"Just when the caterpillar thought
the world was over, it became
a butterfly."

Located in Setauket, NY
631-328-5930

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» Welcome To Our Practice

• Suffolk DBT Staff
• Consultation Team Members

Consultation Team Members

Lianne E. Conroy, LCSW-R is a licensed social worker and has been providing psychotherapy since 2000.  She has a broad knowledge base regarding the emotional and behavioral disorders of children, adolescents, and adults due to her experiences in a myriad of settings such as a clinic, hospital, and school environment.  She is a certified school social worker, and currently works as the District Social Worker for a school district on Long Island.  In addition, she co-leads DBT skills groups with Dr. Lehnert and works in private practice applying DBT in the treatment of individuals with emotional vulnerabilities, including borderline personality disorder. 

To schedule an appointment, call 631-328-5930

Jennifer A. Sutherland, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and has been providing psychotherapy since 2003. She received her Psy.D. at St. John’s University in Queens, New York where she has also worked as an adjunct professor teaching courses on the Graduate and Undergraduate level. Dr. Sutherland has worked in several school districts on Long Island providing psychoeducational assessments as well as group and individual counseling for students grades 7-12. She received clinical training at the Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and has recently began applying DBT to issues of depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, self-injury and suicidal behaviors. In addition, Dr. Sutherland is experienced within the treatment of oppositional and impulsive behaviors as they relate to adolescents. She specializes in working with adolescents and their families in teaching self-control, anger management, and behavior management strategies in attempts to increase prosocial behaviors.

To schedule an appointment, call 631-328-5930

Dr. Gregory S. Makris is a clinical psychologist who specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to address multiple issues, including instability of mood, problems with interpersonal relationships, self-destructive patterns of behavior, and suicidality.  He provides individual psychotherapy for these problems, collaborating with other members of the Suffolk DBT Clinical Team, including clinicians who provide group therapy to enhance skills such as emotion regulation, tolerating and working through crisis, and becoming more skilled in interpersonal interactions and relationships.
In addition to DBT, Dr. Makris also specializes in providing exposure and response prevention (ERP) to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).   Research has demonstrated that ERP is the treatment of choice for OCD.  Dr. Makris also specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression and anxiety disorders, particularly social anxiety.  He has also conducted numerous presentations to staff members at various clinics and facilities in order to educate them regarding these forms of therapy.
Dr. Makris also applies a client-centered approach such that establishing a collaborative, compassionate and safe environment is a critical priority in terms of providing care to his clients.  In addition to symptom reduction, Dr. Makris greatly emphasizes the attainment of self-acceptance, self-like, and ultimately, self-love.  Dr. Makris believes that this process can restore balance, peace, harmony, and love in one’s life.

Deanna Walsh-Bender, M.S.Ed., L.M.S.W., is a seasoned child, adolescent, and young adult therapist, education consultant, school/court advocate, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) specialist. She has extensive experience providing services to individuals challenged by various neurological, emotional, and behavioral disorders, their families who love them, the professionals who treat them, and the community at large. Deanna has served the Long Island community for over 20 years and feels as passionately about our youths’ quality of care today, as she did when she first began her career as a special education teacher.
                                                 
Deanna received her B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from Providence College, her M.S.Ed. in Special Education and Autism from Long Island University and lastly, her M.S.W. in Social Work from the State University of New York. With a keen sense of the importance education plays in the lives of her clients, Deanna herself is a life-long learner who strives to continually increase her own fund of knowledge and skill set.

Through her private practice entitled CAPES (Child Advocacy & Parent Empowerment Services), Deanna provides individualized treatment based on each person’s specific needs and learning style ensuring that intervention is both effective and client centered. Additionally, she conducts seminar presentations to small groups, agencies and schools on ASD and other various disabilities from both a diagnostic and therapeutic viewpoint as well as an educational one.

While maintaining her own private practice, Deanna is also affiliated with Suffolk DBT Psychological Services. Through this affiliation she serves as a referral consultant lending her educational and advocacy experience to clients attending DBT programming when the need for these ancillary services supports comprehensive client care. Additionally, as part of CAPES services, Deanna provides individual Dialectical Behavior Therapy sessions under the supervision of Dr. Kim Lehnert, a gifted national trainer for Behavioral Tech, LLC, and the Director of Suffolk DBT. Deanna continually expands her proficiency in Dialectical Behavior Therapy by engaging in a multitude of higher level trainings taught by both the esteemed Dr. Marsha Linehan and her national Behavioral Tech trainers. Lastly, Deanna has co-led an Adolescent DBT Skills Group and has recently transitioned to co-leading an Adult DBT Skills Group all the while remaining a part of the Suffolk DBT Consultation Team since the organization’s inception.

Deanna’s next endeavor entails modifying the standard DBT treatment model to meet and serve the needs of people challenged by ASD and related conditions. Her strong desire to implement appropriate, effective, empirically supported treatment is of great importance to Deanna for it is her professional life long wish that all her clients discover a sense of inner peace, personal empowerment, emotional fulfillment, and interpersonal success.

To schedule an appointment call 631-328-5930

• Click to view Deanna’s Curriculum Vitae
• Click to Download & Print the CAPES Biopsychosocial
• Click to Download & Print the CAPES/Suffolk DBT Consent Form