SUNNY DAYS THERAPEUTICS - Key Persons
Alexia Johnson, Master of Social Work (MSW), received her education in her home state of Wisconsin. Through over nine years of experience, she has worked with children and families in the child welfare system and adults with disabilities. Other demographics she has served are survivors of abuse and human trafficking.
Alexia has a passion for serving her community and vulnerable populations. In addition to her degree, she is also certified in trauma-informed care, and in various trauma modalities. Alexia has served as an intern for both an inpatient substance abuse clinic and a domestic violence shelter.
Outside of clinical settings, she enjoys reading the Bible, books, spending time with her family and friends, listening to music, and working as an esthetician. Her personal favorite is naps!
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO at Sunny Days
- Practice Admin Owner
Amber Buchanan, founder and CEO at Sunny Days, has had a passion for helping others since she was a child. She began volunteering at the age of 13 as a candy striper for the local hospital where she lived in WV. She went on to volunteer at a teen suicide hotline, the animal shelter and at various locations with her youth group throughout her teen years.
Even though Amber obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business from a small private college in WV, she continued with her passion of helping others in her spare time during her business career, but it didn't feel like enough. During the pandemic, Amber realized that she wanted to focus all of her time on helping others. She left her full time Executive role and formed Sunny Days in January of 2022.
Job Titles:
- Licensed Professional / Music Therapist
Amber began her career as an elementary school music teacher in 2014 after graduating Georgia Southern University. She continued teaching until 2017, when she moved to Athens to pursue her Bachelor's Equivalency in Music Therapy at the University of Georgia. This culminated in an internship at The George Center in Roswell, GA.
Amber has experience leading music therapy in groups and with individuals from many walks of life. She has worked with seniors in memory care, children and young adults with Autism, preschool-aged children, and more. Additionally, she is trained in Neurologic Music Therapy and Remo's HealthRHYTHMS. She is passionate about making music accessible to anyone, and in presuming competence in her clients.
When not making music, Amber enjoys snuggling her pugs, geocaching, and playing D&D with her friends.
Job Titles:
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Social Worker - Telehealth
Amy Simmons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who has a passion for serving and genuinely loves helping other people. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia in 2013 and Master's Degree in Social Work from West Virginia University in 2015. She completed internships in both out-patient and in-patient settings. Her background includes working with adult and adolescent patients. She most often conducts individual therapy sessions but also has experience with couples and groups.
Amy has experience working with individuals with special needs and issues including but not limited to depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief, low self-esteem, LGBTQ+, gender identity and sexual orientation. She has experience is using a variety of treatment modalities and is excited to schedule an appointment to conduct an initial assessment and develop a person-centered treatment plan, that will help you meet your mental health goals. At this time, therapy sessions will be conducted via telehealth.
When not working, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter and family. She enjoys spending time outdoors, trying new things and going on adventures.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Licensed
Cortney Fountain is an Associate Licensed Clinical Therapist, who works collaboratively to help set others up for success. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a minor in Child and Family Development from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. From there she went on to obtain her Master's in Clinical Psychology from Brenau University in Gainesville. Her background consists of working with a wide variety of Clients in individual, couples, families and group settings from children, adolescent, teens, and emerging adults.
Cortney has experience working with those who have difficulties including but not limited to life transition, anxiety, depression, trauma, anger management, self-harm, self-esteem, and LGBTQ+.
Cortney's clinical work focuses on growth and change through empowerment utilizing multi-faceted modalities. Themes consisting of TF-CBT, Play Therapy, DBT, and Person-Centered approaches to create an individualized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs.
In her free time, Cortney enjoys spending time with her family, her cat, kayaking, hiking, reading, and listening to live music.
Job Titles:
- Licensed Master / Social Worker
Jasey Jones is a graduate of the University of Georgia's School of Social Work (MSW, 2019) and Lamar Dodd School of Art (MFA, 2005). He completed a Bachelor's of Studio Arts at the University of West Georgia in 2002.
Katie received her MSW from UGA in 2004. Since that time, most of her career has been spent in community mental health in a variety of settings.
She enjoys helping clinicians show clients that they have the resiliency and capacity to recover from life's experiences. If there is an obstacle in their way, therapy can help by changing patterns and behaviors that are causing distress.
She offers a non-judgmental, supportive, and honest approach to clinical supervision.
Madelyn Hutchison is a senior at the University of Georgia studying Psychology and Neuroscience. She has extensive experience working as a tutor and mentor for young children and children with special needs. Once she graduates, she will be working towards applying mathematics to psychological diagnostic modeling.
In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her pets, taking naps, drinking boba tea, and painting.
Michelle Edwards is the Office Manager of Sunny Days Therapeutics. She supports scheduling, insurance billing, communication with families, and much more to help our office run as smoothly as possible. She has been an integral part of administration teams since 1997- working in both the medical and mental health fields, and winning awards for her stellar customer service.
Michelle has always had a passion for working with people searching to improve their mental health, as well as those with special needs. She has a caring heart, and works hard to ensure a positive experience for everyone at Sunny Days!
Job Titles:
- Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist
Suzanne (Suzy) Huycke has been a nationally Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) since 2012. Her interest in Recreation Therapy began when she was in high school and had opportunities to teach individuals of varying abilities how to swim and to volunteer with a local hospital's Animal Assisted Therapy program. She received her bachelor's degree in Therapeutic Recreation with a minor in Psychology from Clemson University in 2012. She continued her education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned her Master of Science degree with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation in 2014.
Tyler Lewis is a current student at the University of Georgia studying Communications. Tyler has previous experience working as an After School Director for the YWCO, and has years of experience working with individuals with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals.
Tyler is also currently working on a start up called Hailey's Healthy Hangout: a company seeking to create a thriving social network for neurodivergent individuals to connect and socialize with other neurodivergent individuals. Inclusivity is huge for Tyler, and he strives to make sure all feel welcome and heard.
In his spare time, Tyler loves all things soccer and plays every weekend in an organized league. He also loves being outside and exercising.