FRDC Partners
Geoff Genser
Geoff Genser
Geoff Genser, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received his Masters in Social Work from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. Geoff has spent the past 17 years working with adolescents and their families in a variety of settings in towns and communities in and surrounding Boston and Hartford. Geoff has done a lot of work with adolescents and families involved with multiple systems, including schools, courts, DCF, state treatment and detention facilities, outpatient, and inpatient psychiatric centers. When appropriate, Geoff collaborates with these systems to ensure that the young people he serves are receiving the necessary care and attention. Geoff has focused his practice around engaging young people who often struggle with stressors connected to social difficulties, conflict in family relationships, academic problems, and difficulty regulating their moods and behaviors. He works with adolescents and young adults who often struggle on a regular basis with managing the many stressors that come with moving toward independence in a fast-paced world with often frightening expectations. He supports them in coping with current and past stressors and making decisions that allow them to rise above daily challenges and move toward personal goals in the major domains of their lives. Geoff also provides education and counseling to young people and their families living in the Greater Hartford area, as they face challenges associated with substance abuse. He uses strength-based, motivational counseling to help people identify problems with drugs and alcohol, and systematically move toward reduction and cessation. He believes that individuals and families have under-utilized strengths that can move them toward personal change and success. Geoff uses Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapy to help clients develop skill-sets to face treatment issues including depression, anxiety, conduct disorders, personality disorders, ADHD; school difficulties (academic problems and altercations w/peers and teachers), arguing and fighting with family members, substance abuse, sexual identity struggles (GLBT youth and their families); grief and loss, difficulty making and keeping friends, adoption, coping with separation from family, living in foster care, and preparing for independence /self-sufficiency. For more information about Geoff Genser's practice, please visit www.ggclinical.com.
EmailGeoff at geoff@ggclinical.com.
Daniel Weiner
Daniel Weiner
Daniel Weiner, LPC, holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hartford. He became a Licensed Clinician (LPC) in 1998, and he is a National Board Certified Counselor. Daniel has worked in multiple treatment settings and has specialized in the care of children and adolescents for the past 12 years. Specifically, he was the clinical director of Child Services at Saint Francis Care Behavioral Health in the late 1990s, which consisted of overseeing the inpatient and partial hospital facilities in Portland, CT. Since leaving Saint Francis, he has focused on the development of a child and adolescent outpatient private practice that provides a variety of different services. In recent years Daniel has developed an extensive interest in and emphasis on treating ADHD, High Functioning Autism/Aspergers Syndrome, and other neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric issues that can impact educational, emotional, and behavioral functioning. His emphasis in treatment is on supporting the child or adolescent by educating them on their issues, exploring their difficulties in a constructive manner, and developing strategies to help them improve emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally. He believes, as do many other mental health providers that most children and adolescents want to be successful, despite their various issues. It is this belief that drives his interventions, which are highly empathic, yet goal-directed. It is his ultimate intent to create a setting that provides children, adolescents, and family members the opportunity to gain further insight into their issues and grow in a positive manner.For more information about Dan Weiner's practice, please visit his website at www.dwtherapy.net. Email Dan at dan@dwtherapy.net.
Office Manager and Intake Coordinator
Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith is the office manager and intake coordinator here at FRDC, LLC - a highly important position here in our office! Her rich background in finance and business management, as well as employee and customer relations, allows her to be extremely organized, efficient, and thoughtful about the various aspects of this position. Specifically, Stephanie's roles include referral communication, triage and oversight, billing and insurance verification, and inner office communication and systems management. We are incredibly fortunate to have her be the first person most clients communicate with at FRDC, LLC! To reach Stephanie, please contact her by email at stephsmith@frdcllc.com.
