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Get to Know My Interns

Graduate interns provide therapy under the supervision of Dianna Chillo, LCSW-R, bringing fresh training, genuine care, and a growing set of clinical skills to every session.

Great therapists aren’t born, they’re mentored.

If we want more incredible therapists in the world, we have to help train them.

I’m so excited to welcome two amazing graduate interns to my practice this August. They will be offering reduced-fee therapy sessions while receiving direct clinical supervision from me.

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This creates something I deeply value: access to affordable therapy while also investing in the future of our field.

I can’t wait for you to meet them.

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Meet Stacy

Stacy Pershall is a second-year graduate student in the mental health counseling program at SUNY New Paltz and the author of Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl, which chronicles her own recovery from borderline personality disorder, anorexia and bulimia.

 

Stacy has a long history of suicide-prevention work, is a member of the Active Minds speakers' bureau, and has spent the last 15 years educating young-adult audiences about BPD, eating disorders, and DBT; she decided to become a therapist after meeting Marsha Linehan at a presentation.

 

Because she's taught memoir writing for many years, Stacy also incorporates narrative therapy in her sessions. She loves working with clients who have BPD, brings humor and irreverence to her work as a counselor, and is forever a champion of queer people, especially hyperverbal ones with lots of tattoos.

Meet Lauren

Lauren Kennedy is a graduate student at SUNY New Paltz, where she is pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is currently completing her clinical training hours under the supervision of Dianna Chillo, LCSW-R. Lauren’s approach to counseling is grounded in person-centered and existential theory, with an emphasis on a strengths-based perspective that honors each client’s lived experience. She strives to create a warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental environment where clients feel safe to show up as their authentic selves. She believes each person is the expert in their own life, and values a collaborative approach to therapy. 

 

Lauren’s clinical interests include eating disorders, body image concerns, and working with individuals impacted by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). She is especially drawn to work that centers on meaning-making, and reducing barriers that stand in the way of recovery. Above all, Lauren approaches the counseling space with authenticity, curiosity, and compassion, with a commitment to meeting each individual where they are in their journey. 

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"I started working for Dianna as a clinical intern during my final year of my MS program, and to say it was a rewarding and growth-oriented experience would be an understatement. Dianna was with me every step of the way to help me to hone my clinical skills and become a more proficient and confident clinician. Her expert mentorship allowed me not only to cultivate meaningful experiences with clients, but to specialize in the complicated practice of working with eating disorders. She was tireless in pointing me toward continuing education resources that energized the way I was able to grow as a professional, and seek out modalities and interventions that were suited for individual clients.

 

As someone who entered counseling later in life with many professional lives under my belt, I've never worked with as dedicated a supervisor as Dianna. She took my learning seriously; she ensured a safe space for my clients by providing clinical supervision that was robust and relevant. Even with complex cases, I felt assured that my clients were in good hands because of Dianna's careful and tireless commitment to client security and care. I am deeply honored to be joining Dianna's practice as an LMHC-LP, and look forward to continuing to grow with her practice!"

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Lisette Cheresson (she | her)

Masters in Counseling

To book a reduced-fee therapy session with one of these interns please email Dianna directly.

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*Please put “Intern session” in the subject line 

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