jenna O'Brien, RN
Assertive Community Treatment Team
Jenna O’Brien has been with Thrive Behavioral Health since February of 2019 as the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team’s Registered Nurse. In addition to managing her clients medication and injection administration, Jenna’s responsibilities also include crisis intervention, coordination of psychiatric and medical care for clients and case management. When asked what she likes most about her job she says she likes meeting her clients face-to-face out in the community or at their homes. She also loves working with her colleagues and the close multi-disciplinary team setting here at Thrive. In her free time, Jenna is working toward becoming a Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse.
Dawn Allen
Director of Special Projects
Dawn Allen first joined Thrive in April 2019 as the Community Liaison for the State Opioid Response grant where she built relationships with numerous community organizations to help make Thrive a recognized name in the Rhode Island community.
In June 2020, she took on the role of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Project Director implementing, operationalizing, managing and evaluating the CCBHC grant for Thrive. In this role, she oversees nine evidence-based programs and works closely with our three partner agencies Community Care Alliance, Tides Family Services and CODAC Behavioral Healthcare and with the University of Rhode Island, which assists with data collection and program evaluation. She now also manages the Certified Mental Health Clinic (CMHC) grant as the Director of Special Projects.
When asked what she likes most about this role as Project Director, Dawn shares that she enjoys taking on something new, building it and watching it succeed. She is proud to be a part of the CCBHC because of its importance in allowing Thrive to provide high quality services that meet the specific needs of our community while breaking down barriers for those who are most vulnerable.
Outside of work, Dawn enjoys spending time with her husband, their two children, their dog, and her friends.
Laura Laprocina
Hospital Liaison and Case Manager, Integrative Health Home 2 Team
Laura Laprocina has been with Thrive since 2016 when she started as a Case Manager managing 42 clients in our Community Support Program (CSP). Currently, she holds a few roles at Thrive as the Hospital Liaison for the Integrated Health Home Team, Case Manager for 20 clients, and Relief Worker at our Buttonwoods Group Home on nights or weekends.
As a Hospital Liaison, Laura works with the hospitals on discharge planning for our clients who have been hospitalized and coordinates their after-care with outside providers. She also links these clients with other Thrive staff who prepare them for being independent at home before they are discharged. Laura then helps our clients integrate back into the community. Laura is also a Certified Community Support Professional for the State of Rhode Island.
When asked what she likes most about her job, Laura says she loves seeing her clients grow and recover. She also loves learning and growing herself every day with the knowledge she obtains from the other professionals around her, including Thrive’s providers and her peers. In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time with family and friends, dining out and going to the beach.
Carol Belasco
Certified Case Manager
Carol Belasco has been with our company for 22 years! She started as a Case Aid when the company was named Kent County Mental Health and is now a Certified Case Manager within Thrive’s Community Support Program. In her various roles over the years, Carol has been responsible for productivity tracking, Medicaid benefit paperwork, new client paperwork and treatment plans, psychiatric evaluation appointment scheduling, and monthly meetings with her case management clients. As a Case Manager, she loves spending time with her clients out in the community and providing them with her listening ear.