(850) 842.2424
Meet Our Team
Dr. Tonice Krueger is a Licensed Psychologist and founder of Krueger Wellness Institute. Dr. Krueger is a proud Air Force Veteran and military spouse. She has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Marriage & Family Therapy. She is a Licensed Psychologist in both Niceville, Florida and Virginia.
Dr. Krueger has worked as a mental health provider since 2009. Her experiences include children and family community clinics, hospice, private practice, two Federal Correctional Institutions with the Bureau of Prisons, and several rotations at Triple Army Medical Center to include Behavioral Medicine, Oncology, and Health Psychology Clinics.
Currently, Dr. Krueger treats a wide variety of conditions including depression, anxiety, trauma, chronic stress, binge eating, bulimia, relationship issues and more. She sees mental health concerns as an overall need for global healing of the mind and body. She will work collaboratively with you in creating a treatment plan that takes your past experiences, current presenting concerns, and overall status of wellbeing into consideration. In working with Dr. Krueger, you will create a treatment plan specific to your goals and desired pace of treatment.
Dr. Krueger utilizes a holistic and integrative approach to working with your mental health concerns, drawing from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), solutions-focused therapy, and mindfulness techniques. Additionally, she provides Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) as an additional treatment modality appropriate for a myriad of mental health concerns.
Dr. Krueger specializes in helping service members, veterans, and their families work through adjustment concerns and in managing the effects of trauma.
Lindsey Christian is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that loves working with children, teenagers, and their families. She finds great professional satisfaction in helping children, teenagers, and parents sort through the new experiences and emotions in their development and heal from past trauma.
In doing so, the goal is to help them improve their communication and build deeper bonds with their families.
Lindsey offers an “eclectic” therapeutic approach that combines several evidenced based modalities, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, to provide an individualized treatment plan to address unique concerns.
No man is an island – we all need help from time to time. With that being said, Lindsey offers a compassionate and nonjudgmental ear, with evidenced-based treatments to help each client make sense of what life has thrown at them.
Shari Abel is a certified Christian counselor, a practicing Catholic, and works with all denominations to explore any spiritual concerns. Shari believes in taking a holistic approach to help clients grow and flourish. She provides services to individuals of all ages. Shari works frequently with survivors of trauma and abuse, including those who are in or recovering from high-control relationships. Those suffering from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and difficulties adjusting can find a safe place to heal in her office. She has a rich understanding of the complex nature of PTSD.
Shari uses evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rapid Trauma Processing, and the Gottman Method of couples counseling. Having grown up in a military family, living near an active Air Force Base, Shari has a thorough understanding of the complete nature of military culture. Shari is proud to serve our active-duty military, veterans, their families, contractors, and civil servants.
Therapy is a great place to also explore our history of attachment traumas and to identify new and healthy way to engage in the important relationships in our lives.
Cherie Kass is a military spouse, having been married for 19 years. She is also a nationally certified Sign Language Interpreter and has been an interpreter for 20 years. Cherie is passionate about becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, working with military families, and providing direct counseling to the Deaf community. Cherie earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2020.
Cherie graduated with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Troy University in July 2023. Currently, Cherie is a registered intern at Krueger Wellness Institute, working under the supervision of a licensed Qualified Supervisor.
As a military spouse, Cherie has gained many life experiences, such as living abroad, deployments, family reintegration, and transitioning/moving every three years. Cherie will strive to establish a solid therapeutic relationship with each client and foster an open and safe environment, free of judgement.
in partnership with Emerald Coast Diabetes and Nutrition Center.
Moira Faris – Growing up, Moira realized how the food she ate influenced her mood, her overall health, and her performance in sports. She wanted to learn more about nutrition and make it my career.
Moira grew up on the Emerald Coast and graduated from Choctawhatchee High School. She earned her undergraduate degree from Florida State University. She went to New York Institute of Technology for her dietetic internship and received a Master of Public Health degree from Cleveland State University.
The majority of Moira’s career has been in clinical nutrition, but she has also worked in public health. She has worked as a clinical dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at St. Barnabas Hospital, Orlando Health, Southpointe Hospital of the Cleveland Clinic, Emory University Hospital, and HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital. Moira is a certified diabetes educator/certified diabetes care and education specialist. She says the best part of her job is working with people to help them meet their health goals and feel better.
Moira and her husband met at Meigs Middle School and are both graduates of Choctawhatchee High School. They recently moved back to the area and could not be happier to be back home. This really is a special place. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, especially watching their kids play sports and being together in and near the water.
Amanda Williams-Torres is the Krueger Wellness Institute’s Clinic Manager. She is a Missouri native and graduated Missouri Southern State University with a B.S. in Business Management, Human Resource Management, and Marketing and is excited to use her degrees and experiences to aid KWI.
Amanda is a newly wed military spouse and is enjoying the Florida life being stationed at Eglin AFB. In her spare time you will find her at the beach trying to find conch shells, researching what time of year certain marine life is present in the gulf, and chasing after her two mini schnauzers, Alfie and Zena.
Bridgette Ellis serves as our Mental Health Administrative Assistant. She is a South Carolina native with an associate degree in Business Administration and Management. As a military spouse of over 15 years she has been through several deployments, numerous TDY’s and lived in several states, now calling Florida home. She also juggles many roles as a key spouse, homeschooling mom, devoted dog mom and crochet enthusiast.