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Therapists

Meet our licensed therapists!

Check out their profiles below and contact us for more information about appointment availability.

Ryan Alexander, MA, LAC

Ryan Alexander, MA, LAC is a Licensed Associate Counselor. He dedicates himself to understanding his clients by utilizing empathy, nonjudgement, and a strengths-based approach. Ryan seeks to provide safety and support for his clients to discover the best ways to meet their own goals through counseling.

Demi Banchs, MA, LPC, RPT, CAPT

Demi Banchs, MA, LPC, RPT, CAPT is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist whose focus is providing therapy from a trauma-informed, attachment-informed, and antiracist lens using humanistic, family systems theories, and attachment theories. Demi aims to practice cultural humility and use a strengths-based approach with all of her clients and their families.

Toni Bannon, MS, LAMFT

Toni Bannon, MS, LAMFT, brings an honest and compassionate energy to CFCE as a Marriage and Family therapist. She works with individuals, couples, and families with the goal of inspiring a better understanding of the self, and a deeper connection to others. Toni takes care to balance quiet introspective moments with forward momentum. Therapy is a journey of ups and downs, and Toni will meet you wherever you need her.

Courtney Barbera, MSW, MPH, LSW

Courtney Barbera, MSW, MPH, LSW is a Licensed Social Worker who works with teens, adults, couples, and families. Courtney became a therapist because she firmly believes in the power of transformation through connection, compassion, and acceptance. She provides a supportive environment for individuals seeking therapy for a broad range of concerns, including but not limited to general and social anxiety, balancing life stressors and changes across the lifespan, grief and loss, and relationship challenges.

Liz Blackburn-Gruver, MSW, LCSW

Liz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who has worked extensively with children, teens, and adults in all stages of life. She counsels individuals, couples, and families utilizing an approach that is person-centered and strength-based. She has expertise in parent coaching, anger issues, mood disorders, anxiety, identity concerns, self-injury, eating disorders, and addiction.

Clyde Boucher, MSW, LCSW 

Clyde Boucher, MSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker. He has been working in mental health and addiction services providing individual, group, couples, and family therapy for over 35 years. Clyde utilizes an Intergenerational Family Systems approach being attuned to the influence of culture, gender, class, and ethnicity of families, and the debilitating effects of trauma on relationships.

Michelle Jurgens Brooks, MA, LPC, ACS

Michelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor who is deeply drawn to helping children, adolescents, young adults, and adults. She has over 20 years of experience across many levels of care including Inpatient Hospital, Partial Hospital, Intensive Outpatient, and Traditional Outpatient settings. Michelle is dedicated to providing a safe space to grow and heal through evidence-based approaches and she values each person’s unique journey of self-discovery.

Brianna Capacchione, MA, LAC

Brianna Capacchione, MA, LAC is a Licensed Associate Counselor who has a passion for helping teens and adults working from a client-centered and strengths-based approach. As a former collegiate basketball player and coach, she has a special interest in mental performance coaching and helping individuals and/or teams achieve their full potential. By using techniques of visualization, goal-setting, and mindfulness skills she can help athletes perform at their best when it is needed most. Brianna believes the mind-body connection is essential for performance but also deeply important for an individual’s well-being.

Susan A. Clark, MIA, MS, LPC, ACS, RPT

Susan is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the Center for Counseling and Education. She brings over 25 years of experience in health and educational program development and advising to the practice. Susan utilizes a humanistic, client-centered approach to counseling children, teens, adults and families. She integrates a wide variety of interventions in her work including Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Child-Centered Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and attachment-focused family therapy.

Meg Clark Soriano, MA, LPC, ACS, RPT-S, Director

Meg has enjoyed helping children, adults, and their families for over 30 years. She founded the Center for Counseling and Education, LLC in 1996.

Meg’s approach is compassionate and practical. While clients appreciate her warmth and down-to-earth style, Meg has extensive training in cutting-edge therapeutic modalities which offer consistent and often rapid improvements for clients. Her therapeutic style reflects a deep understanding of developmental and attachment theory within a systemic framework.

Huti Cooper, MSW, LCSW

Hutokhshi (Huti) Cooper, MSW, LCSW has been providing therapeutic services for all ages of children with special needs for the last 15 years. Huti utilizes an integrated approach being attuned to the influence of culture, class, and ethnicity of families, and the effects of disabilities and trauma. Huti is passionate about the use of relaxation and mindfulness to alleviate symptoms of stress and depression and utilizes strength-based and problem-focused therapy to improve her clients’ functioning.

