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.

Artur Lebiedzinski: (He/Him) has been working in the mental health field for several years and holds a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. He has worked with various populations such as those struggling with COVID-19 stress, personality disorders, adjustment disorder, anxiety, depression, body image, relationship issues, and more.

In practice, Artur considers personality, historical context, and the complexities of distress tolerance. His personal experience growing up in several countries has shaped his unbiased views and recognition of alternative perspectives. Everyone is different, and each client deserves the utmost level of attention, responsiveness, and uniquely personalized approach when engaged in treatment.

Artur believes in each person’s unique ability and capacity to overcome their challenges. He uses a person-centered and evidence-based approach to foster curiosity, safety, and openness to growth.

He enjoys spending time with friends, playing video games, basketball, cooking, hiking, and fishing. Artur is proficient at providing psychotherapy in English and Polish.

Kyle McEvoy (He/Him) is the Founder and President of Collaborative, a multidisciplinary clinical community focused on establishing effective, evidence-based treatment founded on an adaptive mentalization-based treatment model.

Kyle holds advanced training in mentalization-based (MBT) and adaptive mentalization-based integrative treatment (AMBIT) through the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families. He specializes in complex attachment and identity-related disorders such as borderline, avoidant, antisocial, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personalities, along with gender-diverse individuals.

He focuses on understanding the individual to engage in a comprehensive execution of a person’s desires, wants, and needs. Kyle has participated in the client’s long-standing change from maladaptive behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through these scientific approaches. Kyle will implore you to participate in your treatment and discuss the techniques actively. He has helped people struggling with substances, explore individual identity (LGBTQIA+), cope with psychological/cognitive/developmental disorders, accept medical diagnoses, and overcome sexual abuse/intimate partner violence.

In addition to Kyle’s direct clinical work, he is a prominent national speaker, writer, and educator of the mental health community in efforts to deepen provider and patient understandings of mentalization, identity formation, and clinically challenging circumstances. In addition, Kyle continues to bolster his clinical approach through continued education and research of personality development from a psychoanalytic perceptive as a student of the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies.

Kyle believes practical and engaging clinical support has the power to invoke change. Therefore, he goes beyond the typical therapeutic approach when working with you.