IAC Center Counselors

Our group of specialized counselors can help you with any infertility and adoption issues that occur over the course of the life cycle.  Our staff has experience in dealing with some general mental health and relationship concerns that may be exacerbated, related, or occurring in tandem to the infertility and adoption topics that we specialize in.  

IAC Center Counselors have all been trained by Joni Mantell, LCSW in the lifelong, short-term therapy model that the Center is known for.  They also bring to this work a variety of counseling techniques including supportive, expressive, insight-oriented cognitive, interpersonal, play, individual, couples and family therapies. 

We have several locations throughout New York and New Jersey. Some of our services can be provided by phone if none of our locations are convenient to you. The IAC Center can also provide referrals to specialists in all fifty states who are experienced in the areas of infertility and adoption issues.

About Lauren Scheiner, MSW, LSW

Lauren Scheiner, LSW, trained with Joni Mantell, LCSW at the Infertility & Adoption Counseling Center (IAC Center) as a Social Work Intern; and joined the Center as an IAC Center Counselor when she received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University.  Previously she had worked as a caseworker at an International Adoption Agency, and completed approximately 80 adoptions in over 2 ½ years.

Drawing upon her hands-on adoption experience and her infertility and adoption counseling experience, Lauren has the unique advantage of understanding both the practical and emotional aspects of adoption.  In addition to her work at the IAC Center, Lauren is currently an Adoption Support Therapist at an agency where she works with children ages 5-19 transitioning them from foster care to adoption; and with their adoptive families. In addition, she has extensive experience counseling people facing bereavement and loss.

Articles: While You Are Waiting to Adopt  Co-authored with Joni Mantell, LCSW

About Sasha Martone, MSW, LCSW

Sasha Martone, LCSW is an IAC Center Counselor and facilitator of our Life book Workshop. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has provided individual, family and group counseling to children and adults in both mental health and school settings. She has worked in the field of social work since 1991, after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Fordham University. Sasha received her Masters of Social Work degree in 1997 from New York University. She holds her School Social Worker Certificate, is certified in Applied Behavior Analysis from Rutgers University, and in Intermediate Level Hypnotherapy from the Milton H. Erickson Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Her unique experience has equipped her to be very adept and comfortable with "complex cases" at the IAC Center. 

In addition, Sasha has spoken to various groups throughout New Jersey on the topic of educating and creating Adoption and Foster Care Lifebooks for children.  She also leads album making and photo organization work-sessions for individuals to start and complete a variety of album types.

About Beverly Andres, MSW, LSW

Beverly Andres, LSW is an IAC Center Counselor who specializes in working with adopted children, teens and adults.  She provides individual, group and family therapy; and facilitates popular Identity Workshops for teens based on adoption as shown in popular media (movies, TV).

Her stated areas of passion are youth and adults who have been adopted, and she also likes to work with adoptees in reunion.  Beverly is an adult adoptee which gives her work that extra perspective and this often help teens, young adults and children to connect with her. 

Beverly received her MSW degree from the Rutgers School of Social Work and her undergraduate degree in Business and Sociology from Wheaton College.  Beverly has many years of experience working in various social service settings including inpatient and outpatient psychiatric, non-profit and medical settings.  She spent seven years recruiting, training and consulting to families providing treatment foster care to youth with behavioral challenges.  She is a seasoned trainer and workshop facilitator.

About Jessica Cichalski, MSW, LSW

Jessica E. Cichalski, MSW, LSW is an IAC Center Counselor working in our Pennington office. She received her Masters in Social Work from New York University. Jessica has extensive experience working with trauma survivors and has helped individuals cope with complex life events including chronic illness, loss and bereavement, infertility, adoption, divorce, substance abuse, community violence, abuse and neglect, and family separation and displacement.

Jessica has nearly 15 years of experience working with children, teens and families in home, educational and mental health clinic settings. This background combined with her clinical counseling experience allows her to provide support and valuable insight to individuals and families in all stages of development.

Jessica also holds her Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and spent several years as an advocate for human rights, particularly the rights of orphans and vulnerable children, with government and non-profit agencies in the U.S. and Europe.

