Meet the BPAR Team

BPAR has built a team of mental health professionals who are passionate about our mission. As specially trained adoption competent therapists, we have a unique understanding of how challenges or behaviors may be connected to the adoption experience. We believe the relationship between client and therapist is the most important piece of our therapy, and we will work at your pace, meeting you or your family wherever you are on your adoption journey.

"At BPAR, my children do not need to justify their life. The therapists and staff welcome the complexity of adoption, identity, and loss and walk with my children on their journey to learn, explore, and heal."

—LORI, ADOPTIVE PARENT

"I think it’s about the really thoughtful approach that you take. And I think that this is the first time I’ve ever gone to a place where listening seems to be the first objective. What is really steadfast, honest, clear-sighted, intentional, thoughtful advice and just love towards me sort of rubs off and helps my own development."

—DAN, FOSTER PARENT

Jennifer Eckert, LICSW
Founder, Board Chair

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Founder of BPAR. An adoptee myself, my life turned around when I found a source of specialized post adoption therapeutic support. Inspired by my experience and aware of a shortage of similar resources, in 2003 I returned to school and earned my Masters Degree in Social Work at Simmons College, where I currently serve as a member on their Board of Trustees. I made it my mission to increase awareness of post adoption challenges through education and training, building and offering resources, and providing a safe space for therapeutic support to all those touched by adoption and foster care. After training with adoption and post adoption agencies, in 2012 I founded Boston Post Adoption Resources. I work with adoptees of all ages, adoptive parents, foster parents, and birth parents. My strength-based and person-centered approach stems from my belief that adoptees have the capacity to live healthy and whole lives, with the understanding that challenges may ebb and flow throughout the entire lifespan. I am here to support you as you move through your own unique journey.

Kelly DiBenedetto, LMHC, ATR
Executive Director, Clinician

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Art Therapist and I love the work that I do here as Executive Director, Clinical Director, and clinician at BPAR. I have had the privilege of working with individuals and families touched by adoption since 2011. I have worked in outpatient, milieu and residential settings. I have been the Clinical Director of Boston Post Adoption Resources since February 2014. My specialty is working with children and teens who have experienced trauma, loss, anxiety, and depression as a result of adoption. Many of the clients I work with struggle with impulsive behaviors, emotion regulation, questions or confusion regarding their adoption, or identity and attachment challenges with their primary caregiver. It is extremely important to me to work closely with caregivers and children. I will often provide dyadic therapy to help strengthen their relationship. I have a warm, playful approach and integrate play and art therapy, trauma informed cognitive behavioral therapy, developmental theories, and a variety of other therapeutic approaches into my work. I believe that every client already has the tools and strengths inside of them that they need to live a healthy life. It is my job to help guide, strengthen and reveal these strengths.

Kristen (KC) Craig, LICSW
Clinical Director, Clinician

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. I am passionate about working with children and families, and most of my career I have focused on helping individuals and complex-blended families who are adopted, divorced, experiencing major life changes or have a history of trauma. My work often centers on depression or anxiety related to relationships. Since 2011, I have specialized in working with adopted individuals and families, including identity work around loss and parent consultations. I focus on empowering the family system by incorporating cognitive-behavioral, narrative and solution-based techniques as well as some art and play interventions. I value self-care and meditation. I am EMDR trained, Reiki Level I trained, and completed an MBSR course. I love the way BPAR encourages wellness both for our families and for our staff!

Mirela Caron

Mirela Caron, MA
Clinician

I earned an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University and am working towards LMHC licensure. I have experience providing trauma-informed clinical care for youth in DCF group homes. Additionally, I’ve worked for several years with K-12 students in public and private school systems. I am also part of a Boston Children’s Hospital’s volunteer group that provides clinical consultation to a nonprofit supporting at-risk/abandoned youth and Ukrainian refugees in Romania. My passion for working with individuals touched by foster care and adoption originates from my experience as an international adoptee from Romania. Over the years, I have been fortunate to receive helpful support in navigating the challenges and complexities of adoption. Now, I am grateful to be a part of the BPAR team that offers similar support to others in their unique, lifelong adoption journeys. My therapeutic approach is rooted in the complex trauma framework, Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC). I acknowledge the importance of customizing my collaborative and culturally sensitive treatment to meet individual needs and preferences. Accordingly, I have a holistic treatment style that involves therapeutic modalities, including Play Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Therapy, ABA, CBT, and Animal-Assisted Therapy.

