ALLISON BONIFAY, MA, LPC

Director of Clinic Operations & Senior Clinician

allison@nwanxiety.com

Allison spends much of her days supporting the operations and administrative workings at NWAI. One of her daily gratitudes is getting to work with a team of not only skilled and dedicated individuals, but also ridiculously funny and absurdly kind. When doing clinical work, she approaches the therapeutic relationship with energy, curiosity and a drive to learn collaboratively.  She delights in infusing humor and compassion while keeping the focus on empowerment and freedom from fear.

Outside of NWAI, she actively serves as a steering committee member of the Multnomah County Hoarding Task Force, advocating for broader understanding and support for those with lived experience of hoarding.  Prior to co-founding NWAI, Allison’s clinical experience included residential, correctional, and in-home settings, serving a variety of populations (teen parents, incarcerated adults, and families). Her previous work, focused on empowerment of historically under-represented groups, has fueled her passion and mission of increasing access to quality mental health care for all.

Allison graduated from Pacific University with her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She has received certification from the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF) Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) for treating OCD. She enjoys opportunities to share insights on OCD and anxiety treatment, clinical practice building, and program development through trainings and consultation.

In her free time, Allison recharges by doing all things family with teens and a preschooler! Her evenings and weekends are filled with high school sports, tasty meals at Portland restaurants, local music shows and festivals, and outdoor excursions (mountains preferred). ​

< Our Team

“Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” 
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trainings & Certifications

Supporting Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), Yale Child Study Center, 2020
BTTI, IOCDF Behavior Therapy Training Institute, 2015
Clinical Supervision OBLPCT, 2014
Hoarding Workshop, IOCDF, 2013
Collaborative Problem Solving, Certified Tier 1 Training, 2011
The Incredible Years, 2005

Presentations

Bonifay, A., Gelman, I., Brown, A., & Lindsay, M. (2021, October 8 – 10). All in due time: Personal retrospectives on treatment response. [Workshop session]. IOCDF Online OCD Conference.

Dauterman, H., Bonifay, A., Tininenko, J., & Welch, S. (2021, October 8 – 10). Can we do this from home? Running an IOP during COVID-19. [Workshop session]. IOCDF Online OCD Conference. 

Bonifay, A. (2019, December). Hoarding: Setting Up for Success: working with people struggling with “too much stuff.” Workshop presented to Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Portland, OR.  ​

Ashworth, K. & Bonifay, A. (2018, April) Anxiety in Schools workshop. Workshop presented to educators and faculty for David Douglas School District, Portland, OR

Bonifay, A., Nagle, S. (2017, April). When identifying automatic thoughts isn’t enough: Understanding the mechanisms of change when utilizing a CBT approach. Oral presentation at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference, San Francisco, CA. 

Bonifay, A., Mayhew, M., DeBar, L., Kiernan, M. (2017, March). Interactive Group-Based Orientation Sessions to Improve Adherence and Data Completion in Pragmatic Clinical Trials. Poster session at the 38th Annual Meeting And Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Diego, CA. 

Bonifay, A., Ashworth, K., Bergstrom, B., Rosqvist, J., Wade, S., Crockett, M., Bliesner, A., Carrier, A., Diershaw, K., Randall, J. (2010, June). What's in a name? Developing an appropriate treatment protocol despite diagnostic clarification of gastrointestinal distress symptom within Panic Disorder. Poster session at the 6th World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Boston, MA.
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Bonifay, A., Bloom, A., Ashworth, K., Davidson, J., Meeke, H., & Rosqvist, J. (2009, September). Assessment of recovery: Clinical significance and reliable Change in clinical decision-making. Oral presentation at The 10th European Conference on Psychological Assessment, Ghent, Belgium, Europe. ​

Professional Affiliations

Girls, Inc.
International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) 
Multnomah County Hoarding Taskforce
Postpartum Support International

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Publications

DeBar, L., Mayhew, M., Benes, L., Bonifay, A., Deyo, R., Elder, C., Keefe, F., Leo, M., McMullen, C., Owen-Smith, A., Smith, D., Trinacty, C., & Vollmer, W. (2022). A primary care-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for long-term opioid users with chronic pain: a randomized pragmatic trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 175(1), 46-55. 

DeBar LL, Owen-Smith A, Mayhew M, Leo MC, Varga A, Benes L, & Bonifay A. (2018). Automating collection of pain-related patient reported outcomes to enhance clinical care and research. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 33(Supp.1), 31-37. 
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DeBar LL, Benes L, Bonifay A, Deyo RA, Elder CR, Keefe FJ, Leo MC, McMullen C, Mayhew M, Owen-Smith A, Smith DH, Trinacty CM, Vollmer WM. (2018).  Interdisciplinary team-based care for patients with chronic pain on long-term opioid treatment in primary care (PPACT) – Protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 67, 91-99.

Elder, C., DeBar, L., Ritenbaugh C., Rumptz, M., Patterson, C., Bonifay, A., Cowan, P., Lancaster, L., Deyo, R. (2017). Health care systems support to enhance patient-centered care: Lessons from a primary care-based chronic pain management initiative. The Permanente Journal, 21,16-101. 

Ashworth, K., Bonifay, A., & Rosqvist, J. (2010). Panic disorder subtype gastrointestinal response: Phenomenon and proposed treatment protocol. Graduate Student Journal of Psychology, 12, 45-50.