About
Luna Behavioral Health Center is committed to serving the mental health needs of our community by offering a comprehensive range of services. All services are provided in English and Spanish within a culturally sensitive framework respecting all ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities. Evidenced based treatments, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy are tailored to address the needs of the patients, families and/or couples being served.
Luna Behavioral Health Center is currently staffed by Magdalena Perez, PhD and Michelle Diaz, LCPC. Dr. Perez and Mrs. Diaz, native Elginites, purposely founded this center in their hometown to serve the community that enriched their lives with so many different opportunities and experiences.
Luna Behavioral Health Center resides within the Elgin Professional Building, which is located in downtown Elgin. There is ample parking in front of the building or a half block away at a public parking lot in front of the post office.
Elgin Professional Building
164 Division St.
Suite 607
Elgin, IL 60120
Luna Behavioral Health Center is currently an in-network provider with
- Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO
- United Health Care
- Agenta
- Cigna
Luna Behavioral Health Center is also an out-of-network provider for other PPO plans. If Luna Behavioral Health Center does not accept your insurance, it can provide you with a monthly invoice for your sessions, which can be submitted for out-of-network reimbursement from your insurance company. Luna Behavioral Health Center recommends you contact your insurance company regarding your out-of-network benefits before scheduling your first session. Luna Behavioral Health Center can provide a step-by-step form to facilitate this process. Luna Behavioral Health Center also accepts private pay for its sessions.
Services
Luna Behavioral Health Center offers a comprehensive range of mental health services. All services are provided in English and Spanish. Evidenced based treatments, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, are tailored to address the needs of the patients, families and/or couples. Luna Behavioral Health Center services include:
- Academic struggles (i.e., school resistance, behavioral issues at school)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Emotional Dysregulation
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Self-Esteem/worth Challenges
- Intergenerational/intercultural identity challenges
- Stress management
- Work performance struggles
- Identity Struggles
- Codependency Struggles
- LGBTQIA Struggles
- Divorce
- Sexual Assault
- Domestic Violence
- Socialization Struggles
- Addiction
- Grief Counseling
- Chronic Illness Counseling
- Communication skills
- Development of trust and connectedness
- Parenting Education
- De-escalating conflict
- Intercultural/intergenerational conflict
- Problem-Solving
- Building family routines
- Caregiver burden
- Enhancing emotional intimacy
- Sexual Issues
- Transition to parenthood
- Premarital Counseling
- Divorce
- Co-Parenting after divorce
- Blended Family
Las Lunitas - An Empowerment Group--Recruiting!
Luna Behavioral Health Center offers a free support group titled “Las Lunitas – An Empowerment Group.” La Lunitas is offered to self-identified Latina adolescents between the ages of 13 to 18. Las Lunitas aims to provide a non-judgmental, safe place for Latinas to explore, process, and cope with stressors from home, school, and friends. Latina adolescents often report higher levels of emotional distress compared to other youth. Research indicates that, unlike other youth, Latina adolescents must often navigate the acculturation differences between themselves and their caregivers and/or their social circles (i.e., friends and teachers). Las Lunitas offers a safe place to speak about these challenges and find healthy ways to cope with them.
Las Lunitas-An Empowerment Group is offered at no cost. The group meets weekly on Mondays from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Each session will review a coping strategy followed by an open forum to process any topics introduced by the group members. The group also provides members with culturally enriched experiences such as visiting museums, touring college campuses, or attending an artistic event. New members are always allowed to join if space permits. If you are interested in learning more about Las Lunitas – An Empowerment Group – please get in touch with us at info@lunabehavioral.com.
Staff
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Magdalena Perez, PhD
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Michelle Diaz, MS, LCPC, NCC
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Melina Pantoja, LCSW
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Veronica Frias, MSW
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Voichita Moldovan, MA
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Olivia Tamayo, MS, LSW
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Maria Valdez, LCPC
About
Dr. Magdalena Perez is a first generation Mexican-American who was raised in Elgin by her grandparents. She is a graduate of Elgin High School and remains committed to her community. She is a mother of two rambunctious daughters who constantly remind her that we are never done growing up. In her leisure time, Dr. Perez enjoys taking her two daughters on adventures and exploring the world through their eyes. She is also passionate about running, boxing and kickboxing—all which help her stay grounded and healthy.
