Hearts Respond Counselors Bios
Dr. Greg Allen
In addition to being the Founder and Director of Hearts Respond and Freedom4U, Dr. Greg Allen has been a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist for over 30 years (www.drgregallen.com)
Greg Allen has a strong community relationship in the South Bay and the LA Harbor areas. He is also the son of Coach George Allen. Coach Allen is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and the San Pedro Sportswalk.
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Greg Allen directs counseling at Hearts Respond as well as a South Bay counseling group practice located in Palos Verdes Estates, CA. Dr. Allen specializing in working with issues and challenges regarding pre-teens, teenagers, young adults, adults, parents & couples. Greg is a frequent speaker in the community on youth and family topics.
Dr. Allen is an expert in Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention with young people and adults. Allen’s past experience includes Adult and Adolescent Program Director for the Thelma McMillen Center for Chemical Dependency Treatment at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
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Formerly Greg was the Clinical and Administrative Director of the UCLA/Matrix Institute Integrated Substance Abuse Adult and Adolescent Programs. Dr. Allen has provided sports psychology services to youth, college and professional athletes. Dr. Allen has also been a Special Advisor to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
He has provided extensive services to youth in Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Los Angeles, West LA as well as the South Bay and LA Harbor areas.
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Marjorie Fagan
Marjorie Fagan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with experience working with individuals, children, couples and adolescents. She graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s College with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies and Psychology, and earned a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute.
Marjorie uses an insight oriented and collaborative approach, utilizing evidenced based practices, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) working with clients with a wide range of issues, including, but not limited to: depression, grief and loss, anxiety, low self-esteem, and relationship issues. Marjorie has worked in a variety of clinical settings over the years, and with many ethnic populations, and has certifications in the Trauma Resiliency Model, Mindfulness Meditation, Play Therapy with children, and Alcohol and Other Drug Counseling. Marjorie’s in-depth training contributes to her ability to appreciate the uniqueness and complexity of each individual, helping them to work through issues that are holding them back from being their true authentic selves…issues or struggles that are too big or overwhelming to solve on their own. Marjorie’s style is down-to-earth, relatable, occasionally direct, and with a touch of humor at times!
When not Counseling, Marjorie enjoys crafting, cooking, and hanging out with her two French Bull dogs, three cats, and Tortoise (who is currently hibernating)…don’t we all wish we could do that at times?
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Chelsea Kuehl
Chelsea Kuehl is a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a certified addiction treatment counselor. She holds certifications in human services, a bachelors in psychology, and a masters degree in clinical psychology.
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Chelsea has been working in the mental health and substance use treatment field since 2012. Her experience spans working in full service partnership, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and school settings.
As a core value of being a life-long learner, Chelsea uses evidenced based practices to walk alongside her clients to help them navigate difficulties, become more skillful in responding to stressors, and address mental health. She has undergone training in Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT), Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT), and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
Chelsea views her role as a therapist as an honor. This is due to her understanding that being allowed into another’s world in order to help them achieve their goals is a very personal and brave decision that requires vulnerability, openness, and trust.
In her free time, Chelsea enjoys making art, being in nature, and spending time with her friends and family.
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Areen Fakhoury
Areen Fakhoury is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She has a bachelors degree in psychology, and a masters degree in marriage and family therapy. She is also certified in Restoration Therapy for couples.
Areen has been in the Mental Health Field since 2018 and enjoys working with people of all ages and backgrounds. She believes that everyone has a unique and important story to tell and we all have room for growth regarding our healing, self-awareness, and maintaining healthy relationships. She takes it as an honor to be let into these stories and journeys of healing.
Her therapeutic lens is person-centered and humanistic, this means the clients are seen as the expert in their lives. Her goal is to assist people in working towards fulfilling their fullest potential, healing inner child wounding and current relationships. As well as regaining a new perspective on life, as a whole. She believes you deserve to live a healthy and meaningful life.
When Areen isn’t in sessions, she loves to be outside enjoying some fresh air with family and friends. It’s a bonus if that includes coffee and good food.
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Steven Frausto
Taking the first step towards getting help is at times the most difficult part. I focus on providing a safe environment in order to help you speak freely, feel relaxed, share your story and identify the areas you need support in. From working with parents who are struggling with their young children to teenagers struggling with all the changes currently going on in their life due to school being in person and learning to socialize again. In the 10 years I have been working with families and adults I have had the privilege of helping families, children, adolescents, teenagers, parents and grandparents make great progress.
I work from a psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy approach as it helps me look at the current difficulties you are struggling with but also the root cause of the current challenges. Utilizing this approach I can help you find solutions to current challenges in an effort to alleviate the current stress but also look at the root cause to avoid the same problem arising in the future. Often time our learned behaviors can be in part attributed to experiences in childhood or our formative years. Being able to explore these experiences helps create and sustain the new foundation of growth we will be creating together.
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Dr. Yana Gordin
Dr. Yana Gordin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Art Therapist, and holds a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Applied Clinical Psychology. Dr. Gordin obtained her BA in Psychology from California State University Northridge in 2011, MA in Marriage & Family Therapy/Art Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute in 2014, and PsyD in Applied Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2017.
Dr. Gordin has experience in providing clinical and case-management services to culturally diverse populations with a broad range of diagnoses, needs, and ages (7-89 years old), and within individual, family, and group settings. Dr. Gordin has worked in various settings such as community mental health agencies contracted with Department of Mental Health (DMH), psychiatric hospitals, schools, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, skilled nursing facility, and board and care.
Dr. Gordin’s treatment varies based on the unique needs of every client. Her clinical approach is psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and integrative. When appropriate she utilizes art therapy, play therapy, and evidence based practices such as Managing and Adapting Practices (MAP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Seeking Safety (SS), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI).
Lastly, Yana is also an artist who enjoys hiking, meditating, reading, learning new things, spending time with her family, and taking her giant lab to the beach.
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Board of Directors
Greg Allen
Jesse Straub
Christine Allen
Thomas Schwabe
Jaclyn Stansbury