We are a group of licensed therapists who pride ourselves in delivering top quality behavioral health to our clients. When we look to add a new therapist to our team, we look for people that have diverse experience. Our therapists work with a wide variety of issues and populations. Our team will work to provide you with goal-oriented interventions and strategies that help you reach your goals and live the life you want to live. We have designed a beautiful office that makes you feel at home and it is a safe and comfortable place for you to work on your goals. We feel that therapy is a privilege and every single person can benefit from being a better version of themselves. At LIBH our team is trustworthy, enthusiastic, hard working, goal oriented, personable and we are always here to help.
David Morgan, LCSW-R, CAMF
David Morgan, LCSW-R, CAMF is the director of Long Island Behavioral Health. He is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience in private practice. He has worked in a major Hospital on the psychiatric in-patient unit and in the psychiatric emergency room. He has worked with children, adolescents, and adults with major psychiatric and substance abuse disorders in both acute and clinical settings. In addition, he has worked in the public school system developing programs and facilitating groups for children and adolescents on a wide variety of topics. He is licensed by New York State to provide clinical psychotherapy and he has helped many people achieve their goals over the years. He is a certified anger management provider and has extensive training in anger management. He co-authored two anger management workbooks, “Managing Our Anger, Managing Our Lives,” and “Training Your Anger Monster: A Top-Secret Manual” .
Marissa Morgan, LCSW
Marissa Morgan is a licensed clinical social worker with over 15 years of clinical experience. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults with significant mental illness and substance abuse disorders in acute, clinical, and residential settings. Marissa has extensive training in suicide prevention, crisis intervention, individual therapy, family therapy, couples therapy, and group psychotherapy. Throughout Marissa’s career, she has worked with both private and public agencies and has a profound knowledge of these systems. Marissa utilizes a broad spectrum of practice to help the diverse clientele she works with achieve their goals. She continues to practice at a Partial Hospitalization Program with adults suffering from acute psychiatric symptoms and privately with families, couples, adults, and adolescents here at Long Island Behavioral Health.
Frank Guastella, LCSW
Frank Guastella, LCSW is the Assistant Clinical Director of LIBH. He is a licensed clinical social worker with experience in private practice, clinic, school, home, and community-based settings. Frank’s service to clients in a variety of practice settings has made him well versed in therapeutic approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and person-centered counseling. Frank specializes in treating adults, adolescents, and children struggling with depression, anxiety, ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Frank has over 10 years experience serving clients who are on the autism spectrum as a behavior consultant, psychotherapist, and direct support staff. In addition to providing psychotherapy, he currently runs a social skills training class at Long Island Behavioral Health.
Garret Zeidner-Rodriguez, LMSW
Garret has been working in the field of mental health for several years. He received his MSW from Stony Brook University. He has experience working with a wide range of populations and mental health issues including; anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, addiction, self-esteem, and assisting the LGBTQ community in addressing the numerous social and psychological challenges imposed upon the individuals within the LGBTQ community. He is currently pursuing his PhD in the area of Mind-Body Medicine, with a focus in Integrative Mental Health. He enjoys utilizing mindfulness based practices within the clinical setting to assist in stress reduction and changing negative thought patterns. His unique world view and positive nature will lend itself well to any and all individuals wishing to work with him.
Michelle Lajoie, LMSW
Michelle is a licensed social worker who obtained her master’s degree from Adelphi University. Michelle has worked closely with children, adolescents and their families in a variety of settings. She has experience with those involved in the foster care system as well as with young children in special education and Head Start. Michele provides individual counseling, play therapy and therapeutic groups. She also conducts workshops on life skills, social skills, play therapy and parental training. Michelle’s experience with these populations has helped many clients and families achieve their goals.
Samantha Janosick, LCSW, CAMP is a licensed clinical social worker with experience in private practice, medical, school and college settings. She is a Certified Anger Management Provider and a Certified NYS School Social Worker. Her direct experience includes school social work, substance abuse treatment, anger management coaching, and private practice. She specializes in working with children and adolescents experiencing depression, anxiety and other challenges. Samantha also specializes in working with transsexual, transgender and gender-variant people of all ages. Samantha co-authored an adult anger management workbook, “Managing Our Anger, Managing Our Lives.” She also co-authored a children’s anger management workbook, “Training Your Anger Monster: A Top-Secret Manual.” She is passionate about providing effective and engaging care to her clients.