Wendy Cunningham, MSW, LSW

Wendy Cunningham, MSW, LSW, is a Licensed Social Worker with 20 years of experience partnering with children and families who have been impacted by mental health, trauma, substance use, socio-economic challenges as well as the everyday challenges in keeping up with our modern lives. Wendy considers it a privilege to support others through vulnerable and challenging times and helping others to identify their strength and power to create strategies and solutions that help to improve their lives.

Michelle Cwanger, MSW, LCSW

Michelle Cwanger, MSW, LCSW is a warm, compassionate, empathic counselor who enjoys helping individuals connect with and better understand their feelings and relationships. She has a gentle demeanor, and she is able to make great connections with people.  Michelle utilizes a strength-based, client-centered, trauma-informed, empowerment approach.

Lynn DeLaurentis

Lynn DeLaurentis, MA, LPC, RPT, BCB

Lynn is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has been working in the mental health field for the past 9 years, with an initial focus on biofeedback and stress management. She currently helps children, adolescents, adults, and couples who struggle with headaches, anger management, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, BFRBs (Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors such as skin-picking, hair pulling & nail biting), grief, loss, life transitions, marriage, parent-child relationship issues and trauma.

Lynn DeLaurentis

Nikki Fisher, MHC, LAC

Nikki is a Licensed Associate Counselor with a passion for helping children and young adults find their strengths and develop the skills to better their lives. In counseling, Nikki values creativity, collaboration, and each individual’s uniqueness.

Nikki (pronouns she/her) brings empathy, genuineness, and compassion to the therapeutic relationship. She utilizes a client-centered and wellness perspective with clients, which involves viewing an individual as a whole and helping them reach their fullest potential.

Samantha Edwards, MA, LAC

Samantha is a Licensed Associate Counselor who understands that most days, it’s very hard to be a human! So she brings empathy, compassion, kindness, and levity into her therapeutic work. Sam utilizes a playful, person-centered and strengths-based lens to help children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and families understand themselves better and interact more confidently in the world around them. Her highly relational, collaborative, & flexible approach with clients emphasizes that therapeutic growth rarely happens in a ‘straight line’. 

Allison Gonzalez, MSW, LCSW

Allison Gonzalez, MSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker with a Bachelor of Science in social work from Monmouth University and a Master of Science in social work from Rutgers, with a specialization in clinical treatment. She is a first-generation college graduate whose parents immigrated from Central America. Her personal experiences and background set the foundation for her client-centered, strengths-based treatment approach as she understands that not one individual is the same and every person has a right to own and understand their personal story. 

Rachel Hutnick, MA, LPC, ACS, RPT-S

Rachel is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Approved Clinical Supervisor, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor who utilizes a collaborative approach that is playful and compassionate. She brings a friendly and comforting presence to her work with children, adolescents, young adults, families and groups.

Stan Kletkewicz, MA, LPC

Stan is a Licensed Professional Counselor who is passionate about helping those seeking transformation in their lives. Stan is experienced in working with individual adults, couples, and families. Combining 25+ years in the corporate world with an advanced, intensive education in counseling, Stan offers a unique combination of practical, yet compassionate, client-centered skills geared toward creating a comfortable, inviting experience for his clients.

Simone Lavine, M.S.Ed, M.Phil.Ed., LPC

Simone Lavine works with clients of all ages, backgrounds, and life-stages, including couples, families, children, teens, and adults. Simone utilizes a client-centered, trauma-informed, and identity-affirming approach to counseling. She draws from Psychodynamic, Gestalt, Polyvagal, Family Systems, and Cognitive Behavioral orientations, and tailors her integrative approach to each client.

Cathy Lederman MCAT, LPC, BC

Cathy Lederman MCAT, LPC, BC is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Board Certified Art Therapist who has worked with children and adolescents for 20 years.  Cathy utilizes a child centered approach to counseling children and teens and is passionate about engaging children in an inviting manner.   She incorporates Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) techniques and Trauma Focused CBT techniques into Art and Play Therapy interventions.

Tara Lorenzetti, MA, LAC

Tara Lorenzetti, MA, LAC works with children, adolescents, adults, and families from a trauma-informed, person-centered lens. Tara takes a strengths-based approach with all clients and seeks to meet them where they are.Tara is both a certified School Counselor and Licensed Associate Counselor in New Jersey. She also has training in Child-Centered Play Therapy and Child-Parent Relationship Therapy.

