EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kate Bowden, LCSW, CASAC, CEAP
Kate Bowden is a native New Yorker, Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Hunter College, Bachelor of Art in Psychology summa cum laude. After spending ten years in advertising as an Account Executive, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work, where she is currently an Adjunct Professor. Ms. Bowden’s clinical experience includes serving at the New York City Police Department as a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, which encompassed clinical social work and credential alcohol and substance abuse counselor services. She has been a consulting therapist at The Freedom Institute. Ms. Bowden comes to the New York Center for Living from Caron Treatment Centers where she served as Director of Special Projects in New York and Bermuda, helping launch Caron’s Bermuda outpatient chemical dependency facility treating adolescents and adults. Previously, she served as Executive Marketing Specialist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Director of Marketing in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center, assisting in creating comprehensive inpatient chemical dependency and co-occurring disorders programs, respectively. Ms. Bowden did post Masters psychoanalytic training at the Training Institute for Psychoanalytic Theory and has co-authored field literature in women, trauma and addiction.
Lisa Donath, LMSW
Lisa Donath completed her graduate studies at New York University, where she received her Master’s degree in clinical social work. Since 2006, Lisa has been working with adolescents and young adults struggling with addiction and co-occurring disorders. As the Assistant Director at Phoenix House IMPACT program, she was focused on engaging adolescents from culturally and economically diverse families, in individual, family, and group therapy. At IMPACT, Lisa had the opportunity to develop and implement specific groups for teens dealing with the challenges of having dual diagnoses, as well as for young women struggling with issues that relate to body-image, relationships, and trauma. In 2010, Lisa was hired as the Program Director at the Center for Living, where she has been involved in treatment, prevention, and program development.
Christopher Mooney, LMSW, CASAC
Christopher Mooney is one of the primary therapists at the New York Center for Living. He has worked with both psychiatric and substance abuse clients at Silver Hill Hospital as a Psychiatric Technician. He also worked as a counselor at one of the largest outpatient substance abuse settings in Manhattan with a focus on the adolescent and young adult populations. In this setting he acquired a sound ability to appreciate the unique needs of adolescents and young adults seeking sobriety in an urban environment. Chris’s focus is in the importance of interpersonal relationships, teaching clients to identify and cope with internal emotions, and helping them to build healthy, sober social skills.
Scott Bienenfeld, M.D.
Dr. Scott Bienenfeld is an Addiction Psychiatrist board certified in General and Forensic Psychiatry and certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine as well as The American Board of Addiction Medicine.
Dr. Bienenfeld graduated from Dartmouth College in 1992 and earned his M.D. from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA in 1997. He completed a general psychiatry residency at NYU in 2001 followed by a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is a member of a number of organizations including: The American Psychiatric Association (APA), the American Medical Association (AMA), The American Academy of Psychiatry and The Law (AAPL) The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), The American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) and The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP). He is a past Vice President of the Tri-State chapter of the American Academy of Psychiatry and The Law (Tri-State AAPL) and is currently a member of both the Addiction and Peer Review Committees of The American Academy of Psychiatry and The Law.
Dr. Bienenfelds’ previous positions include: Clinical Director of The Community Orientation and Re-Entry Program (CORP) Unit at Sing-Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, under the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH); consulting psychiatrist to the student counseling center at Pace University in New York and consulting psychiatrist to Premier Healthcare in New York City, a subsidiary of The Young Adult Institute (YAI).
Dr. Bienenfeld maintains a private practice on The Upper West Side of Manhattan, and he is a consultant to both The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB).
Jason Andrews, CASAC, Primary Therapist
Jason Andrews is one of the primary therapists at the New York Center for Living. He worked at Nassau Alternative Counseling Center (NACC) for six years, where he was the Youth's Service Coordinator. Mr. Andrews started and developed the adolescent substance abuse program at NACC, where he developed effective protocols to address difficulties associated with adolescent addiction. He specializes in psychodrama techniques, role play and 12-Step-based recovery.
Seamus McEntee
Seamus McEntee received a BA in Psychology from Hofstra University with an emphasis on child development. He continued his education at SUNY Stony Brook University, where he completed his Master of Social Work degree. He has been practicing as a licensed master social worker in New York State since 2004.
Prior to joining the CFL team, Seamus worked for the NSLIJHS in an intensive outpatient program for over 6 years. While working for the NSLIJHS, he gained clinical experience in working with adolescents, young adults and their families. He also developed and implemented a young men’s program. His professional experience includes working with individuals, groups and families who struggle with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder in conjunction with substance abuse. He has extensive experience working with borderline personality disorder and prodromal schizophrenia as well. While at the NSLIJHS program, he collected and presented data for a NIDA conference on the dissemination of research based treatments. In addition, he served as a member for the Nassau County Department of Social Services Advisory Council for families and children.
Seamus’ approach and strengths come from a strong emphasis on 12 step philosophy and the disease concept of addiction. He also utilizes his training in motivational interviewing to engage ambivalent clients. His expertise is working with children of alcoholics and adult children of alcoholics.
Seamus was born and raised in Westbury, NY, but spent summers on the southern coast of Rhode Island. He lives in Massapequa with his wife and two young children. He enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as playing volleyball, being outdoors and bodysurfing.
Stephanie Sterling, LCSW, Director of Family Services
Stephanie recently joined the team at Center for Living as the Director of Family Services.
After receiving her MSW from New York University, Stephanie began her career atAlternatives Adolescent Counseling, a private group practice, where she specializes in adolescent and family counseling. During the course of her tenure at Alternatives, Stephanie worked at St. Vincent's Hospital as an Adolescent Specialist, and then at Bellevue Hospital Center in the psychiatric department, the culmination of which prepared her for her position as Director of Family Services at Center for Living.
Stephanie is thrilled to bring her expertise in family counseling and parent coaching to CFL.
Sarah Robertson, Dietitian
Sarah Robertson is a registered dietitian and a certified dietitian nutritionist in the state of New York. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from New York University in 2006, and completed her dietetic internship at New York Presbyterian Hospital in January 2008. She is currently the coordinator of nutrition education and meals at GMHC, a non-profit HIV/AIDS organization in Manhattan. She joined the Center for Living in April 2011 and facilitates the cooking group on Monday evenings. Her approach to nutrition education is food based. She believes that cooking is much more than just something you do to put dinner on the table. It's a vehicle to express creativity, elucidate nutritional lessons/themes, build social connections, and in some cases protect the environment. She believes that the best way to educate others about nutrition is to do it through food. Her objectives for groups such as this one is to teach people how to appreciate food, understand the medicinal and nutritive properties, and gain the education and skills that will foster the development of healthy nutritional habits.