Carolyn Gartner

Psychotherapy

Carolyn Gartner, LCSW, FT is the founder and director of The Center For Integrated Grief. She is a licensed clinical social worker and a Fellow in Thanatology (the study of dying, death, and bereavement) through the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Carolyn has advanced certifications in Grief Counseling and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. She utilizes Internal Family Systems and Jungian Shadow Work. Before becoming a therapist, Carolyn was a hospice social worker for nine years. She wrote a book about her experience: Death, Brooklyn, and the Gritty Side of Grace. Carolyn has been interviewed by Huffpost, Parade Magazine, American Tributaries Podcast, and the documentary Paw Prints. She earned a BFA from NYU Film School and utilizes narrative storytelling in her practice. In 2011, Carolyn took the Buddhist Refuge Vow. Singing is her happy place.

Tania Lee - Chinese Speaking

Psychotherapy

Tania Lee, LMSW, is a clinical social worker in New York and Hong Kong. She has been a social worker for more than 10 years. Her past experiences include working with children, youth, families, domestic violence victims, college students, and drug/alcohol addicts. She is fluent in both Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) and English.Tania earned her Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University. As a practitioner, she works with individuals and families. Her passion is in doing grief and trauma counseling. Tania believes that patience, a caring heart, empathy, and walking side-by-side with the clients are the core of therapy. Apart from this, her experiences told her that talking therapy is not enough. Thus, she acquired skills in somatic experiencing (using the body to heal from trauma), EMDR, psychodrama (using action-centered methods and group therapy to heal), etc.Tania loves nature, being creative, and playing improv games for a good laugh. She prefers the forest over the beach.

Emily Rogers

Chronic Illness and Life Transitions

Emily Rogers, LCSW, is a clinical social worker in New York with over 7 years of experience. Specializing in working with individuals, caregivers, and families affected by serious and chronic illness. Emily studied Psychology as an undergraduate at SUNY Oneonta, and earned her master of social work degree from Touro College. Emily offers a safe and supportive space to explore challenges related to illness, grief, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Emily loves to travel and is a lover of all animals, especially, her beloved dogs. 

Luisa Zepeda - Spanish Speaking

Psychotherapy

Luisa Zepeda, LMSW, lives and practices in Brooklyn. Luisa is trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). She implements mindfulness and somatic practices into her work. Having studied Anthropology as an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, Luisa is particularly interested in storytelling, meaning-making, and continued bonds that can often be used to process and integrate grief and loss. Luisa specializes in death, non-death loss and ambiguous losses; such as divorce, the loss of cultural identity, connection to home, or a sense of belonging. Luisa’s happy place is between a museum and pottery studio. She also provides psychotherapy in Spanish. 

Grace Nevins

Psychoanalytic Theory

Grace Nevins, LMSW, ACSW, is a clinical social worker based in Los Angeles and licensed in New York and California. She received her Master of Social Work from NYU and has worked with a wide variety of populations, including individuals, couples, first responders, justice-involved individuals, and bereaved children and teenagers. Her personal history and clinical experiences lend depth and empathy to her treatment of ambiguous loss, chronic illness, and grief. Trained in psychoanalytic theory and practice, she embraces an eclectic approach tailored to each client’s needs and focuses simultaneously on deep work and symptom management. She believes in the power of profound understanding, levity, wit, and perspective. Grace loves her dog and cat, reading, running, swimming, and a good pun. 

Matilda Garrido

Pet Loss Specialist

 

Matilda Garrido, MS, MSB, CT, is a certified thanatologist (ADEC) and holds dual masters degrees in thanatology and bioethics.  An instructor in the University of Vermont's End of Life Doula Professional Certificate program, she teaches in and develops content for both the 'human' and companion animal programs.  A lifelong pet owner, Matilda understands the deep bond between human beings and animals, and is committed to validating the grief associated with pet loss and supporting owners through their animal's transition and beyond.  Matilda works one on one with clients through their beloved animal's last days and after to create beautiful memorials and honor the pet's role in the owner's life. 

Concetta Abbate

Death Doula

Sound & Memory, founded by violinist/composer and NEDA proficient Death Doula Concetta Abbate, is a music and arts memorial service that provides personalized memorial offerings including live music, original music compositions, recordings and workshops. We explore innovative ways to incorporate music into contemporary rituals for both grief and death, as tradition evolves over time. Our belief is that music has the power to strengthen communities facing the loss of a loved one by evoking the legacy of that person's life. 

 www.soundandmemory.com 

Introduction to Luisa

Introduction to Tania

Introduction to Matilda

Introduction to Concetta

How we got Started

Therapy on the Stoop

Carolyn's training is rooted in home hospice care in the heart of Brooklyn. Therapy was sometimes at the bedside of the dying person. In many instances, Carolyn found herself perched on the closed lid of a commode (a portable toilet) in the confines of cramped apartments, providing compassionate support to a caregiver holding their loved one's hand.

One poignant memory stands out—a warm day as the sun dipped below the horizon, Carolyn sat on a brownstone stoop alongside a caregiver, patiently awaiting the arrival of the funeral home. This caregiver, an only child raised by a single mother, was a testament to the unique bonds formed in the face of loss.

Our center was born out of the profound experiences gained from guiding individuals through the complexities of the end-of-life process and understanding how these experiences shape the grieving journey. We embrace a holistic approach that extends support not only to caregivers before the inevitable but also to those who are navigating the challenging path of grief afterward.

We are able to transform our experiences to serving grievers whose loved ones have died in other ways; either by suicide, accident, pregnancy loss or natural disaster. We apply our specialized training to non-death-related losses as well—be it the dissolution of a marriage, the loss of employment, or even the abandonment of a cherished goal. Ambiguous loss, a concept we embrace, encompasses situations where closure remains elusive. We also address the intricacies of living losses, the losses that are ongoing and indefinite, intertwined with the experience of chronic illness or caregiving.

At the core of our philosophy lies the harmonious fusion of function and intuition. We seamlessly integrate clinical tools with the art of empathetic connection. We are not just professionals; we are compassionate humans attuned to the unique needs of our clients.