Find A Practitioner

Vince, a noted lecturer and educator in the tri-state area, has been active in the field of addiction since 1977. He is the founder and former director of The Starting Point, Inc. of NJ in Haddon Township, New Jersey. The Starting Point is an outpatient counseling center specializing in the areas of dependencies and functions as a support system for each individual’s personal growth.

With his friendly manner and down-to-earth lectures, has assisted many to enter a new sense of awareness and come to realize and accept that the power to institute change comes from within. While sharing his own spiritual and emotional growth, he guides his listeners in increasing their self-esteem and allowing old fears and behaviors to make way for a new and fulfilling lifestyle.

Vincent has worked with and advocated for individuals with issues ranging from addiction to mental health challenges. For the past 20 years, he has taught people how to use healthy coping skills in order to alleviate intense emotional discomfort. He uses proven treatment techniques that are based in CBT, DBT, Client-Centered, and Family Systems therapies. Besides working with those who are having difficulty navigating life’s many stressors,

Vincent also has extensive experience helping those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered & questioning (dealing with “coming out” issues).

Vincent is available to work individually (15 years and older), as well as couples and families. His priority is helping with the process of Paving Pathways to Peacefulness, to cultivate a more hopeful future.

Karyn is a Certified Spiritual Life Coach. She is an active and vibrant individual with a charismatic personality that lifts up the energy in a room full of people.  

Karyn’s personal and professional journey has helped her accumulate in-depth experience and expertise as a Spiritual Life Coach specializing in addiction, narcissistic abuse, co-dependency, confidence building,  self-love, self-care, health and wellness.  She helps individuals reprogram their lack and limiting belief mindsets, overcome their struggles, and pursue the life they always dreamt of living. She assists in building confidence, self-esteem, self-assurance, and healthy decision-making skills. She is a positive force who encourages individuals to believe in themselves, tapping into their potential to lead successful, happy, and inspirational lives. She enables individuals to choose life beyond the pain, traumas, suffering, and failures they have encountered in their lives and transform themselves into a magnet of success in all areas of life by becoming the best version of themselves emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  

Karyn has worked diligently through her life lessons and has overcome many obstacles that once held her down. As a professional, her philosophy has always been to embrace adversity, to develop continuously and bring order to chaos. She aspires to devote her time, energy, and talents to educating people about perfectly nurturing self-love and assisting them in healing through in-depth Life Coaching sessions that end with a powerful spiritual mind treatment, also know as an affirmative prayer. She can provide testimonials from her clients if anyone is interested in learning more about the power of transformation when working with a coach.  

Kathy is a marriage and family therapist with many years of experience counseling individuals, couples, and families. She is a genuine, compassionate, and non-judgmental therapist who offers a safe and supportive space for clients to be authentic and work towards their personal goals. She strives to help clients increase emotional security and strengthen connections within the family unit and intimate relationships.

Kathy has a Master’s degree in Counseling and Psychology from Temple University and recently completed the Post Graduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Council for Relationships. She is currently pursuing her LMFT. Her areas of expertise include building healthy relationships, developing effective communication skills, addiction and recovery, codependency, anxiety and depression, grief and loss, and healing from trauma. To increase self awareness and emotional connection to self and others, she uses an integrative approach, which typically includes interventions from the Emotionally Focused, Bowen Family Systems, Internal Family Systems, Structural, Attachment, and Mindfulness models.

As a therapist who specializes in loss and grief, Pat Obst has walked the grief journey with many clients and has experienced losses personally. This led her to create the Afterwards Journey, to help clients grieve, heal, and recreate their lives after loss.

She began practice more than twenty years ago as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and life coach. In addition to counseling and earlier in her career, Pat was a case manager in a mental health outpatient facility. She was then a care coordinator of in-home care giving services for older adults. Then, as a hospice social worker, Pat facilitated care and support for hospice patients and their families.