Angela Mancao, MSW, LCSW

Angela is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who provides compassionate care to all she meets, striving to create a safe and comfortable environment for her clients to share their story and learn ways to improve their wellbeing. Angela understands that no two people are the same or experience the same hardships, which is why she tailors treatment to best fit her clients’ needs and preferences.

Kimberly McDonald, MA, LPC, NCC

Kimberly is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Nationally Certified Counselor.  She is passionate about walking alongside children, adolescents and families facing anxiety, family conflict, school concerns and depression.  She also counsels adults in the area of coping skills, work-life balance, grief and loss, relationship issues and stress management.

Andrea Nasuti, MSW, LSW, Client Care Coordinator

Andrea (She/Her) is a Licensed Social Worker who is passionate about working with children, teens, and adults. Andrea fosters an environment of exploration, safety and acceptance. Her genuine compassion and empathy influence her work with individuals of all ages. Andrea has an appreciation for how early attachments impact relationships and a feeling of well-being. She uses a strengths-based approach to meet her clients where they are as she has a deep appreciation for each individual’s unique experience.

Sierra Neal, MA, LAC

Sierra Neal, MA, LAC is a Licensed Associate Counselor who has a burning passion to help others heal from current and past stressors, as well as advocating for the liberation and healing of all communities. Sierra understands the importance of being an avid listener to cultivate a trustworthy relationship with others and prides herself on being able to provide a safe space for individuals struggling to cope with life’s hardships. 

Rebecca (Becky) Norris, MSW, LSW

Becky Norris, MSW, LSW is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified School Social Worker.  She has been working in the mental health field for over 15 years.  Becky has worked in a multitude of settings including counseling agencies and schools.  Becky is passionate about helping others and providing a safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment.

Jeanne Scala Bauer, MA, LPC

Jeanne Scala Bauer, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 30 years of experience in treating children, adolescents, adults, and couples in a variety of different settings. She is gentle and warm in her approach while utilizing the best, most up-to-date evidence based techniques. Using an attachment lens, she understands that the connection between her and her clients is paramount in that with connection comes understanding and acceptance.

Jacquelyn Schriver (Jacquie), MSW, LCSW

Jacquie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is passionate about helping families and children delight in more satisfying relationships, as well as helping children use their natural inclinations to process complex emotions and experiences so they can lead happy and healthy lives.
Jacquie has worked for ten years with children and families from diverse populations, in their homes and in the community. Jacquie’s approach to counseling is warmhearted, culturally-sensitive, interactive, collaborative, and strength-based. She integrates trauma-informed and creative approaches to treatment into her work with clients at CFCE.

Mickey Steinitz, MA, MSW, LCSW, RPT-S

Mickey is passionate about children and has worked exclusively with children and their families for over twenty years. She believes that every child has the potential to be a happy successful adult. She believes that when a child is acting out at home or in school the behavior is an unsuccessful attempt to communicate a problem to the adults in their world.

Kristin Tomasello May, MA, LPC

Kristin brings a genuine and compassionate understanding to her work with clients of all ages. Kristin has training in cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, mindfulness, grief and loss, trauma, and integrative medicine. She utilizes a light-hearted, collaborative approach to therapy as a way to promote meaningful healing for children, teens, adults, and families.

Mary Wightman, MSW, LCSW, RPT-S

Mary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor who has been passionate about helping children, teens, adults and couples for over twenty-five years. Using strength based approaches and evidenced based modalities, Mary empowers her clients to overcome personal obstacles to improve their relationships and their lives.

Marie Wiliszewski, MA, LAC

Marie Wiliszewski, MA, LAC is a Licensed Associate Counselor who is passionate about working with children and adolescents. She creates a safe and positive space for her clients by incorporating empathy and genuineness into the sessions. Utilizing a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Play Therapy, Marie allows for creative and expressive outlets for clients.

Laura Young, MS, MA, LAC

Laura offers a unique combination of practical, yet compassionate, client-centered skills geared toward creating a comfortable and inviting experience for clients. Having spent her “first career” as a Corporate Human Resources Professional, Laura has extensive experience in helping others manage work/life balance issues. She has expertise working with family-of-origin addiction issues, grief and loss, and she’s completed advanced Mindfulness training.