Are you concerned about your child?

I’m OnTrackNY’s licensed therapist. I’m here to check in, listen to your story, address any concerns you have, and help you decide what comes next. I’ve worked with New Yorkers of various ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. If you’d like, think of me as a free alternative to “Dr.” Google: Instead of freaking you out with loads of impersonal and general info, I’ll try to allay your fears and offer options for getting appropriate support near you. 

You can reach out anonymously if you’d like, but please do reach out. I’ve seen first-hand that the bigger your circle, the better your outcome. If it makes sense for you, I can help connect you with well-informed, well-trained specialists in your area who’ll strive to understand what’s going on, check in with you regularly, and help you get back to feeling yourself again.

Before joining the team as a certified peer specialist in 2018, I was a participant in its program. As a kid, my personality was always a bit introverted, so I couldn’t really tell anything different was going on with me until I was 24 and struggling under a lot of stress. I was referred to OnTrackNY, which started my turnaround. It also helped that I come from a large family and everyone supported me, particularly my dad, who was always willing to listen without judgment.

Much of what I do now as a peer mentor is try to emulate his way of offering space to share freely, of really hearing what people are saying and validating their feelings. I want to help others get through the tough parts, overcome the fears and stigmas, and build up their resilience so they can live the life they want.

Our daughter had been a good-natured and socially active child who earned good grades and participated in various extracurricular activities. Then, over the course of just a few months, she became very self-critical. We assumed she was wrestling with adolescence. Actually, she was battling life-threatening depression, anxiety, and psychosis. 

At one of her lowest points, she was so overwhelmed that she asked to be hospitalized. We were fortunate: Not everyone experiencing psychosis is as self-aware or able to share as my daughter was. 

At the age of 15, we enrolled her in an early treatment program. I started reading books and reaching out to others who’d found ways to successfully manage psychosis. That’s how I came across Strong 365’s positive, hopeful, and supportive community. Today, thanks to all of this support, my daughter is thriving.

My dream in founding Strong 365 was to make it easier for families like mine, whose experience learning to support a loved one through a mental health challenge felt like wandering through a maze of wrong turns and dead ends. In the dark. Through a blizzard.  

It took years for my brother to find the kind of compassionate, holistic care that everyone deserves, and through trial and error, for me to learn how to be the best ally I could. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Strong 365’s program offers a fast track of support for families seeking a lifeline for teens and young adults, offered free of charge to anyone who needs it in New York state. Thank you for being here. I hope that this resource offers a light along your journey to well-being.

When I was 19, I became overwhelmed with stress. I started hearing voices and before I knew what was happening, I was failing my college classes. I dropped out of school and refused to seek help. At 20, a family friend encouraged me to see a doctor. That conversation saved my life.

As soon as I started treatment, I realized how unwell I had been. Two years later I was back in school, and today, I’m a psychiatric nurse practitioner, helping young people get the help they deserve.