Who We Are
Even on the hardest days, we hold hope for you. That’s what we do. That’s who we are.
If you’re here, you’re likely searching for something big. Starting therapy is no small step. It takes courage, vulnerability, and a willingness to hope for something better. We know that opening up to a stranger can feel intimidating. Add in the stress of time, cost, and uncertainty, and it’s no wonder this decision can feel heavy. But here’s the truth: if you’re feeling that hesitation, you’re probably exactly where you need to be. At DBT of South Jersey, we meet you with compassion, clarity, and evidence-based care that works. This may be your first step, but it’s a powerful one — and you don’t have to take it alone.
We would love to support you.
Meet Our Team
Our team is trained in foundational and advanced DBT, with additional specialties that deepen the quality of care we offer.
Shaelene Lauriano kite
LPC, DBT-LBC Certified Clinician, ACS, NCC, RYT, Florida Telehealth Provider
OWNER & DIRECTOR
She/Her/Hers
“Never compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got.”
—Janis Joplin
Lisa Besler
LPC, DBT-LBC Certified Clinician, ACS, Florida Telehealth Provider
CLINICAL DIRECTOR
She/Her/Hers
“You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better you did better.”
—Maya Angelou
Alexandra Panchella
LPC, DBT-LBC Certified Clinician, RYT
Clinical Lead
She/Her/Hers
Mental strength is not the ability to stay out of the darkness; but the ability to sit present in the darkness, knowing the light will shine again.
—Stacy Turis
Kris Bendinelli
LPC, DBT-LBC Certified Clinician, ACS, NCC, Florida Telehealth Provider
CLINICAL LEAD
She/Her/Hers
“It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”
—Anonymous
Michelle Dunn
LSW
GROUP COORDINATOR
She/Her/Hers
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
—Joshua J. Marine
Ashlee Maruca
LPC, DBT-LBC Certified Clinician
TEAM LEAD
She/Her/Hers
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”
—Napoleon Hill
Alaina Cara
LCSW
She/Her/Hers
“Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is. A moment of Radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom.”
–Tara Branch
Molly Johnson
LCSW
She/Her/Hers
“You do not belong to the future or the past -You belong right here.”
– Rupi Kaur
Christina Sterlacci
LPC
She/Her/Hers
“Sometimes when you are in a dark place, you think you have been buried, but actually you’ve been planted.”
Mary Evers
LCSW
She/Her/Hers
“We can trust ourselves, stand in our own truth, stand in our own light. Fear, doubt and confusion are the enemies of self-trust”.
-Melody Beattie
Sarah Sidman
LPC, LCADC, NCC
She/Her/Hers
“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”
-Sophia Bush
Jelani McMath
LPC
She/Her/Hers
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
Jonathan Martinez
LPC
He/Him/His
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”
– Vivian Greene
Habeebah Abdus-Salaam
LSW
She/Her/Hers
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy.”
– Khalil Gibran
Sam Pinto
LAC
She/Her/Hers
“And as you learn the magic, learn to believe it. Don’t be ‘surprised’ when it works, you undercut your power.”
-Diane di Prima
Ashley
Fritz
LAC
she/Her/Hers
“The most important healing –
realizing who you are.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Destiny Battle
Counseling Intern
She/Her/Hers
“I can’t wait to see how high you soar.”
-Michelle Obama
Madison Rubino
LAC & Reiki Practicioner
She/Her/Hers
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
– Heraclitus
Ashley Valentino
Counseling Intern
She/Her/Hers
“Life is a journey to be experienced. Not a problem to be solved.”
-Winnie the Pooh
Our Desk Angels
Lisa W.
She/Her/Hers
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
—Lou Holtz
Savoy M.
She/Her/Hers
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”.
—Maya Angelou
