Associate Biographies
Dr. Johna Pointek, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Pointek graduated with her PsyD from the California School of Professional Psychology and has been a NY State licensed psychologist since 2001. She has been on the faculty at Pace University for 25 years, enjoying preparing the next generation of counseling students to develop the skills to establish their professional identities and become independent practitioners. When not teaching, her clinical experience has spanned for the last 19 years, where she has been working with the adult and older adult population, helping to transition them through life events and challenges, increasing self awareness and improving relationships. She has been pleased to work with individuals who are diverse in physical ability, race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and life circumstances. She feels confident that her strong skills, both as a psychologist and educator, allow her to be prepared to better understand others and help them get to a more healthy place in their lives.
It is very important to Dr. Pointek to understand why you are beginning/continuing the therapy process at this point in your life. Why today? What have you been doing so far that has worked for you? Why is it no longer working? She wonders if it is your job to work together to understand how your life has changed, possibly you, your relationships, the environment you live in or maybe even something else. She has utilized and taught a variety of different therapeutic skills; empathy, good listening, person centered therapy/care, CBT, DBT, behavioral techniques, to support clients coping with a countless number of challenges. But most of all, she believes that we need to remember that there is no magic wand or pill that is given in therapy that makes us feel better, it is the relationships and hard work between the therapist and client that fosters change. When not working, Dr. Pointek enjoys crafting, camping, travel and movies.
Cassandra Muldoon, M.S., Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Cassandra is a licensed mental health counselor. She believes in approaching therapy with an individualized approach that highlights each client's uniqueness. Her lived experiences allow Cassandra to meet her clients where they are in their journey of growth and self-discovery. She provides an empathic, non-judgmental environment and encourages clients to be their authentic self. Cassandra believes that the client is in the driver's seat, and she is there to guide them towards achieving their goals. Cassandra empowers client’s to focus on what is inside of their control and teaches clients how to accept thoughts without judgment. She utilizes various techniques when approaching therapy and specializes in exposure response prevention (ERP) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Cassandra also utilizes aspects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), solution-focused therapy, and narrative therapy.
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While Cassandra has experience working with various populations and ages, she specializes in treating OCD and anxiety-based disorders. She also has a special interest in, and aptitude for, working with the LGBTQ+ community, adults with ADHD/learning disabilities, athletes depression, couples (utilizing the Gottman method), and in parent training.
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In her free time, Cassandra enjoys going to the beach, hiking, weightlifting, drawing, painting, and spending time with friends, and family.
Crystal Alvarado, M.A., Limited Permit
Crystal is a mental health counselor with a limited permit working under the supervision of licensed psychologist, Dr. Sheila Chiffriller. Crystal follows the idiom “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” and believes that therapy should not be theory driven, but relationship driven. Crystal focuses on ensuring her clients receive empathy, support and genuineness. She uses an interpersonal and cognitive behavioral approach to focus on and improve one’s thoughts and personal relationships. Crystal earned her bachelor’s degree at Stony Brook University in psychology and her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from SUNY Old Westbury. She has focused on working with those who have become HIV infected as a result of sexual assault as well as children, adolescents, and young adults within the LGBTQ+ community. When Crystal is not counseling she enjoys hiking, weightlifting and caring for her reptiles.
Jihane (Gigi) Khachab, M.S., Limited Permit
Jihane is a mental health counselor with a limited permit working under the supervision of licensed psychologist, Dr. Sheila Chiffriller. With a genuine passion for helping others, Jihane, who also goes by Gigi, is a compassionate and dedicated therapist, committed to empowering her clients on their journey towards self-discovery and growth. Her own experiences have instilled in her a deep sense of empathy, open-mindedness, and the unwavering belief in the transformative power of therapy. Jihane's empathic, non-judgmental, and empowering approach helps foster an environment in which clients feel genuinely heard and understood. Having earned her Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Pace University, Jihane employs an integrative approach including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention, Person-Centered Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic, and Mindfulness therapy, to address her clients' unique needs and goals and promote optimal change. Jihane worked in an outpatient setting specialized in offering individual and group treatment for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety-based disorders, and personality disorders. Her passion for advocacy and helping underprivileged populations shines through in her previous volunteer work in West Africa and her experience assisting individuals with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder in a Canadian residence. Outside of her counseling practice, Jihane enjoys cooking and baking, traveling, photography, and spending time with loved ones or in nature.
Leandrew Aponte, M.S, Limited Permit
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Leandrew is a mental health counselor with a limited permit working under the supervision of licensed psychologist, Dr. Sheila Chiffriller. He earned his Master of Science degree in Mental Health Counseling from Pace University. Leandrew employs a combination of cognitive behavioral, strength-based, and solution focused approaches when working with his clients. With a familiarity in working with adolescents from diverse backgrounds, he understands the importance of creating space where one can feel heard and comfortable enough to start the path of growth into their actualized self. Apart from working, Leandrew enjoys using his time to delight in his wide range of interests: collecting and reading comic books, enjoying a movie with family, socializing with friends, and playing a variety of sports.
Yuleidi (Yuli) Rodriguez, M.S., Limited Permit
Yuleidi is a mental health counselor with a limited permit working under the supervision of licensed psychologist Dr. Johna Pointek. She earned her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University- Post. Her purpose is to create a safe and warm environment for her clients to grow and unlock new levels of themselves throughout their journeys. She prioritizes building a strong therapeutic relationship with her clients in order to better assist them with reaching their goals. She intends to meet her clients where they are at and through a collaborative effort, help them address any challenges they are facing. Her sense of empathy and advocacy stems from previous experience working with children and adults with severe mental illness as well as with learning disabilities, Autism and ADHD. She specializes in working with individuals who are experiencing major life changes, depression, anxiety and PTSD. She has experience working with diverse backgrounds and populations and therefore each treatment approach is designed to cater to each client, based on their needs and concerns. She integrates therapeutic approaches from CBT, DBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Solution Focused Therapy into her work to assist clients on their path to healing. When she is not counseling, she enjoys going to the gym, hiking and reading a book.
Madison DiGiacomo, M.S., Limited Permit
Madison is a dedicated mental health counselor with a limited permit working under the supervision of licensed psychologist Dr. Johna Pointek. Madison received her bachelors in Applied Psychology and Human Relations and masters in Mental Health Counseling at Pace University. Madison views counseling with clients a collaborative approach that enables clients to be active participants in recognizing conscious and unconscious thoughts. She strives to build a sensitive and comforting environment through the therapeutic alliance which will encourage exploration into the clients narrative.
She loves to help people tell their stories, learning more about themselves as they do so. Madison is dedicated to providing a comfortable environment and forming a strong therapeutic alliance.
Through the process of active listening, her main goal is to help clients understand themselves, what they want to change, and how to do so. With an open environment, Madison wants to help deconstruct harmful/limiting beliefs and reframe thoughts into different more positive lights. She validates and reassures clients with empathy. Madison integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Gestalt Therapy and Person-Centered Therapy to create their ideal therapeutic experience.
Madison has worked in a private practice setting offering individual, couples, and family therapy for clients with anxiety disorders, depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and personality disorders. She worked with clients experiencing trauma, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Madison also has experience working in a treatment center for children with Autism with the goal of fostering independence through behavioral science. When Madison is not counseling she enjoys baking any and every cookie/cake recipe she can find on Pinterest and is currently working on pie recipes! She also enjoys cooking, spending time with friends/family and her puppies!
Tabatha Robledo, M.S, Limited Permit
