
It’s not about us
We still feel its important for you to know who we are and what we do
Meet The Team
We believe its “takes a village” for a community to thrive. Our team took their experiences in education and life and together made Collaborative to tackle even the most toughest of challenges.
Please feel free to search for your service, location or insurance provider. You may also book with a provider on their profiles below
Frances Zhang, BS
Frances (she/her) holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Child-Adolescent Mental Studies from New York University. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Psychological Counseling and an Ed.M in Mental Health Counseling at Columbia University.
Her counseling style is client-centered, with a touch of humor and passion. Frances celebrates the courage of her clients and deeply values the intersectional complexities of our lived experiences. Tailoring treatment plans to each unique individual, she works from an eclectic framework, including Cognitive-Behavioral, Emotion-focused and mindfulness approaches.
Frances is comfortable addressing a wide range of concerns, including assisting those grappling with anxiety, depression, family or romantic relationship issues, career burnout, life adjustments, and other specific challenges faced by AAPI Queer individuals.
Born in China, Frances brings an international perspective to her work and is fluent in both English and Mandarin. She offers Mandarin counseling services upon request. Her curiosity and open-mindedness have driven her to study, research and work within both East Asian and U.S. communities.
Frances aspires to be a therapist who walks alongside her clients, sharing in their laughter, tears, and moments of growth. In her leisure time, she enjoys listening to music, walking her furry friend “Chips”, and traveling to islands with abundant sunlight!
Frances Zhang, BS
Clinical Intern
Frances (she/her) holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Child-Adolescent...
David Díaz, MS, LMHC
David’s (He/Him) practice incorporates knowledge and techniques from various therapeutic modalities. He can conduct therapy sessions in English and Spanish. He is passionate in listening to a client’s story on who they were, and what story they would like to have today and tomorrow. He has vast experience working with people who are challenged by depression and/or anxiety and people who have a history of self-harm and suicidal ideation. He has experience working with clients in overcoming sexual abuse/intimate partner violence, intergenerational and racial trauma. He enjoys working with people within the Queer and LGBTQIA+ community and provides an affirming environment. He is passionate in supporting trans and nonbinary folks of all ages.
As a therapist that is social justice-oriented, he wants to include relevant identifying factors into the therapy room such as culture, sexual orientation, race, gender and expression, religion, family relationships/history, etc. His style comes down to working through the lens of somatic psychotherapy… meaning that his understanding of our emotional health is a response to internal and external stressors, and tension or trauma that is kept in our bodies. Other theoretical frameworks that he uses are narrative therapy, experiential therapy, emotionally-focused therapy, family systems, Gottman’s Method and structural Family therapy.
He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), and received his Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and an Advanced Certificate in Marriage and Family therapy (MFT) at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. He has desires to be trained in EMDR and to provide Ketamine-Assisted Therapy. He continued his work in a non-profit organization in Greenpoint Brooklyn providing therapy at a substance abuse outpatient treatment program for adolescents, adults and their significant others. Additionally, he provided virtual in-home therapy parent coaching to families across the country.
In his free time, he enjoys to ride his bike to different restaurants with friends, host dinners/gatherings, take part in some form of painting/pottery, dancing in nightlife and traveling to new countries.
David Díaz, MS, LMHC
Supervisor & Psychotherapist
David’s (He/Him) practice incorporates knowledge and techniques from various therapeutic...
Brian Molloy, BA
Brian (He/Him) is currently a graduate student at Baruch College – City University of New York pursuing his M.A. in Mental Health Counseling. He holds an A.A. from Southeastern Illinois College as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Brooklyn College – City University of New York. Brian did additional schooling at Murray State University in Kentucky and holds his Certification as a Reiki Master Practitioner from Tribeca Hypnosis & Healing Institute.
He believes that therapy should be a collaboration between therapist and client and will do what is best for his clients. He utilizes a person-centered approach that includes aspects of CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, and humanistic methodologies in an effort to help client’s reach their goals and potential. His general areas of focus are on the LGBTQ+ community, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, neurodivergence, sex positivity, CNM, and those living with infectious disease. Brian’s favorite saying is “feelings are not facts; however, your feelings are valid.”
