Founders
New York Roots and Shared Vision
Dr. Hersha Diaz and Dr. Harrald Magny, both native New Yorkers, have long shared a commitment to their city and its vibrant, diverse population. Their journeys through the educational and professional systems of New York equipped them with a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by those seeking to improve their lives, families, careers and communities.
Commitment to Cultural and Personal Wellbeing
As friends and colleagues, they are united by a shared mission: to provide clinicians and clients with a therapeutic experience that prioritizes empowerment through embracing identity, culture, and connection. Whether it be for someone looking for a black therapist, or Spanish speaking therapist or a therapist for family issues including relationship therapy. They recognize that each individual’s background and personal history play a crucial role in their mental health and overall life satisfaction.
Impact on New York City’s Diverse Community
Through their work, Dr. Diaz and Dr. Magny aim to make a positive impact on the individuals, children and families of New York City’s diverse community. Their efforts not only support individual wellbeing but also strengthen the social fabric of the city they love.
Together, Dr. Hersha Diaz and Dr. Harrald Magny continue to champion a vision of mental health therapy that is as dynamic and multifaceted as New York City itself.
Kayla Wong, Ph.D.
Dr. Kayla Wong (she, her, hers) is a school and counseling psychologist. She completed her Ph.D. in School Psychology at Fordham University. She has extensive training and experience servicing K-12 and college student populations from diverse backgrounds, providing academic and therapeutic assessments, interventions, and counseling. She recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Barnard College’s Furman Counseling Center where she provided individual and group counseling, risk-based assessment, crisis support, and psychoeducational and wellness trainings. Additionally, she completed her M.S. Ed in Therapeutic Interventions at Fordham University and her B.A. in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Wong is passionate about mental wellness and healing. Her psychotherapy lens incorporates a psychodynamic and social justice framework. Utilizing integrative interventions like CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and psychodynamic therapy, she creates an affirming and authentic therapeutic space for clients. Adapting her clinical approach to meet the needs, strengths, and goals of her clients, she aspires to empower clients and nurture increased self-compassion.
Dr. Wong facilitates therapy for a range of concerns that include adjustments and transitions, academic distress, anxiety, relationship and family distress, body image and eating concerns, grief and loss, depression, and climate and pandemic related distress.
Dr. Wong has special interests in identity development, navigating privilege and systems of oppression, decolonizing psychology, and understanding and healing from racial microaggressions and oppressive experiences. Her hobbies include nature walks with her daughter, reading, yoga, and spending time with her friends and family.
Jennifer Pereira, Psy.D.
Dr. Jennifer Pereira is a bilingual (Spanish/English) psychologist with over 15 years of experience in working with children, adolescents, and families as a school psychologist with the NYC Department of Education. She earned a master’s degree in School Psychology from Long Island University and went on to receive her doctoral degree from the Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University.
Jennifer takes an integrative and holistic approach, in which she considers each person’s unique history and subjectivity. She sees psychotherapy as a container for genuine connection, vulnerability, and trust that serves as a vehicle for profound growth and healing. As a therapist, she seeks to embark on a collaborative journey to help people understand themselves more fully and create meaning from their experience. Dr. Pereira recognizes every human being’s need to feel truly seen in all of our humanity. She is especially interested in the effects of intergenerational, collective, developmental, relational, and racial trauma.
Jennifer firmly believes that compassion is a powerful force in confronting the shame that trauma creates and that through self-compassion these shamed, disavowed parts of ourselves can become integrated, promoting increased self-acceptance and well-being. She strives to facilitate others to tap into the unique strengths they each bring, with the vision of embodying a felt sense of safety, peace, and vitality, and of giving voice to their most authentic desires.
Julian Matra Psy.D.
Dr. Julian Matra (he/him) is a postdoctoral clinical psychologist at IPWC providing evidence-based therapy to individuals across all stages of life with a particular focus on adolescents, emerging adults, families, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ clients. His practice encompasses a broad range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship challenges. Dr. Matra has a strong commitment to working with underserved populations, emphasizing the importance of culturally sensitive care.
Dr. Matra prioritizes the development of a strong, trusting relationship with his clients. He integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and psychodynamic approaches to help clients navigate their current emotional experiences, challenge unhelpful thought patterns, and build healthier coping mechanisms. He believes in the power of therapy to uncover and heal past wounds that may stem from childhood, allowing for lasting change and personal growth.
Dr. Matra earned his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, where he provided care to a diverse and underserved population, including individuals facing severe mental health challenges and complex trauma. In addition, Dr. Matra has worked in the Sexual and Gender Identities Clinic at the Gronowski Center where he received specialized training in working with LGBTQIA+ clients, addressing the unique struggles faced by this population. His research throughout graduate school focused on suicide prevention, particularly looking at interventions aimed at supporting Black adolescents.
When he’s not seeing clients, Dr. Matra likes to spend time exploring the city, developing photos in the darkroom, or planning for the next D&D session.
Zomorah Kennedy Ph.D.
Understanding the emotions and actions of ourselves and others is challenging in a complex world. With my experience, I have helped numerous clients recognize and understand their own feelings and behavior, as well as those of others. This has enabled clients to strengthen their relationships with others and live a more fulfilling quality of life.
My clinical experience includes working with clients from Multicultural and neurodiverse backgrounds. A cornerstone of my practice is an integrative, client-centered approach that empowers individuals to take control of their emotional well-being. This unique approach allows me to utilize various clinical approaches, including Solution-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to guide clients toward positive changes and improved emotional health based on their unique needs.
Consultation, assessment, and treatment approaches stem from an understanding of the unique experiences many social and cultural ethnic groups encounter throughout their lifespan.
Social, educational, and cultural differences experienced throughout generations by people of various cultures has a genetic impact and predisposition to medical, physical, mental, emotional and behavioral responses.
In addition, systemic inequities that have been rooted in both conscious and unconscious bias throughout the systems in place meant to provide health, education, and social services continue to deeply impact many people’s ability to thrive in society.
IPWC strives to continually understand the layered and nuanced challenges one faces each day and works to provide clients with the support and skills necessary to thrive in today’s society by developing insight, processing trauma and learning new ways to cope in order to improve one’s quality of life.