About Us
Christopher Bennett
CEO, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Christopher Bennett (he/him) believes in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. He believes that kindness, empathy and compassion are the foundations of having a transformative healing relationship with clients and that such relationships come from a place of making people feel valued, respected, and cared for as fellow human beings. He rejects the notion that relationships between clients and providers must be hierarchical or paternalistic. Chris focuses on how the mental, physical, and spiritual and social aspects of the human experience creates the narratives of his client's lives. With intentionality he creates a safe space where clients clients feel capable and empowered to make positive changes in their well-being. He helps clients draw on strengths, and identify current resources while developing new strategies. His approach is trauma informed and trauma sensitive, with an awareness of how trauma can be transmitted inter-generationally. He is especially sensitive to and attuned to the lived experience of marginalized populations such as BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals. One of his primary motivations in creating Bennett Mental Health and Wellness in 2023 was to create a place where clients can access the most evidence based and effective treatment for PTSD, BPD, DID, and other trauma related disorders, which is why each clinician he hires is trained in cutting edge psychopharmacology and psychotherapy for trauma and why he requires all therapists to be trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and IFS (Internal Family Systems Therapy). Chris also has expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD and has the personal experience of being a neurodivergent individual who has a child on the Autism Spectrum. Bennett Mental Health and Wellness has a relationship with Pediatric Movement Center where ADOS testing is conducted and where the diagnosis is given at Bennett Mental Health and Wellness. He is also highly experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders, especially OCD. He is also skilled at the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with Substance Use Disorders, has 19 years of sobriety from Alcohol Use Disorder, and is currently the psych provider for a women's halfway house.
He believes has been an RN since 2007 and a psychiatric nurse practitioner since 2010. Christopher practices child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric psychiatry and treats children as young as six. He has extensive training in the diagnosis and treatment of DID and had the pleasure of training with a DID specialist in Tennessee, Kate Hume. He is the only provider in the county that offers Low Dose Naltrexone to help alleviate symptoms in this population. He is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and graduated with a specialty in psychiatric/mental health nursing from the University of Tennessee in 2009 and his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Belmont University in 2007. Christopher previously completed his bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Tennessee in 2004. He practiced two years in Tennessee, and has been providing psychiatric care in Western Maryland since 2012.
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He has practiced in a variety of settings including inpatient psychiatry, and outpatient psychiatry, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and as well as a medicated assisted therapy clinic. In August 2023 Christopher founded Bennett Mental Health and Wellness. Christopher utilizes his practice experience to help patients improve their quality of life and decrease symptoms. Mental health challenges have biological, psychological, and social roots. Christopher provides medication management, botanicals/herbs, neutraceuticals, and lifestyle interventions along with brief person-centered therapeutic support to help identify and work towards the root causes of mental suffering in the person’s life. Christopher is a graduate of Dr. James Greenblatt’s Psychiatry Redefined Fellowship and has completed several modules with the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs, giving him a background in functional medicine. Christopher has also completed training in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy at Resilience Tuscon with Jennifer Montjoy, PhD, PMHNP-BC and has completed a certification in herbal medicine through the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine.​ He is credentialed with Medicare, Medicaid, Cigna, Aetna, BCBS, Magellan, UHC, and Tricare.
Cynthia Kline
MSN, PMHNP-BC
Cynthia Kline (she/her) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park (1982) and a Master’s degree in Biological Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park (1985). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University in 1998, followed by a Master of Science in Nursing from Shenandoah University in 2014. She has a career in psychiatry spanning since 2014. She has experience treating children and adults of all ages, offering comprehensive, compassionate mental health care. She is credentialed with all insurances including Medicare, Medicaid, Cigna, Aetna, BCBS, Magellan, UHC, and Tricare. She is an LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC affirming provider.
Allyson Murphy
MSW, LCSW-C, Director of Therapeutic Services - Not Currently Accepting New Clients
Allyson Murphy (she/her) holds a Master of Social Work from the University at Buffalo (2018) and earned her LCSW-C (Licensed Clinical Social Worker-Clinical) in 2022. With over 8 years of experience in the mental health field, Allyson is deeply committed to supporting individuals who have experienced trauma. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), evidence based approaches aimed at promoting healing and resilience. Allyson is comfortable working with a broad range of diagnoses, including but not limited to trauma and stress-related disorders, mood disorders, anxiety, and ADHD. Her professional background includes working within the school system, where she provided outpatient mental health services, mobile crisis interventions within the community, and clinic-based care. Additionally, she is a board-approved clinical supervisor in the state of Maryland, offering guidance and mentorship to emerging professionals in the mental health field. She is an LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC affirming provider. She is credentialed with Maryland Medicaid, Medicare, Cigna, Aetna, BCBS, and UHC.
Tiffany Davis
MA, Patient Care Coordinator
Tiffany (she/her) has been a NHA certified clinical medical assistant for over 10 years. She has experience working in multiple aspects of patient care but her passion is behavioral health. She believes that people are people and not their diagnosis.
Our Vision
We ascribe to a wellness rather than “illness” paradigm at Bennett Mental Health and Wellness. At Bennett Mental Health and Wellness our focus is much more on what is RIGHT with you far more than what is “wrong” with you. An individual cannot live their best life if they are not getting their needs met and they are not functioning from an optimal place of wholeness. Anxiety, depression, ADHD, mood disorders, OCD, PTSD, psychotic disorders, dissociative disorders, substance use disorders, etc make even the most basic of tasks overwhelming and create a sense of failure. We foster a strengths-based perspective so that you can see your suffering as merely one aspect of your human experience and you do not use it to define you. You are not alone. You deserve a life filled with joy. We can partner with you so that you can achieve a life that you feel is worth living. There is hope!
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Our Process
We complete a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation on each patient and identify individual needs and goals. When indicated, medications, neutraceuticals, botanicals, and lifestyle interventions will be prescribed, informed by current science, research, and evidence-based practice. We will collaborate together to create an exceptional plan that is individualized to your needs.
Location
Our office is located at 1101 Opal Court, Suites #217 and #311, Hagerstown, MD 21740. Our offices are located off of Eastern Blvd, across from the Sheetz and in the same building as Cacique and Diagnostic Imaging Services. When you arrive in our building, immediately proceed to the elevator and go to the second or third floors. Suite #217 is the location for medication management providders and #311 is for psychotherapy. Please contact Jennifer Strohman at 833-510-3999 for any billing concerns.