Justine Zangara, LMHC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in NYS with diverse experience working with children, adolescents and adults with a wide variety of mental health disorders and issues. Justine completed her undergraduate education at Villanova University as a student-athlete where she studied psychology and cognitive science; during this time she was named captain of the Villanova Women’s Lacrosse Team. She continued her education, receiving her graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through SUNY Old Westbury. She has since fulfilled NYS requirements to gain licensure. Justine has worked in various settings, including a mental health outpatient facility, a mental health clinic, and a community residency for teens and adolescents. She has provided individual, group, and family therapy to individuals suffering from a wide range of diagnoses and symptomatic behaviors. These experiences in turn, have provided her with a broad knowledge base of behavioral/psychological disorders of children, adolescents, and adults. Justine believes in a multi-faceted approach to treatment, with an emphasis on creating an individualized treatment plan for each client with identified goals and objectives.
Chloe Santoro, LMHC, CASAC-T is a NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a CASAC-t. She first earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Binghamton University. Her love of helping others motivated her to further pursue her academic career at Long Island University where she graduated with a masters in clinical mental health counseling. Chloe has experience in helping clients with a wide range of diagnoses, settings and ages. She started her career working in an outpatient setting with individuals with severe and chronic mental illness in both individual and group settings. She has worked with children in a county children’s program, adolescents in a community residence and has led both the substance dependency counseling program and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) program for adolescents and adults in a private practice setting. Chloe has a keen understanding of the importance of improving one’s mental health to promote a healthy lifestyle. She believes that one’s experience in therapy needs to be tailored to the needs of the individual. She works with each client to help identify their specific goals of therapy and uses an eclectic evidence-based approach. Chloe enjoys staying active by working out, going to the beach and reading.
Stephanie Thode, LMSW
Stephanie is a NYS Licensed Social Worker who obtained her Master’s degree from Adelphi University. Stephanie’s clinical experience has enabled her to work with a wide array of clients. She has worked with clients within the child, adolescent, and adult populations, providing individual, small group, and family therapy. She has worked within a variety of settings which include; school K-5 special education, an outpatient mental health clinic, county crisis hotline, private college-special education transitional program for young adults. Her clients have presented with various experiences including; mild, moderate, and severe mental health disorders, substance abuse, suicidal ideation/self-harm, relationship issues, parenting challenges, significant life transitions and traumatic events, exploration of sexuality/gender, and social/medical/legal gender transitioning. Stephanie embraces a strengths-based, humanistic, positive approach to therapy. Her work with her clients is grounded in a collaborative, supportive, exploratory environment where clients can more readily achieve an improved understanding of self, individual strengths/assets, environmental factors, and potential barriers to achieving desired outcomes. Stephanie’s ultimate goal is to empower her clients so they may approach life’s experiences with improved confidence, resilience, and an overall sense of well-being.
John Lynch, LMSW
John Lynch is a New York State Licensed Social Worker who received his Master’s degree from Stony Brook University. John has worked with children, adolescents, and adults who have suffered a wide variety of mental health issues in both residential and school settings. John’s lighthearted but structured approach makes it easy to connect with him and attain therapeutic goals. He believes in utilizing various principles of CBT as well as key elements of humanistic therapy. This eclectic approach allows you to be an active leader in your care and helps you to learn to slow down and form new healthy ways to cope. Before attending Graduate studies in Social Work, John worked as a martial arts instructor for many years. He catered his teachings to both individuals and groups by providing physical teachings in addition to social and emotional support to his students. John continues to practice martial arts and he is currently training for his 3rd-degree black belt.
Lisa Beneventano, LCSW
Lisa is a licensed clinical social worker who received her MSW from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. Lisa has over 10 years of experience working with families in a variety of settings. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma. Lisa specializes in working with adults on anger management and issues related to parenting, especially parenting children with special needs. As well as providing individual play therapy to children, 5 years and older, and working with parents and children, birth to age 5, in play-based parent-child psychotherapy sessions. Play-based parent-child psychotherapy addresses parenting difficulties in the early years as well as issues around parent-child connection and attachment. Lisa has experience with families involved in the foster care, family court and criminal justice system. She believes in providing treatment that is structured to the individual’s specific needs and goals and that takes into consideration the totality of one’s experiences.