Safe Pathways Counseling Inc - Meet The Team

Safe Pathways Counseling Inc.

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Healing l Growth l Empowerment l Change l Wellness

Denise Mengak L.C.S.W.

"My faith and passion intertwine.”

As an adolescent, Denise Mengak was drawn to the mission of Covenant House which served abandoned youth living on the streets of New York. “They defined themselves as throw aways. I felt the value of each life and knew that beneath their brokenness were gifts yet undiscovered, waiting to be expressed in this world.”

Denise pursued a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Roberts Wesleyan College, followed by a Masters degree in Social Work from Marywood College. She began her 35-year career with Catholic Social Services of the Wyoming Valley as a forensic drug and alcohol treatment specialist. The field of addictions was advancing into the treatment of families and Adult Children of Alcoholics. This led Denise to transfer to the agency’s Adult & Family Counseling Program where she functioned as a therapist, and later, as Clinical Supervisor. In this role, Denise supervised the agency’s licensed Adoption Program and received training through participation in the Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption Network. She coordinated the agency’s contract with the Pennsylvania

Department of Public Welfare’s Alternative to Abortion Services Program, and collaborated with the staff of The Ark Learning Center to implement the First Steps Pregnancy and Parenting Mentoring Program. Denise’s professional development expanded into the treatment of trauma, eating disorders, and disenfranchised grief. She facilitated the agency’s Suicide Bereavement Support Group and brought their resources to the local American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s annual “Out of the Darkness Walk”. She later served on the board of the Greater Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter of AFSP and was privileged to speak on suicide bereavement, and present the teen suicide prevention curriculum, “More Than Sad” to schools and youth groups. Having witnessed clients suffering post-abortion trauma decades after a procedure, Denise advocated for, and began facilitating Rachel’s Vineyard Post-Abortion Healing Retreats within the Diocese of Scranton. With an understanding of process addictions,Denise was trained by national expert, Terrance Shulman, on the treatment of compulsive shoplifting. She incorporated the evidenced-based programs of the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention into a Shoplifting Alternative Sentencing Program, and now continues to collaborate with Luzerne County Specialty Mental Health Court. She has authored agency policy and outcome measurement tools in compliance with the national Council on Accreditation of Services for Children and Families. Denise has conducted professional training on the local, state and national level, and provided professional testimony in the Luzerne County court system.

Denise finds solace in nature, comfort in family and animals, sings from the depth of her soul, and is ever grateful for renewal in her Creator’s Presence.

My patients can join with me here for a secure video call: https://doxy.me/denisemengak. Use a computer or device with a good internet connection and webcam. If you run into issues connecting, restart your computer or Click Here to check out the help page.

Paulette D. Day M.A., Licensed Psychologist, L.P.C.

Paulette D. Day has been in practice as a Psychologist since 1989. She is a 1985 graduate of Marywood University where she earned her Master’s Degree in Psychology. She minored in Art Therapy on a graduate level and studied both fine and commercial arts during her Undergraduate training. She became licensed as a Pennsylvania Psychologist in 1989 and in 2017 added the Licensed Professional Counselor credential. Paulette has also been an active board member with the Sexual Offender’s Assessment Board conducting Sexually Violent Predator Assessments and Risk Assessments since it’s inception within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1998.

From 1985 – 2018, Paulette was employed by Catholic Social Services in Wilkes Barre, Pa. as a Psychologist and Clinical Supervisor of the Drug/Alcohol Program and was active in the Luzerne County Drug Treatment Court for many years as well. In addition, she has been an independent practitioner in several group practices in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties where she engaged in general psychology and supervision of license eligible counselors.

Paulette’s treatment specialties include trauma focused treatment, forensics, substance abuse, LGBTQ issues, anxiety and depression. She also has special interest in health psychology and expressive arts therapy.

My patients can join with me here for a secure video call: https://doxy.me/paulettedaylicensedpsychologist. Use a computer or device with a good internet connection and webcam. If you run into issues connecting, restart your computer or Click Here to check out the help page.