Lisa "LC" Coppola, M.Ed, LMHC, Addictions Specialist, MA PGS
Clinician, Voices Unheard Program Coordinator

I am a licensed mental health counselor with over a decade of expertise counseling adult adoptees and others touched in any way by adoption as well as the experience of addiction and its fallout. I myself am a domestic adoptee through the department of children and family services and before all else, I consider myself an advocate for those relinquished. I believe strongly in the healing power of peer-to-peer connections and work through BPAR to create opportunities for these connections through the Voices Unheard: Real Adoptee Stories speaker series and writing workshops. In 2022 I wrote Voices Unheard: A Reflective Journal for Adult Adoptees, a 52-week journal with prompts based on core themes that emerge in therapy with adult adoptees. I find that writing one’s story and sifting through fears and hopes on paper can be incredibly powerful. My process with clients often involves using a narrative lens combined with Parts theory to help clients work their way through difficult and confusing emotions and memories, to identify common threads throughout their lives, and ultimately to connect to the truth of their uniquely personal stories.

Lillian Hexter

Lillian Hexter, MA
Clinician

I am a masters-level clinician, working toward becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I graduated from Boston College with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling and completed my clinical internship at the Simmons University Counseling Center. Prior to entering the mental health field, I worked as a high school literature teacher in Seoul. I bring my own identity as a Korean transracial adoptee to my therapy work and am passionate about supporting adoptees at all stages of life and identity development. I use a collaborative, trauma-informed, feminist, and relational-cultural approach.

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Madison Janke, LMHC, R-DMT
Clinician

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Dance/Movement Therapist. I have worked in outpatient, therapeutic day schools, milieu and residential settings, utilizing trauma-informed therapy, relational-cultural therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, play therapy, mindfulness, developmental theories, dialectical behavior therapy, group therapy, dance/movement therapy and expressive therapies. I specialize in working with children and teens who are addressing adoption trauma, identity and attachment, emotional regulation, complicated family dynamics, anxiety, loss, depression, and behavioral diagnoses. I am interested in how the body holds memory, history, sensations and experiences and how past and current relationships can shape an individual's identity and contribute towards healing. I use a creative, holistic, and relational approach with my clients to encourage self-discovery and growth. I believe that the clients with whom I work have unique qualities and strengths that they can further develop, refine, and utilize through the therapeutic relationship. I am very excited to join the BPAR team and work with everyone touched by adoption.

 

Darci Nelsen

Darci Nelsen, LMHC, BC-DMT
Clinician

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Dance/Movement Therapist. I graduated from Lesley University in 2013 with a degree in Mental Health Counseling and Dance/Movement Therapy. Currently, I am pursuing further doctoral education in Expressive Therapies. My clinical experience has been focused on supporting children, adolescents, and families within a variety of therapeutic and educational settings. Clients I have worked with struggle with emotional regulation, challenging interpersonal and family dynamics, and have experienced trauma, loss, anxiety, and depression. As an expressive therapist, I use a creative lens in my work with clients, through movement, play, art, and storytelling. My aim is to always work collaboratively with clients to foster self-exploration, and support movement toward deeper connections with self and others.

Seana Peterson

Seana Peterson, LICSW
Clinician

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, and I am thrilled to be joining the BPAR team as a group therapist. I provide therapy that is relational, affirming, and trauma-responsive. My work centers on healing one's relationship with the self, lineage, and community, and is informed by my lived experience as a Black, queer, transracial adoptee. I work intuitively and creatively, weaving together evidence-based approaches (EMDR and IFS), somatic approaches (EFT Tapping), and the cosmic language of astrology and the tarot.

Marta Isabella Sierra, LMHC
Clinician

I am a licensed mental health counselor specializing in Internal Family Systems therapy. I am very passionate about the capacity of IFS to support those touched by adoption help and heal all of their internal parts. As a proud Latina, queer, polyamorous therapist, I bring all of my personal intersectionality as a strength when I work with adoptees. As a transracial and international adoptee, I also have a specific interest in racial identity development for adoptees of color and how that affects overall health and self esteem. I believe community is the medicine, both internal and external, and am honored to be part of this team and create important group spaces for BPAR clients.

Angela Smith LISCW

Angela Smith, LICSW
Clinician

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. I started my journey working with families and children after completing my MSW from New York University in 2015.  I have welcomed the opportunity to work in multiple settings, with clients from all stages of life, providing individual and group therapy as well as advocacy and support to survivors of abuse within the legal and child welfare systems. I specialize in working with children, teens, and adults to address a wide range of issues such as anxiety, parenting skills, depression, life transitions, foster care, adoption, attachment difficulties, relational issues and trauma. In sessions, I utilize a holistic approach which includes a trauma-informed lens, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, as well as systems and structural approaches. I am deeply interested in amplifying the strengths and creativity of each person, and the most rewarding part of my work is the progress I see in my clients.

Alyson Summer Del Castillo

Alyson Summer del Castillo
Clinician

As a lifelong artist, I know the power of the artistic process, and am grateful to be able to bring it into the therapeutic process where it is beneficial to my clients. I have worked in residential, community-based, therapeutic afterschool and summer camp, school, and hospital settings with children and adolescents experiencing behavioral and mental health challenges. I graduated in 2023 with my MA in Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy and am persuing licensure as a Mental Health Counselor. As a neurodivergent, queer, Afro-Latina, I enjoy considering the intersections and complexities in every situation. I am passionate about using my personal and professional experience and a trauma-informed, systems-focused lens to meet clients from all walks of life wherever they are in their journeys.