Brian thinks that self-care is very important and that it takes many forms. As a former actor/singer, a large part of his routine is to sing whenever possible and attend the theatre whenever the opportunity presents itself. Other areas of his self-care routine are spending time with family and friends, fitness, taking walks, and watching a good comedy in efforts to not take things too seriously.
Brian Molloy, BA
Clinical Intern
Brian (He/Him) is currently a graduate student at Baruch College...
Blair Luedke, BS
Blair (She/Her) is a graduate student at Long Island University pursuing a M.S in Mental Health Counseling. She currently holds a student membership in American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) as well as American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and enjoys attending webinars exploring new interventions. She has studied different theories to help establish a framework while working with clients, including but not limited to REBT, CBT, Psychoanalytic, Reality, and different MFT modalities. Blair attained her B.S in Kinesiology and Applied Physiology from the University of Delaware.
She has encouraged and led a holistic lifestyle and enjoys using her background to connect both physical and mental health to achieve overall wellness. Blair is also in the midst of her 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training and aims to utilize these skills in her therapeutic practice to help strengthen client’s self-awareness. She strives to be an ambassador of holistic wellness, while connecting with others to help them to tap into their true potential, already inside of them. She believes fostering a warm and safe environment is key for her clients to feel supported and open to be themselves.
Blair loves to spend time outside in the sun whenever she can, especially if it is with one of her dogs. She is an avid lover of animals and will try to pet one every chance she gets. Blair enjoys spending time in the kitchen with new recipes, and her favorite part: eating them. She gravitates towards all things’ movement: practicing yoga, dancing, and hiking, all with a smile on her face.
Blair Luedke, BS
Clinical Intern
Blair (She/Her) is a graduate student at Long Island University...
Maria Pietruszka, MS, LMHC, CASAC-T
Maria (She/Her) was born in Poland and migrated to NYC at the age of 3. She was raised in Brooklyn and carries that as a badge of honor.
Maria attended Hunter College where she graduated with a degree in Sociology. She then attended LIU Brooklyn and obtained her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling in 2017. During her time at LIU Brooklyn, she was the campus representative for the American Psychology Association Division 35 Society for the Psychology of Women. Maria was involved in hosting events that help spread awareness for feminist research, theory and education to understand and improve the lives of girls and women in all their diversities. This helped Maria develop her passion towards working with women and women’s issues.
After graduation, Maria was hired as a full time substance abuse counselor at Outreach, where she completed her internship for graduate school. She worked with adults to help them reach their goals in recovery. Maria implemented harm reduction techniques to help promote a more inclusive and realistic approach for treating substance use disorders. She is determined to approach all her clients by meeting them where they are and empowering them to meet their treatment and therapy goals.
After 3 years, Maria was promoted to Program Coordinator where she was responsible for running Restart Academy, a Department of Education alternative high school for students with substance use and behavioral issues and an after school program for outpatient services for adolescents. Maria enjoyed working and advocating for adolescents and young people. She guided them through different life transitions like: finishing high school, coping with peer pressure and preparing for the next chapters of their lives like college or full time employment.
Maria also supervised new counselors and her approach was always to empower counselors and teach them listen to their “clinical gut”.
Maria is driven by social justice and participated in movements for Black Lives Matter, women’s rights and animal rights. Her approaches in therapy display her commitment to provide an empathic, compassionate and judgement-free space where people from all walks of life can address their emotional issues, life transitions and meet their therapy goals.
When she is not in session, Maria teaches as an adjunct lecturer at Hunger College. She teaches courses like Drugs and Society and the Sociology of Mental Health. In her free time, Maria loves to re-watch “The Office”, spend time with her two cats Rajah and Stella and try new vegan recipes.
Maria Pietruszka, MS, LMHC, CASAC-T
Psychotherapist & Supervisor
Maria (She/Her) was born in Poland and migrated to NYC...
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