Our Team

Specializing in perinatal mental health, fertility, and women’s wellness.

I’m Dr. Kristina Vande Vrede, a clinical psychologist passionate about advancing maternal mental health. I earned my PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in New York, and I bring over a decade of experience to my work. As a psychologist, supervisor, and practice owner based in New Jersey, I specialize in women’s health and received my PMH-C certification from PSI in 2021. My clinical focus includes perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, fetal loss and stillbirth, traumatic reproductive medical experiences (TRMR), fertility complications, and dyad therapy supporting mother-baby attachment.

In addition to my clinical work, I’ve served as a Clinical Supervisor and consultant for outpatient agencies, graduate schools, and local churches. These roles have allowed me to help improve outreach and clinical service delivery, something I find deeply fulfilling.

Outside the therapy room, I’m committed to giving back to my community, whether it’s through volunteering at my church or expressing myself through piano. I also prioritize staying on top of emerging practices in psychology by actively participating in specialized trainings and workshops. My goal is to always provide the highest quality care in the ever-evolving landscape of clinical and perinatal mental health.

Specializing in trauma, mind-body wellness, and family systems therapy.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who believes in the potential of psychotherapy to facilitate life altering change. On a very primal level, we human beings thrive on the authentic, consistent care and concern of others, and them for us.

While attending high school, I worked part-time as a nursing assistant with the elderly. I so enjoyed interacting with patients and listening to their rich narratives of how they faced life’s challenges. These experiences led me to pursue an education to become a Registered Nurse. My early career experience illuminated the patterns of mind-body connections and their effects on mood, wellness, and disease. I believed in the interconnectedness of emotional, physical, behavioral, cognitive, and developmental impacts on human life prior to the evidence provided by the neuroscience and neuropsychology fields over recent decades. 

My growing awareness of people’s desires to tell their stories began to crystallize. Hearing people of all ages struggling to overcome life’s difficult and painful experiences prompted me to pursue additional coursework in Psychology. I pursued a graduate degree in Social Work from Fordham University with a clinical focus on children and their families before collaborating with survivors of domestic violence and their children. I have taken continuing education coursework in the acute and long -term effects of trauma on children and adults. I have practiced an eclectic mix of therapeutic and psycho-educational group work with adolescents and adults, utilized Ego Psychology, Trauma focused EMDR therapy, Cognitive Behavioral and Family Therapy modalities to address clients’ specific needs. I have also practiced social casework to consider the person in their overall environment to identify what additional resources are available to assist them. I highly value the Genogram family history interview and assessment as a tool to identify a family’s psychological, behavioral, and physical health patterns with a dialectical approach. 

This work is more fulfilling for me than I ever imagined. The links of mind-body effects are more researched and there is more evidence than ever before of physical and psychological. Additionally, there are more tools for people to utilize on their own outside of therapy that I happily share. I am thankful and honored to be able to accompany people for a short while on their life journeys.

Specializing in anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and family conflict

I am a Licensed Associate Counselor who specializes in anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and spirituality. I obtained a Bachelor of Science concentrated in Clinical and Behavioral Health, a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health, and a minor in Philosophy from Lehigh University. My time in undergraduate oriented me towards focusing on how as relational beings, we are shaped by our earliest attachments and sustained by the connections we form throughout our lives. Through hands-on research, clinical experience, and delving into existing literature, I work from the theory that when these relationships are impacted by past wounds or unresolved experiences, we can find ourselves feeling stuck, disconnected, or weighed down by patterns that no longer serve us. Most often these patterns manifest as anxiety and depression and by treating the wound at the root of it all, I believe this approach can offer true healing.

During my time at New York University for my graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling and Wellness, I clinically focused on working with children, adolescents, and adults, and I have experience supporting individuals and families impacted by trauma, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. My therapeutic approach is integrative, drawing from attachment and psychodynamic theory and cognitive behavioral therapy to help clients understand how past experiences continue to shape present thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. I believe that the strongholds of the past do not have to be permanent. For clients who desire it, I also offer Christian counseling.

Specializing in anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, grief & loss, and perinatal mental health

I am a Licensed Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. I completed my undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University majoring in Marketing and Philosophy. My clinical experience includes providing counseling, advocacy, and emotional support to a wide range of populations across the lifespan. I strive to create a collaborative and compassionate therapeutic environment where clients feel safe exploring difficult emotions and experiences.

I work with children, adolescents, teens, and adults navigating anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, grief and loss, life transitions, and maternal mental health. I am especially passionate about supporting individuals and families during seasons of change, helping clients build resilience, develop insight, and feel empowered in their healing journey. I believe that healing begins within a strong therapeutic relationship and that each person deserves individualized care that honors their unique story, strengths, and goals.

I take a person-centered approach, tailoring each session to meet your unique needs. I incorporate evidence-based modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, and play therapy techniques when working with children. I am also certified in Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), an evidence-based treatment for OCD, as well as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). My therapeutic style is integrative and collaborative, helping clients better understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors while building practical tools for lasting growth and meaningful change.

Specializing in relationships and couples therapy

I use a unique solution focused, brief approach to help clients build solutions quickly. I have a special expertise in the areas of Love, Marriage, Sexuality, Divorce Prevention, Remarriage, Step Parenting, Child Management, Behavioral Issues, Family Conflict, Depression, Anxiety, Adoption, & Women’s Issues.

In my therapeutic practice I bring a deep sensitivity to my work with women due to my own life experiences in long term marriage as a young adult, infertility and childlessness, separation and divorce, and dating at midlife. I am deeply passionate about her advocacy for women’s growth and development and couple relationships.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a short-term, goal focused, evidence-based therapeutic approach, incorporating positive psychology principles and practices which help promote change by constructing solutions rather than focusing on problems. In the most basic sense, SFBT is a hope friendly, positive emotion eliciting, future-oriented vehicle for formulating, motivating, achieving, and sustaining desired behavioral change.
 

Over the last decade, I have worked in mental health operations, assisting therapists with their administrative tasks so that they can focus on providing therapy to their clients. I truly believe in the importance of good client care, both in and out of the therapy room. I am here to help with any question you may have, whether you are a new client looking to get set up with a new therapist or a current client with an administrative question!