Carolyn Brazil

Carolyn Brazil
Clinical Intern

Hello, I'm Carolyn Brazil, a Master’s student at Lesley University, specializing in art therapy and counseling in my third year.  I am an adoptee from Nanchang, China and am Ashkenazi Russian Jewish. I have faith in the transformative potential of the arts. I believe that when words fail or escape us, art can become a vehicle to articulate the depths of our inner worlds. My work and research focuses on themes of social justice, career development, Asian hate, trauma healing sounds, and AI’s evolving role in trauma-informed care. In my counseling, I feel passionate about existential thought, psychoeducation for decision-making and self-awareness, and humanism, and I enjoy providing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills to help empower clients. I customize my approach to each client, tailoring it to the unique needs and preferences of the adoptee, and integrating principles that align with their specific goals and experiences. I aim to guide adoptees with the skills and awareness to navigate their unique life journeys with confidence and resilience, cultivating a sense of belonging and fulfillment through self-discovery.

Sahita Pierre-Antoine

Sahita Pierre-Antoine
Clinical Intern

I am pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and dance/movement therapy, and I am happy to join the BPAR team as a clinical intern. Prior to BPAR, I worked as a counseling intern at an agency providing wraparound services to survivors of domestic and interpersonal violence, where I offered multilingual services in English, Spanish, and Haitian Kreyol. I also have many years of experience in the nonprofit and international development sector, where I contributed to the implementation of projects in Haiti aiming to reduce violence against women and increase survivors’ access to justice. Along with my professional experience, my personal experience as a Black Haitian immigrant woman plays a big part in my approach to counseling. I am curious about the different ways in which I exist in the world, and I am holding the same spirit of curiosity and exploration for and with my clients. I am excited to share my love of dance and movement, nature, and fiber arts with clients and the BPAR team, and I am looking forward to co-creating spaces where we can explore themes of trauma, loss and grief, identity, and multicultural and intercultural experiences.

Erica Kramer, MSW
Operations and Intake Director

I am so excited to work with this incredible group of  BPAR clinicians to help further our mission and support all members of the adoption constellation. Many years ago, I earned my Masters in Social Work and for 15 years I worked as licensed therapist, supervisor and Clinical Director within the trauma field. After my third child was born, I left the work world to take care of my wonderful children. Recently, my youngest child started college, and I am so happy to re-enter the work world again. At BPAR, I am responsible for intakes and operations - this covers a variety of areas including billing, social media, blogs, and intakes. I am available to answer any questions you might have about our services.

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Larry Kramer, MBA
Outsourced CFO

I began my role as BPAR’s outsourced CFO on Day #1 in summer 2012. With over 35 years of finance, accounting, and operations experience, I serve this organization as well as a dozen other for-profit, venture firm, and non-profit clients in my role as a Managing Partner at Foundation Management Associates. My philanthropic interests include fundraising for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the Pediatric IBD Foundation, Walks for Hunger, and various pediatric cancer causes. Since 2009 I have raised over $2 million through my three Boston-area cover bands. I also served on Boston’s Chapter Board of Financial Executives International and ran the organization's Career Services and Career Planning Committee.

Lucy Davis, MBA

Lucy Davis, MBA
Director of Marketing & Communications

I’m the lucky one who gets to shine a spotlight on all the amazing work performed by the BPAR team. On an outsourced basis, I help develop educational content and find creative ways to connect the adoption constellation to BPAR’s resources and to attract prospective donors. I grew up on a block with nine adoptive families. Yes—nine! Whether I’m designing a new feature for the BPAR.org website or compiling a book about post adoption mental health, I can’t help but wish that I could take BPAR back with me in a time machine to help my friends and their families. My background includes corporate advertising and communications; digital content marketing; author services; and non-profit leadership and fundraising.

Mr Roger Therapy Dog

Mr. Roger
Therapy Dog

My name is Mr. Roger, but feel free to call me Roge. I was trained as a service dog at The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey. I’m partial to cable knit sweaters, and I get along with every kind of animal you can imagine—cats, birds, you name it. But I especially love people. I’m affectionate, gentle, caring, compassionate, and I’m a really good listener.

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Loki
Therapy Dog

My name is Loki, I am a Shiba Inu. I have lived in Seattle, Washington and Cali, Colombia, and am excited to come to work with my mom, Marta, here at BPAR. I love people and am very comfortable with lots of big emotions. Whether you need space or comfort, I am here to offer love.

"BPAR holds a very special place in my heart because of staff who go above and beyond in making sure that their clients feel comfortable and cared for."

—ADULT ADOPTEE CLIENT

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