About
Sarah Gugluizza, LCSW-R
Founder, Supervisor & Therapist
Sarah has spent her career servicing children, teens and their families in emotional, behavioral, academic & psychiatric capacities. Sarah has supported kids and teens through mental illness, trauma, developmental delays, learning issues, mood & behavior and substance abuse. Sarah engages adult clients through addressing life issues and transitions, changes and stressors; depression, anxiety, substance use, social & romantic relationships. Sarah's expertise further continues in the treatment of women facing maternal mental health concerns ranging from pregnancy & childbirth, postpartum experience, infant loss, new motherhood,
and the motherhood journey.
As an adjunct professor for several universities and presenter for continuing education programs, Sarah is an educator as well as clinician. Helping young social workers develop their craft and enter into the field is something she feels a great calling towards. She further provides guidance and supervision to her team, students, and fellow clinicians.
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Being a parent of three further gives Sarah perspective to work with her child clients and their grownups, as well as women coping with challenges in maternal mental health and mothering from a perspective that is truly unique, authentic, humorous and warm. Sarah believes that her experiences with patients over time have gifted her the ability to offer comprehensive care. She prides herself in giving a safe, nurturing space that allows clients to grow, learn, change, and overcome their challenges.
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Sarah is certified in Child and Family Therapy, Perinatal Mental Health Disorders, and Supervision in Field Instruction (SIFI)
Therapists of Rising Lotus Counseling
Alina Staicu-Alexander, LCAT
There is something so valuable about every person having a space that is their own, where they feel safe enough to say and feel whatever comes up for them. Alina is a Creative Arts Therapist that prides herself in the facilitation of that space. She works from the core beliefs that curiosity leads to understanding, creativity + play can heal, and comfort is something many of us could use more of these days.
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Alina serves children, teens and adults presenting with problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, grief/loss, chronic health concerns, relationship issues and life transitions. She works from a client-centered and insight-oriented approach, offering traditional talk therapy and creative arts therapy, as she is fully aware that it can be easier to communicate without words.
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It is important to Alina to intentionally build a trusting, affirming relationship where her patients feel completely accepted and seen. She has been known to use humor to bring levity to situations that can feel overwhelming and heavy. She believes that connecting with people in ways that are satisfying are essential to one's emotional health.
John Reed, LMSW
John's patients have been some of his best teachers throughout his career. He has expressed feeling fortunate enough to have had the opportunities to serve in a variety of settings including inpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment as well as working in the community at a local non-profit agency.
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John works from a trauma-informed stance, utilizing motivational interviewing, mindfulness, play, and CBT/DBT informed therapies. With extensive experience, and a unique understanding of substance misuse, he can offer patients diverse paths to recovery, anywhere from abstinence to harm reduction.
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By working together and drawing on his patient's strengths, John easily creates a therapeutic partnership with his clients. Personalized treatment is built upon your innate resiliency, enabling you to develop new ways of thinking to profoundly impact your sense of competence and self-worth.
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Through collaboration, we will form and work towards attainable goals to help you ease any suffering and reach your full potential. John is aware of how difficult it can be to ask for help, especially when wrestling with powerful feelings and complex issues. He is happy to support you in your time of need.
Izabel Burd-Tamdogan, LMSW
Izabel approaches therapy with the belief that you are the expert of your own life, and that her role is to provide a space where your authentic self is not just welcomed, but celebrated! She work with kids, teens and adults navigating life transitions, relationship challenges, trauma, substance misuse, racial and cultural issues, mood and behavior difficulties, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
Utilizing a blend of therapeutic models and perspectives, she tailors my approach to meet your unique needs, guided from a strengths-based approach.
She gathers interventions from trauma-informed practice, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, culturally sensitive therapy, and child-centered play therapy. As a former preschool teacher of youngsters between 2-9, she really enjoy connecting with children in educational and therapeutic settings.
