OUr Standards

Dr. Valerie Hale and Dr. Todd Dunn provide supervision for all work provided by Oak Tree, and we are committed to adhering to AFCC guidelines and current family law research.  

Stephanie Winn serves as the Office Manager at Oak Tree Family Assessment & Treatment, bringing warmth, organization, and a client-first approach since April 2024. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, she played a key role in coordinating and launching the office’s new location in early 2025. Known for her compassionate demeanor, Stephanie ensures every client feels comfortable and supported from the moment they arrive. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, gaming, crafting, and exploring thought-provoking podcasts.

Dr. Todd Dunn is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience in therapeutic and forensic settings.  He has conducted more than 500 child custody and other court-ordered evaluations, establishing a reputation in the state for thorough, balanced assessments grounded in AFCC and APA guidelines and family law research.  Dr. Dunn has also taught the Utah divorce education class and conducted trainings for family law professionals on child custody and mental health topics since 2013.  He currently conducts child custody and other court-ordered evaluations and is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

In addition to forensic work, Dr. Dunn has provided assessments and psychotherapy to youth and adults in residential treatment centers, psychiatric emergency rooms, college counseling centers, medical clinics, and outpatient therapy clinics.  He has provided emotionally focused psychoeducation classes to couples and long-term process-oriented groups to adults, including a group for survivors of sexual abuse.  He currently provides psychotherapy to adults and couples using emotionally focused, psychodynamic, and cognitive behavioral therapeutic techniques. 

Dr. Dunn has been married for 25 years and enjoys spending time with his family, exploring the outdoors, and looking for the newest addition to his fossil, coin, and first-edition collections.

Valerie Hale, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice who specializes in the divorce and child custody population. She was president of the Utah Psychological Association from 2018 - 2019, is a faculty member of the Utah Judicial Institute, and has done training for professionals in the area of divorce, custody, shared parenting and high conflict divorce, in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Hale is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. She enjoys working closely with attorneys as well as members of the judiciary in creating programs to address the needs of families moving through divorce.

Dr. Hale has conducted over 400 custody and visitation evaluations for the Utah Court System and has worked with the divorce population since 1998. She has developed early intervention strategies to help families move through the separation process, such as the Mediation Based Custody Consultation which helps to avoid painful and costly litigation. She also created the class content for the Children of Divorce Education program offered at the Third District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Hale conducts custody evaluations, psychotherapy with children and adults, and provides litigation consultation to attorneys for particularly difficult divorce and child custody cases. She is the former Chair of the Utah Psychologist State Licensing Board and is also a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the American Psychological Association.

Heather Abbott is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. She has spent her career focused on supporting families navigating complex challenges. With a focus on court-involved families, Heather has significant experience working with children who have faced early childhood abuse, neglect, and removal by the legal system. She specializes in guiding families through the emotional and psychological complexities of foster care, adoption, separation, divorce, and post-divorce transitions. Heather is highly trained in addressing the impacts of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, empowering survivors to rebuild and thrive, and supporting individuals who have caused harm in their journey toward accountability and change. Additionally, she provides compassionate support for individuals and families processing grief and loss.

At Oaktree, Heather is dedicated to advocating for children and strengthening families through psychotherapy and custody evaluations. Her background in high-conflict family dynamics and trauma-informed care equips her to deliver thorough, impartial custody evaluations that prioritize the well-being of children. Heather’s approach combines empathy, evidence-based practices, and a commitment to fostering resilience in her clients.

Outside of her practice, Heather enjoys gardening, experimenting in the kitchen, golfing, skiing, hiking Utah’s mountains, weightlifting and Zumba classes. She cherishes time with her husband and their seven children.

Janet Rayburn has been assisting Dr. Hale since 2009, and Dr. Dunn since 2015. She has developed an efficient system for gathering and organizing the reams of paperwork and data generated by court ordered evaluations, and is currently training others in the ways of the Evaluation Assistant Jedi. She strives to offer assistance and empathy to clients and to smooth the path for those participating in the stressful evaluation process.

Janet moved to The Big Island of Hawaii in 2021. She loves the sea air, the sound of the surf, and looking at the ocean, but is a weirdo and prefers to avoid swimming in it. She loves spending time with her husband and their 95 pound lap dog, reading novels, visiting with her grandchildren via Zoom, and catching up on the latest episode of her favorite UK murder mysteries and period dramas.