Clinical Staff
Lauren Cardone
Lauren Cardone
Lauren Cardone, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and also serves as the Clinical Supervisor at FRDC. She received her Master’s in Social Work from UConn. Lauren has spent the past 13 years working as a clinician and a clinical supervisor with children, adolescents, young adults, and their families in a variety of settings, including both residential and outpatient. Lauren has worked with children and families in multiple systems, including DCF, schools, inpatient centers, and court systems. Lauren has extensive experience working with individuals and families with trauma, attachment, and parenting concerns. Lauren also has experience working with those that have anxiety, depression, ADHD, gender identity concerns, family issues, peer conflict, and social skill concerns. Lauren has worked with both children and young adults with Autism. Lauren works with parents in a nurturing, non-judgmental approach while assisting them in improving their parenting skills. She uses the Circle of Security model and Parent Management Training when working with parents and children to enhance their relationship and attachment with one another. She uses a strength-based approach, Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques, Dialectical Behavior Therapy techniques, and play therapy when working with individuals and families. Lauren uses motivational interviewing techniques to assist individuals through the stages of change so they can begin to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle. For more information, please contact Lauren at lauren@frdcllc.com.
Christopher Holley
Christopher Holley
Christopher Holley, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Chris received his Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Gettysburg College. Chris has been working full time as a school social worker at the Gengras Center at St. Joseph's College for over 13 years and specializes in working with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Disabilities, and other special needs. He has many years of experience providing individual, family, and group therapy with young people of all ages and developmental levels. Chris provided clinical services in several educational settings as well as Wheeler Clinic Extended Day Treatment for adolescents and their families. Chris also has experience providing substance abuse counseling to dually diagnosed individuals. When needed, Chris collaborates with a variety of systems, including the Department of Children and Families, public and clinical day schools, hospitals, therapeutic foster care providers, and other community resources. Chris has experience working with clients who struggle with depression, anxiety, aggression, impulsivity, self-esteem, social skills, self-injury, psychosis, oppositionality, grief and loss, and foster care/adoption. Chris utilizes a variety of treatment approaches, including play therapy, expressive therapies, group work, and cognitive behavioral therapy. He believes that therapy is a collaborative process involving the whole family in addition to their community supports. Chris has a very welcoming down to earth approach with those he serves. For more information, please contact Chris at chris@frdcllc.com.
Lori DeVito
Lori DeVito
Lori DeVito, LCSWis a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified School Social Worker for the State of Connecticut. She received her Master's degree in Social Work from Springfield College and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Central Connecticut State University. Lori has spent her career working with children and adolescents in a variety of settings. Before becoming a school social worker, she was the Program Director for a residential treatment facility in Litchfield CT for adolescent females involved in the juvenile justice system. She was instrumental in facilitating program growth from a rigid behavioral model to a more individualized treatment modality. Since leaving North American Family Institute, she has been working in public education, specifically the last 10 years as the district social worker for Canton Public Schools. Lori has extensive experience working with children and adolescents with ADHD, anxiety, family issues, peer conflicts, social skill difficulties, school refusal/avoidance, and learning disabilities. Lori provides supportive counseling while being solution-focused and goal-directed. She works collaboratively with students and their families to help navigate the educational system and to provide additional resources when appropriate to best address challenging issues. Lori promotes family strengths and assists families to set up positive structures to support their children’s education and well-being. For more information, please contact Lori at lori@frdcllc.com.Lori DeVito, LCSWis a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified School Social Worker for the State of Connecticut. She received her Master's degree in Social Work from Springfield College and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Central Connecticut State University. Lori has spent her career working with children and adolescents in a variety of settings. Before becoming a school social worker, she was the Program Director for a residential treatment facility in Litchfield CT for adolescent females involved in the juvenile justice system. She was instrumental in facilitating program growth from a rigid behavioral model to a more individualized treatment modality. Since leaving North American Family Institute, she has been working in public education, specifically the last 10 years as the district social worker for Canton Public Schools. Lori has extensive experience working with children and adolescents with ADHD, anxiety, family issues, peer conflicts, social skill difficulties, school refusal/avoidance, and learning disabilities. Lori provides supportive counseling while being solution-focused and goal-directed. She works collaboratively with students and their families to help navigate the educational system and to provide additional resources when appropriate to best address challenging issues. Lori promotes family strengths and assists families to set up positive structures to support their children’s education and well-being. For more information, please contact Lori at lori@frdcllc.com.