Her specialization in grief counseling came about 19 years ago after the loss of her infant son Ricky. Pat developed her specialization in grief therapy through years of additional training. Within that, she specializes in working with parents who have lost children.

Pat co-created and co-facilitated a program called Afterwards, LLC., which was dedicated to helping those 1-5 years past a major loss to step forward into the next chapter of their lives. She has led grief lectures, workshops, and done podcasts for The Starting Point, Inc. of New Jersey. She has also presented at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) annual conference.

 Specialties

• Loss & Grief


• Divorce


• Grief-related depression


• Grief -related anxiety


• Grief related to life changing illness/injury


• Grief-related trauma

Type of Therapies

• Compassion Focused Therapy


• Cognitive Behavior Therapy


• Functional Analytic Psychotherapy


• Holistic Therapy


• Humanistic Therapy


• Mindfulness Based CBT


• Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy

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Education: MSW - Master of Social Work, Rutgers University-Camden, NJ; BA -Sociology, Eastern College, St. Davids, PA;
Licenses: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), NJ
Additional Training: Continuing Education in grief and loss through The Columbia Center for Complicated Grief. Life coach training through the GROW Training Institute, Inc.

 

 

 

Donna believes that one’s past informs, but does not define who a person truly is. A lyric Donna cites which succinctly underlines this idea was penned by singer\songwriter Holly Near; “The past has brought me brilliantly to here.” 

Drawing on over 25 years of experience in the field of addictions and mental health, Donna is a multi-faceted practitioner who meets each client in the present moment, creating a working partnership to address each individual’s specific needs and concerns. Using a client-centered approach which respects an individual’s personal perspective, beliefs and preferences, she assists clients in understanding how one’s beliefs influence one’s behavior.

Donna offers her unique skills and perspective to all those navigating the journey of healing, recovery and life.

James has specialized in the mental health and substance abuse treatment field for over eighteen years. He has seen first-hand how establishing a good therapeutic relationship throughout the counseling process makes treatment a successful experience. Through various strategies and techniques that are evidenced based, patients have been able to raise their own insights and gain a healthier sense of self.  As a result, patients have been able to develop and establish positive coping skills to assist with combating their own self-defeating behaviors associated with anxiety, depression and addiction.

In addition, James is an approved provider able to conduct assessments for individuals who have been found guilty of driving under the Influence (DUI) in New Jersey and surrounding states. If you have completed your required 12 or 48 hour classes or have been identified as a Multiple Offender, he is authorized to complete your evaluation and provide the mandatory treatment needed to comply with your IDRC requirements.

Of particular interest to Camden County Probationers, James is a preferred provider for drug and alcohol assessment and anger management classes. He understands how important it is to have your evaluations completed and forwarded to your Probation Officer especially when this is the last task a client needs done before completing probation. All reports are completed and faxed within 24 hours from the clients initial meeting.

Types of Therapy: 

Gestalt, Mindfulness-Based (MBCT), Person-Centered and Family Systems

Modalities:

Individuals, Couples and Groups


Specialties:      

Substance Use, Dual Diagnosis, Mood Disorders, Early Intervention (EI), Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Strength-Based and Rational Emotive Behavior (REBT)

 

 

                                                                                  

 

 

 

                                                                                                                          

 

 

 

Melissa is a licensed professional counselor in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who works with adolescents and adults who struggle in a number of areas. These include depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders, recovery from physical/emotional abuse and the processing of grief. Importantly, Melissa is accessible to those who simply need someone to talk to during a difficult time.

Melissa uses a number of approaches when providing counseling services, but her primary approach is that of client-centered therapy. This allows her clients the room to “open up” and share at their own pace. Melissa helps to provide an empathetic and compassionate environment which aids her clients in their healing. In this way, she endeavors to help others work through current and/or future challenging situations and to achieve goals which they create for themselves through the counseling relationship.

Melissa is an honors graduate of Rider University with her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.