About Lindsay Conover, MSW, LSW

Lindsay Conover, MSW, LSW is an IAC Center Counselor and the Portfolio/Profile Advisor at the IAC Center.  She facilitates ‘What to do During the Wait’ and Domestic Adoption Workshops, and will see IAC Center clients in the Red Bank and Pennington, NJ offices. 

Lindsay earned her Bachelors degree in Social Work from Salisbury University and her Masters degree in Social Work from Monmouth University.  She interned at an adoption agency which facilitated older child adoptions from the foster care system and then worked for a private adoption agency where she helped families prepare for and accomplish both international and domestic adoptions. Lindsay has extensive experience in pre-adoptive parent and birthparent counseling; domestic adoption placement; post-placement counseling and visitation with both adoptive and birth parents. Her unique combination of experience counseling both birth and adoptive parents gives her added insight into the important and often delicate relationship between both sets of parents before, during and after the adoption. 

About Bridget Devine, MSW, LSW

Bridget Devine, MSW, LSW is an IAC Center Counselor who provides individual, family, and group counseling; and facilitates our Older Child Adoption and WISE Up Workshops. She will see IAC Center clients in Montclair, NJ and NYC offices.

From 2003-2008, Bridget worked as a Clinical Social Worker at an international and domestic adoption agency. She prepared couples and singles to become adoptive parents, facilitated their home study process and provided counseling once the children were home. She also provided counseling to birth parents. In addition, she has experience working with the families of children with developmental delays, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues; as well as teenagers. Bridget graduated from New York University School of Social Work in 1987 and received a Post Graduate Certificate in Adoption Therapy from Hunter College School of Social Work in June 2009. Drawing upon her hands-on adoption experience and her adoption counseling experience with children, teens and adults, Bridget brings both strong counseling skills and particular insights into the life cycle issues in adoption to her work.

About Jennifer Gamper Meenan, RN, BSN, MSW, LCSW

Jennifer Gamper-Meenan, BSN, LCSW is an IAC Center Counselor and facilitates the IAC Center Workshop Baby Care for Adoptive Parents.  She has a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Villanova University and a Master's of Social Work from Columbia University.  Jennifer has worked as a pediatric nurse at St. Barnabas Medical Center, a nurse coordinator at St. Barnabas Medical Center for Reproductive Medicine (now IRMS) and a social worker in the Complementary Care Program at RMA of New NJ.

Jennifer brings a unique combination of experience in nursing, social work, infertility and adoption to her work at the IAC Center. She currently sees IAC Center Clients in the Summit, New Jersey office. 

Articles: “Baby Care for Adoptive Parents”  

About Jane Cramer, MSW

Jane Cramer, LSW is an IAC Center Counselor with extensive experience in International adoption, Foster Care and Foster to Adoption Situations. 

She facilitates IAC Center’s Baby Care for International Adoptive Parents and our version of the WISE Up workshop.  Jane worked for an Adoption Agency where she provided pre-adoption training to over 500 families and assisted hundreds of families to complete adoptions internationally and through the foster care system.  She has traveled to several Asian countries to visit children living in orphanages, and currently works within the Pennsylvania foster care system. Jane understands the joys and challenges of adopting children through these systems.  As a trainer and a workshop facilitator, she is known for her breadth of knowledge, translation of complex issues and sense of humor. 

Articles:

An International Adoption Primer - Jane Cramer, MSW

Becoming a "Public Family" - Jane Cramer, MSW

About Linda Weber, MSW, LCSW

Linda B. Weber, LCSW, is an IAC Center Counselor and works in our Princeton, NJ office.   She has been working with couples, individuals, and families since 2001.  Linda has a Masters in Social Work from Bryn Mawr College and is a certified Imago Relationship therapist.  This approach helps people to understand the unconscious factors (the Imago) in their selection of each other. It reveals the emotional dynamics that are being replayed from childhood. And it teaches couples how to relate to each other, and themselves, in a more nurturing, loving way.

Linda has a passion for working with her clients to increase their ability to make choices that enable them to live life fully, and effectively deal with challenging situations that may arise.  She brings 20 years of professional sales training and business consulting to her clinical work.

About Tucker

Tucker is the IAC Center Therapy Dog.  He attends many sessions at the Pennington office and can be counted on to provide warmth, comfort and at times, comic relief.  He sincerely enjoys his work and has many appreciative fans.