Michelle DiCorpo
Michelle DiCorpo
Michelle DiCorpo, LMFT, earned her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Central Connecticut State University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and Human and Family Development from Lesley University. She is an active member of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) and the International Association of Trauma Professionals. She has spent over 15 years working to provide support and treatment to children, adolescents, and their families. She has worked in a variety of settings, including residential placements, juvenile detention centers, schools, and outpatient services. Michelle regularly uses Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Social Thinking strategies to support "tweens", adolescents, and young adults struggling with a variety of challenges. These challenges include social anxiety, executive functioning deficits, social skill deficits, grief and loss, ADHD, complex family dynamics, struggles with sexual identity (LGBT and their families), adoption and attachment, and recovery from trauma. She has been trained in Aggression Replacement Training, as well as Risking Connections, and has extensive education and treatment experience related to complex trauma and attachment. Michelle has done a great deal of work with young people and families affected by adoption and has valuable experience working with young people struggling with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Michelle often focuses on the idea that everyone in life experiences "waves". Sometimes, out of nowhere, a wave may knock us down, and while we may never really stop waves from coming, we can learn how to "surf" them. Learning to surf allows us to have some personal power in uncontrollable situations. For more information, please contact Michelle at michelle@frdcllc.com.
Voula Coss
Voula Coss
Voula Coss, LCSWis, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Master’s Degree from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice from the University of Hartford. Having provided services in a variety of mental health settings for the past 13 years, Voula has developed a multitude of skills and approaches in her treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, her primary expertise is in treating issues associated with trauma and attachment, as well as complex challenges within the family system. Voula also has extensive experience working with children of adoption, crisis intervention, anxiety, and depression. Voula brings a compassionate, confident, and organized approach to her clients in order to ultimately develop healthier thinking and emotional functioning. She is fluent in the Greek language and has extensive experience working with clients from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures. The combination of these skills, in addition to her strong foundation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, allows Voula to make the therapeutic process both comforting and highly productive. For more information, please contact Voula at voula@frdcllc.com.
Jennifer Wild
Jennifer Wild
Jennifer Wild, LPC is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) who graduated from the University of South Florida with a Master's degree in Rehabilitation, Mental health counseling with a Certification In Marriage And Family Therapy. She has over eight years of experience working with children, families, and adults in a wide variety of settings, including foster care, the community (in-home), children’s outpatient services, and as a school-based counselor. Jennifer has extensive training and experience integrating a strength-based approach encompassing a family-centered, trauma-informed, culturally competent philosophy. Jennifer specializes in working with children who are struggling with anxiety, depression, impulse control, ADHD, and behavioral concerns. As well as issues related to trauma, attachment, social skills deficits, family conflict, and school challenges. She has aided families in obtaining necessary community resources and has provided assistance to help navigate the educational system . Jennifer also works in collaboration with other providers to aid in improving the lives of the families she works with. For more information, please contact Jennifer at jennifer@frdcllc.com.
Sara Sumner
Sara Sumner
Sara Sumner, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Masters in Social Work from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, and her Bachelors in Psychology from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Sara has spent her 23-year career working exclusively with children, adolescents, and their families in a variety of settings, including domestic violence shelters, family reunification programs, pediatric forensics, foster care, alternative high schools, outpatient clinics, adoptions, and Hospice. She is currently employed as a School Social Worker for the Farmington Public School system, where she manages mental health needs, provides crisis intervention, and runs a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Life Skills group for high school students. Sara uses Narrative Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy based practice. She has been trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, trauma-focused treatment, and art therapy. Sara’s expertise includes helping teens with depression, anxiety, family issues, peer conflict, sexuality, grief and loss, school refusal/avoidance, trauma, and abuse history. She uses her extensive experience and training, in addition to her compassionate and nonjudgemental approach, to establish an effective therapeutic relationship with teens and their families. Sara employs a relaxed, open-minded attitude combined with a sense of humor and a high comfort level with adolescent issues, which allows her to build rapport with the most challenging and resistant teens. This ability to build relationships enables Sara to collaborate well between teens and their families, which strengthens the family unit, making therapeutic success more likely. For more information, please contact Sara at sara@frdcllc.com.
