Loss of an Animal / Pet

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.

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. 

Leslie Marseglia, LMSW, is a clinical social worker in Brooklyn. She is currently enrolled in a two-year psychodynamic training program offered through the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York City. Adding to her experience in grief counseling, Leslie has worked in home hospice for several years. Leslie earned an MFA in Acting from The New School and a BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She credits her Meisner training to contributing to her active listening and sitting with emotions. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she approaches her practice from a place of compassion. She loves to bake if someone else takes part in the eating

Luisa Zepeda, LMSW, lives and practices in Brooklyn. Luisa is trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy [DBT]. (https://dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com/ 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.

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.