Dana Sommers, LCSW

Kacey Peterson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with Diagnostic Privilege in New York and Florida, where she also serves as a Telehealth Provider. She is a Nationally Certified Counselor and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from Florida Atlantic University before completing her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Long Island University.

Kacey has experience supporting individuals in residential, crisis, and outpatient settings, helping those managing anxiety, depression, PTSD, low self-esteem, adjustment issues, and relational challenges. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral, Person-Centered, and Trauma-Informed approaches to ensure care is tailored to each individual’s unique needs and goals.

Kacey’s process centers on creating a safe, supportive, and healing environment where collaboration is key. She works alongside individuals to navigate emotions, explore strengths, and focus on personal goals. With compassion and guidance, Kacey helps her patients uncover resilience, foster growth, and move toward lasting healing and meaningful change.

Racquel Ellis is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of New York with extensive experience working with the BIPOC community. She provides inclusive mental wellness services to individuals and families. Racquel has been providing mental health services to individuals and families for over a decade and has been a licensed mental health counselor for the past four years. She specializes in working with the BIPOC community and women, offering therapeutic support for mood disorders, trauma, life transitions, and other chronic challenges impacting overall well-being.

Gretchen attended James Madison University for her undergraduate studies and graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University and Boston University. She has practiced for three years in various settings, including residential facilities for children, acute care facilities, and private practice, where she successfully supported clients with neurodiversity in improving executive function, emotional regulation, and interpersonal relationships. Recognizing the complexities of neurodiversity beyond traditional clinical frameworks, Gretchen collaborates with medical professionals, educators, and families to create inclusive environments that foster success for individuals with neurodivergent traits.

Clients can expect to gain a deeper understanding of their thought patterns and uncover the underlying meanings behind their reactions. Through a collaborative and reflective process, they’ll develop greater self-awareness, challenge limiting beliefs, and gain clarity in their personal growth journey. This approach empowers clients to make more informed, intentional choices in their lives.

Gretchen takes a direct yet supportive approach, evident from the very first session. She integrates psychoeducation, somatic techniques to enhance body awareness, and strategic reframing to help clients uncover core beliefs that may be contributing to their challenges.

Tamara McKlveen is a licensed mental health counselor and national certified counselor who has worked in the mental health field for the past seven years. Tamara is a compassionate mental health advocate who focuses on client-centered, strength-based techniques to support positive life changes. She has an eclectic style driven by client interest. She received her MA in Mental Health Counseling from South University in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has worked as a counselor, Social Service Coordinator and Social Service Manager for a Florida non-profit agency servicing adolescents and their families, helping to overcome barriers to communication, education and future success. Tamara has focused her work on clients struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, and mood disorder. She has also worked with teens struggling with eating disorders and issues specific to the LBGTQ population. She has a special interest in families coping with Autism and other special needs. ‍

Karla Bidstrup, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker who was drawn to the field by a deep interest in human behavior and a desire to help others find meaning, balance, and inner peace. She brings a thoughtful, creative, and motivating presence to her work, while honoring personal differences and diversity. Karla values the therapeutic relationship as the foundation for meaningful change and personal growth.

Karla’s style blends behavioral and psychodynamic theories, allowing her to address present-day behaviors while also exploring deeper emotional and psychological patterns. She creates a warm, safe, and respectful environment where clients feel understood and supported. Her approach is empathetic and versatile, fostering both immediate progress and long-term self-awareness.

Karla works collaboratively with clients to clarify their needs, values, and goals. Together, they identify the most effective path forward and adjust goals as needed over time. The first session focuses on building rapport while gathering important background information, setting the stage for a shared therapeutic journey.

Scott Tuckman is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who arrives with a robust set of backgrounds across several fields of interest, with immersion among numerous cultures and diverse ways of life. He has worked in multiple capacities in a variety of settings around the U.S., ranging from correctional to educational to inner-city community-based to corporate. With an eye on what influences the ever-present connections between body and mind and emotional states, Scott works well with those struggling with mood disorders, depression, a range of anxiety disorders, relationship problems, esteem issues, adjustment concerns, emotional dysregulation, and more. While Scott is psychodynamically oriented, he blends attachment theory application, mindfulness, selections from CBT and DBT modalities, or other treatment mechanisms tailored to meet each client's needs and complement any assigned psychopharmacological undertaking. Considering it an honor to join someone on their journey, he takes a direct yet compassionate approach so as to establish a comfortable co-owned therapeutic relationship. Ultimately, he strives to help clients gain a more comprehensive understanding of how they can move themselves forward and collaboratively develop the readiness to step towards it. When goals have been met and it's time to finally part ways, Scott hopes each client's tool belt is fortified with newly acquired techniques to overcome the inevitable obstacles on the road ahead.