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Specializing in women’s mental health and welling being, i have dedicated my professional life to developing and managing mental health programs to keep women healthy and safe.

My constant mission is to use the gifts I was blessed with to give back to humanity.

I strongly believe that the connection a client makes with their therapist, is vital to quality of care, progress and growth. Every one of our therapists is personally interviewed and hired by myself, for their extraordinary experience, abilities, and most importantly, the fact that they care deeply about our clients.

I also believe the connection between myself and each therapist who works for me is vital for a productive and valued working relationship.  I work closely with all members of my team; as a leader, as a mentor,  and as part of the daily support network. I personally facilitate weekly Peer Supervision, and oversee a private, clinician only, online group, as a safe space to share, ask, learn and sometimes just chat!

If you’re new to my world, below is some information on my personal and professional journey.

Personal Journey

My journey started when I arrived in the U.S. from Italy at eight years old. While learning a new language I became very sensitive to my surroundings and very passionate about wanting to help people early in life.

In high school I volunteered at a local hospital doing community outreach and began working at a therapeutic camp for children. As I was trying to decide on a graduate program, my supervisor suggested a Master’s in social work, this would allow me to follow my passion of helping people. After completing my degree, I worked in psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center with abused children. This experience exposed me to the field of health care, and led me to medical school.

Throughout my studies, I became interested in working with immigrants adjusting to a new land, and wanted to open up a culturally sensitive community mental health center in the heart of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn. The community was mainly southern Italian, people who came to this country to give their family a better opportunity. Given my own similar experience, I felt this was an area in which I could make a difference.

The community, however, did not agree. I faced strong resistance, especially since Italians believe you keep your problems in the family, not share them with strangers. After a lot of outreach, slowly people began coming to our agency, which now sees 2,500 patients per month, with a waiting list. We have grown in staff, as well, with 40 therapist and four psychiatrists. I was approached by a private health care company to set up women’s inpatient programs in four parts of the state specializing in sexual trauma and eating disorders.

Part of the role was to give lectures to clinicians in the community and market the private practitioner’s efforts and other community programs. Through this work, I began to understand the fragmentation between psychological and medical services, so I proposed a program that would combine the two.

“My work in developing and managing programs focused on mental health and safety has been recognized by numerous prestigious organizations and individuals. In 2002, I received the first annual New York Post Liberty Award Medal for Community Services. Additionally, I have been honored with the Distinguished Humanitarian Award from the Italian American Federation and served on the Kingsborough Community College board.”

Professional History

In 1983, I opened the Neighborhood Counseling Center (NCC), an outpatient mental health center in Brooklyn NY. I saw that many Italian families had moved to the community, and wanted to be able to offer them support services to help them better adjust to living in a new country. NCC has become a leading resource for mental health services in New York City and continues to thrive, treating over five hundred patients per week. NCC was just the beginning.

In the early 1990s, before the women’s health revolution began, I recognized that medical care for women was fragmented and did not understand the essential connection between physical and emotional health. After receiving my Medical Degree, I opened Brooklyn Women’s Services (BWS), New York City’s first comprehensive health center for women. An affiliate of Maimonides Medical Center, BWS was committed to treating the whole woman, providing both physical and emotional health services. BWS’s program also includes a year-round free lecture series and symposiums for women on how to stay well and prevent illness.

I founded the BCS Counseling Group in 1996, focused and dedicated to providing psychological and emotional care and support through all stages of a person’s life. BCS Group has grown to become one of the most successful Online Counseling, Private Practises in New York State and New Jersey. Giving us the ability to reach more people in need across both urban and underserved rural areas. We are dedicated to continuing our commitment to provide professional, compassionate and accessible mental health care across all the communities that we serve.

In 1998, I founded Women Against Violence (WAV), a non-profit violence prevention and education organization dedicated to empowering women of all ages with the ability and strength to avoid and recover from abuse and violence. WAV helps numerous women in crisis, who have been victims of violence and abuse, while at the same time offering preventive programs to help educate women, and the general community, about the problem of violence against women. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz appointed me as Chair of his Task Force for Teenage Violence.

In 2019 St. George’s University in Granada approached me to develop and manage an online counseling program for their medical and veterinary students. Despite numerous challenges, we successfully launched a program that provides students with access to skilled and dedicated therapists via live video. The program has been received extremely well by both the University and their students; over the last 5 years the program has grown to where we are scheduling over 1200 appointments a month.

More recently, we have partnered with Century Medical and Dental Center to develop and manage an online mental health program for their new and existing clients, aiming to expand their practice’s reach across Brooklyn and Manhattan. In all our program partnerships, we handle the development, staffing, intake, therapist hiring, supervision and assignments, and appointment scheduling. All therapists work under the clinical supervision of a senior clinical team member, with Dr. Pallotta managing all emergency contacts.

 

BCS Counseling Group schedules over 10,000 online appointments a month, employing over 200 therapists. Neighborhood Counseling Center employs 4o therapists and schedules over 2500 a month in Psychiatry and Psychology.

In this ever challenging world, more and more people need our help, and we are dedicated to delivering professional, caring and compassionate care to those who need us.