Who We Are
We believe in what we do.
We believe in what is possible for you, even when you are unable to believe in yourself.
If you are here, you are looking for something BIG. The decision to come to therapy is no easy one as it involves risk, vulnerability, courage and strength to speak openly and find some peace. Many times the decision to start therapy is because things are not going well, or perhaps they could be better. Talking about tough topics with a complete stranger is usually enough to send most running in the opposite direction; and on top of that, time and money are always of concern. Know that if you are feeling this apprehension, you are in the right spot, and we get it! Consider this to be the first step in investing in something extremely valuable that you will only ever have one chance at; your life. DBT of South Jersey is here and ready to help with treatment that works.
We would love to support you.
Meet Our Team
Our clinicians have all received intensive, foundational or core training in DBT, in addition to other specialized trainings that will compliment services provided.
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, NCC, 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
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
LAC
She/Her/Hers
“We are not our trauma. We are not our brain chemistry. That’s part of who we are, but we’re so much more than that”
—Sam J. Miller
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
LAC
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
Catie Giarra
LCSW
She/Her/Hers
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
– C.S. Lewis
Nicole Kozak
LAC
She/Her/Hers
“You always have a chance to write a new chapter. You are the author of your own story.”
– Elise Museles
Ashley Fritz
Lisa Pernini
Counseling Intern
She/Her/Hers
“An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.”
-Goi Nasu
Samantha Pinto
Counseing Intern
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
Shannon Taylor
Counseling Intern
She/Her/Hers
“Where you stand determines what you see and what you do not see; it determines also the angle you see it from; a change in where you stand changes everything.”
-Steve De Shazer
Jessi Mitchell
Counseling Intern
She/Her/Hers
“Meet this transient world with neither grasping nor fear, trust the unfolding of life, and you will attain true serenity.”
-Bhagavad Gita
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
Tara M.
She/Her/Hers
“We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.”
– C. Joybell C.