Greg Ganci
Greg Ganci
Greg Ganci, MSW, graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Masters in Social Work in May of 2019. Although new to the field, Greg has a vast array of experiences involving mental health and the social work field. Before beginning his journey as a therapist, he was tenured as the Director of an Elementary Age after school program in West Hartford. During his time as Director, his desire to aid children and families in their struggles with life experiences began to blossom. While interning as a social worker at a West Hartford elementary school, he slowly built his skills surrounding small group work with elementary-aged children. By providing them with social skills and behavioral expectations in the classroom setting, he instilled life-skills for his young clients. As a second year intern, Greg held a dual role at the Bridge Family Center in West Hartford, as a clinical therapist and a group worker. The Bridge was a training ground for him to discover his gentle yet clinical approach with psychotherapy, and he has also gone on to lead groups related to drug and alcohol abuse group for teens and their families. Outside of FRDC, LLC Greg works at The Village for Families and Children in the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services (IICAPS) program and has been fine-tuning his therapeutic technique and clinical knowledge in this setting. He brings to FRDC his knowledge of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), group work, and trauma-informed therapy. His eagerness to engage in collaborative therapy with children and families follows him heavily into our practice. Greg can be reached at greg@frdcllc.com.
Kristen Cicchetti
Kristen Cicchetti, M.S./C.A.G.S., is a certified school psychologist who received her Masters and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Applied Educational Psychology from Northeastern University in 2002. She has been working within the Connecticut public schools for the past 19 years as a school psychologist on the elementary and middle school levels. Kristen has extensive knowledge in special education processes, IEP/504 services, and assessments for various learning disabilities. She also has experience in social emotional learning and school-based counseling for individuals and groups. Kristen uses the foundational concepts from the Social Thinking methodology, interwoven with the various skills from the evidence-based model for social-emotional learning framework, to help youths develop life skills to improve functioning as a student, family member and community citizen. She is able to integrate approaches to adjust to youths and families with various needs and challenges, including trauma, autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression, family dysfunction, explosive behaviors, and lacking motivation, amongst other issues. After many years of professional experience, Kristen has come to realize that parents and families play a critical role in the child’s overall emotional and behavioral growth. Using a solution-focused mindset, Kristen strives to listen to the essentials of all parties to work toward mutually agreed-upon goals and outcomes. Email kristen.c@frdcllc.com
Independent Contractors for FRDC
Independent contractors provide specialized services and treatment to FRDC clients but are not employees of FRDC. They exist as separate entities and take full responsibility for the individuals and families with whom they work.
Stephanie Carter
Stephanie Carter
Stephanie Carter, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College. Stephanie has more than 15 years of experience working with children as both a social worker and an art teacher. Her clinical experience covers more than 9 years working with children, adolescents, adults, and their families in multiple settings, including a therapeutic group home, intensive outpatient and outpatient mental health and substance abuse programs, and emergency departments providing crisis evaluations for very young children through adults. Regardless of the setting, Stephanie’s practice with clients is at its core based in respect and collaboration. She provides a supportive and nonjudgmental environment in which to help clients identify and understand problems. Through helping clients to connect with and build upon their strengths, Stephanie is able to help her clients address challenges through shifts in perspectives, patterns, and behaviors so that they can function and feel better. Stephanie has experience working with clients who struggle with depression, anxiety, trauma, impulsivity, aggression and oppositionality, and difficulties with social skills. In order to best meet clients’ individual needs, Stephanie draws from multiple treatment approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, mindfulness practices, the Risking Connection trauma framework, and Motivational Interviewing. Additionally, Stephanie has had extensive training and certification in the delivery of mindfulness techniques for children and adolescents. For more information, please contact Stephanie at stephanie@wildflowerwellnesspllc.com.