Scott Preisel Psychotherapist

Scott Preisel holds a BFA in Applied Media Arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate student in the process of studying towards a Master of Social Work degree. After graduation, he worked as a teacher’s aide, teacher, and therapeutic support staff for students with special needs in school settings. He provided social integration and job coaching in a community-based instruction program, did person-centered planning at individualized education programs, provided therapeutic observation and support, assisted at equine therapy, and was a trainer in Non-violent Crisis Intervention. Scott worked with students in programs to address intellectual disability, provide behavioral intervention for emotional disturbances, cope with learning disability/ADHD, and provide Autism/Aspergers Spectum Disorder support.

In western PA, Scott also worked in an adult residential behavioral health center where he received trainings in confidentiality, conflict management, crisis intervention, stabilization, behavioral support, medication administration, and documentation.

After a move to the NEPA area, Scott became an intervention coordinator in the HIV prevention field. As a certified instructor trainer, he provided statewide educational programs for hospitals, behavioral facilities addressing addiction, businesses and community based organizations, as well as universities and high schools. Scott did behavioral intervention through harm-reduction-based outreach to groups of women at risk, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and the homeless.

Scott was also certified in the Office or Performance Review Protocol as a federal grant consultant for HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Scott continued his prevention work in the HIV field at Caring Communities. As Agency Program Manager, he also provided counseling/testing and oversight of case management services, assisting to address stigma and disclosure. Scott was certified through the PA Department of Heath, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the following: Prevention Counseling, Mental Health and Chemical Dependency, Sexual Identity, Orientation, and Expression, Patient Care, Prevention for HIV Positives, Risk Reduction Strategies, Stigma, Building Facilitation Skills, and Culture, Diversity, and Immigration Challenges.

Scott received intensive training from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in three of their Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions: RESPECT Effective Individual Client-focused Counseling, Healthy Relationships Group Intervention, and Popular Opinion Leader Community Level Intervention.

Scott has been a presenter at the PA Annual Conference for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Geisinger Bloomsburg Strategies for Helping Professionals Conference, the R. Benjamin Wiley Harrisburg Partnership Program, Pike County AIDS Awareness Conference, the PA Department of Health Community Health Nurse Annual Conference, the Marywood University School of Social Work Conference, Recognizing Therapeutic Treatments for Mental Illness Program, and the Child Advocacy Committee Annual Seminar.

Scott moved to working at Geisinger Bloomsburg Psychiatric Behavioral Unit as a Mental Health Tech to increase his counseling exposure and experience. He was trained in Psychiatric Emergency Assistance Training. Under supervision, he provided supportive counseling to patients working towards their goals, followed treatment plans, mediated family sessions, and led coping-skill educational groups. Scott assisted those with addiction issues to alcohol, opioids, and other drugs, and with disorders including: anxiety, depression, Bipolar, eating, trauma and PTSD, dissociative, somatic, conduct, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive, personality, and ADHD. Scott was regularly assigned patients who were male survivors of sexual abuse because of his compassionate support and guidance through their trauma.

Scott was president of Pride of NEPA for many years, providing social support and positive visibility to the LGBTQI community. He has also served on the Bloomsburg University Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Commission, the Michael Pierson Project, and the Rainbow Alliance. Scott remains passionate about supporting each person in finding their individual path to self-expression.

Scott currently works part-time at Columbia County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, which provides free healthcare to the uninsured.

Scott gratefully credits a therapist in his past with guiding him as he worked to develop the ability to be more resilient. This skill set has served him well to overcome life's challenges, to keep hope in tough situations, and to engage in continuous personal growth. She set him on this path, and he follows the Arabian proverb: “Because I have been athirst in the desert, I will dig a well so that others may drink.”

Scott utilizes a lifelong connection to the outdoors to help him maintain balance. He believes the natural world provides proof that we are all related.

My patients can join with me here for a secure video call: https://doxy.me/cornerstonescott Use a computer or device with a good internet connection and webcam. If you run into issues connecting, restart your computer or Click Here to check out the help page.

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