Create a Life Worth Living

Ms. Papazian is a co-founder and co-director of LI DBT Group, which was established in 2001. Shealso chairs the Family Education and Support Program. Ms. Papazian works with adolescents, adults, high conflict couples and families, and she leads DBT skills training groups. Ms. Papazian received her Masters of Science degree from Long Island University and her Masters of Social Work degree from Adelphi University. She is intensively trained in DBT by Behavioral Tech, LLC. Ms. Papazian also has extensive training and clinical experience working with substance abuse, mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), and mother/child attachment. She is certified in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and emotionally focused therapy (EFT). Ms. Papazian is the former director of Rape and Sexual Assault Services of the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence (now the Safe Center Long Island), where she instituted a DBT program for survivors of incest and sexual assault. She is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of trauma and co-morbid disorders resulting from war, hostage situations, crime, terrorist attack and domestic and sexual violence. She has served as a clinical consultant to several mental health agencies and as a presenter on treating trauma, borderline personality disorder and substance abuse.

Ms. Hussey is co-director of LI DBT Group. She provides individual and family therapy, in addition to running DBT skills groups. Ms. Hussey specializes in the treatment of adolescents, adults, and families. Ms. Hussey has extensive clinical experience treating PTSD, personality disorders, substance abuse, and mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, and bulimia. After receiving her Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan, Ms. Hussey was intensively trained in DBT by Behavioral Tech, LLC. She is DBT trained in substance abuse (DBT-S) and prolonged exposure (PE) protocol. In addition to DBT, she is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and is a member of EMDRIA. Ms. Hussey provides EMDR to clients experiencing complex trauma, chronic invalidation, as well as PTSD. Throughout her work she incorporates her training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to help clients build awareness in order to utilize strategies to change. Ms. Hussey is passionate about helping people regulate their emotional dysregulation through the use of DBT skills and EMDR, allowing one to not only heal from the situations in life that have prompted such distress, but truly have a life worth living.

Krista Altman is a licensed clinical social worker who received her MSW from NYU as well as her Master’s degree in Psychology from New School University. She started her career in the forensic field working within the NYS prisons providing trauma education to corrections staff, as well as in-reach and outreach services to women incarcerated who are coming home from prison. After several years of running a federally funded SAMHSA program she moved into the non-profit sector in community mental health, directing a large metropolitan outpatient clinic in Manhattan. She later led a mobile treatment team (ACT) in Queens. Krista has extensive knowledge of Severe and Persistent Mental Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) and how to help those in acute care and community settings to stabilize and maintain wellness.

Ms. Altman was intensively trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. She implemented a DBT track at a community clinic before working as a DBT therapist at Long Island DBT Group. She is a skills trainer and supervisor for staff learning how to launch their careers as DBT clinicians. She enjoys teaching DBT strategies to parents of young children as well as helping LGBTQIA individuals and families. She provides psychotherapy and consultation to adolescents, young adults and older adults working toward their Life Worth Living goals. Krista is also a parent of young children and lives a  mindful and skillful personal life using the tools of DBT.