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Connecting with you in a safe and accepting therapeutic environment is an honor and she would feel grateful to know and listen to you; it would be her privilege to partner with you in this journey towards a healthier life.
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Kelsey Getz, Intake Coordinator & Administrative Support
Kelsey will usually be the first person you will speak with, as RLC's Intake Coordinator, when you contact us by phone and email when getting started. She can answer any questions you might have, talk with you about your presenting concerns, understand how we can best help you, and match you with one of our therapists that will fit you best.
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Kelsey also provides the practice with administrative support and runs her own business specializing in supporting practices that provide mental health treatment. Kelsey has a background in nonprofit administration and has a passion for doing work that really makes a difference in the world.
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Alexandra Sechler, Creative Arts Therapist with Limited Permit
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Alexandra is a Creative Arts Therapist with her Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and Art Therapy from Naropa University. Alexandra trusts wholeheartedly in her patients' inherent goodness and innate capacity for healing, and strives to create a safe, nurturing environment in which to explore emotional challenges. Individuals choose to work with Alexandra for a variety of reasons, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stuckness; to gain better understanding and healing from painful childhood experiences, receive support in navigating life changes or transitions, make sense of relationship patterns, and to foster more intimate and joyful life relationships.
Alexandra draws from a variety of therapy modalities and may incorporate mindfulness, movement, CBT, guided visualization, parts work, and dreamwork. Her style is warm, active, and relational. As an art therapist, Alexandra believes the creative process can help us access insights that are hiding outside of our conscious awareness and uses that process to support an individual's healing and growth. In working with Alexandra, you may choose to engage in art-making as a way to support your personal therapy journey.
Prior to working at Rising Lotus Counseling, Alexandra has worked with teens at a wilderness therapy program, women living in a domestic violence shelter, and adults at a university counseling center. She is also a mother of three and a ceramic artist who lives and works in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Alisha Benitez, Mental Health Counseling Intern
Alisha is a dedicated graduate student completing her internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Rising Lotus Counseling. Alisha joins the team with a wealth of professional experience working with children, adolescents, young adults and families through various roles she has held in parent education, child welfare, community-based services, career counseling, and academic guidance.
Alisha’s passion for helping others drives her to make a positive impact in the lives of her clients. She adopts a collaborative, empathetic, and holistic approach to counseling. She believes in looking at the whole person, considering all aspects of their life in order to identify and implement meaningful changes. Alisha's method focuses on understanding her clients' unique experiences, and working together to achieve their personal goals.
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Shanti Grumbine, Social Work Intern
Shanti Grumbine is a second year graduate intern working on her MSW through SUNY Albany. She has been practicing as a visual artist for the past twenty years and has experience teaching art to youth and adults in public schools and higher education. She also has experience utilizing the Open Studio Process developed by Pat Allen, PhD, an art therapy-based workshop designed to harness the creative process for self-knowledge and emotional growth. Shanti spent the past year working with older adults using life review therapy, feminist theory, and somatic techniques to address depression and anxiety. At Rising Lotus Counseling, Shanti will tailor her work using a trauma-informed approach incorporating creative arts, talk, and somatic-based modalities with children, families, and adults. Shanti’s approach is client-centered and strengths-based which allows for celebrating successful coping mechanisms and shifting from ones that no longer serve useful. She views the therapeutic process as inherently creative and collaborative, and believes that transformation can only happen when one feels safe and seen. Shanti is a mother and maker currently living in the Hudson Valley.​
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Kelsey Getz, Intake Coordinator & Administrative Support
Kelsey will usually be the first person you will speak with, as RLC's Intake Coordinator, when you contact us by phone and email when getting started. She can answer any questions you might have, talk with you about your presenting concerns, understand how we can best help you, and match you with one of our therapists that will fit you best.
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Kelsey also provides the practice with administrative support and runs her own business specializing in supporting practices that provide mental health treatment. Kelsey has a background in nonprofit administration and has a passion for doing work that really makes a difference in the world.
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