Experience
Dr. Perez is a bilingual English-Spanish licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Perez received an undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Chicago and her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Perez has received extensive training on providing culturally sensitive treatments and has done extensive research on Latinx mental health issues. Dr. Perez has over 15 years’ experience treating children, families and couples. She has treated a broad range of issues including anxiety, depression, child behavior disorders, ADHD, family conflict, marital distress, etc. Her area of expertise is treating post-traumatic stress disorder, helping countless individuals and families heal from their traumatic event. In addition, as a fluent Spanish speaker, Dr. Perez has expertise working with Spanish speaking populations and providing them with linguistically and culturally sensitive treatments.
Dr. Perez’s therapeutic style is warm, non-judgmental and transparent. She believes it is an honor to work with her clients and navigate through the heartaches of life.
In addition to working at Luna Behavioral Health Center, Dr. Perez is a Lead Clinical Scientist at a Contract Research Organization that provides services to pharmaceutical companies to create new medicine in psychiatry. Dr. Perez has worked on numerous clinical trials including Alzheimer’s disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome and Bipolar Disorder.
About
Mrs. Michelle Diaz was born and raised in the city of Elgin. She attended and graduated from Elgin High School and is a proud Maroon! She is a mother of a beautiful baby girl and a wife to her husband of 2 years. They both are her motivation and encouragement to be the best version of herself. Family is very important to Mrs. Diaz and she believes family helped her to achieve personal and professional success. She often spends weekends with her family. During her free time, you can find her walking, hiking, at a family cookout, or starting a new craft project.
Experience
Mrs. Diaz is an experienced bilingual, English-Spanish speaking, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Human Development from Rockford University and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health from Eastern Illinois University. During her graduate career, Mrs. Diaz completed intensive internships at various locations including: The Winnebago County Adult Probation Department, The Center for Youth and Family Solutions, The Pavilion Behavioral Health and The University of Illinois. These experiences have provided her with a well-rounded education and the experience to work across many different settings, individuals and presenting concerns.
Mrs. Diaz draws from various evidenced based approaches such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Humanistic-Existential Therapy. She believes that it is important to recognize that everyone is different. Thus, it is important to use a personalized integrative therapy approach to assist clients in reaching a higher level of emotional and mental health functioning and fulfillment.
Mrs. Diaz enjoys working with individuals who are willing to make a commitment to themselves, address personal struggles/obstacles to reach self-actualization. She encourages a collaborative atmosphere to promote an individual's empowerment by focusing on their strengths and internal motivations.
About
Ms. Pantoja is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who did their best to instill their culture, language, and faith. She was born and raised in Elgin where she continues to reside along with her husband and two young children. Her community is a strong piece of her identity as Elgin allotted her the opportunities to grow and foster a desire to give back to her hometown. She is a social worker to her core and often finding ways of contributing to her community whether it is coaching her son’s t-ball team or being a listening ear to her neighbors. Parenting her son and daughter has become Ms. Pantoja’s favorite job and is often exploring new ways to strengthen and improve her parenting abilities.
Experience
Ms. Pantoja is a bilingual English-Spanish licensed clinical social worker. She earned her bachelor and master degrees in social work from Loyola University Chicago. Her social work career began while working as a bilingual case manager at the Community Crisis Center. After obtaining her graduate degree she became an intact family case worker for Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). She assisted families with arranging support services while mitigating child safety issues. After numerous years of case work, she became a children protection specialist or investigator at DCFS. As an investigator, Ms. Pantoja completed a forty-hour forensic interview training and conducted child sensitive interviews while collaborating with the Kane County Child Advocacy Center. Ms. Pantoja is most experienced in providing parenting education, domestic violence therapy and working within family systems.
In addition to working at Luna Behavioral Health Center, Ms. Pantoja is a school social worker with district U-46.
About
Veronica Frias is a first generation Mexican and Colombian-American born and raised in Chicago, IL. She recently adopted two guinea pigs, Peanut and Brownie and has a black Labrador named Leah. During her free time, Veronica enjoys trying out new cosmetics and coffee shops, decorating her home and watching documentaries. Veronica was introduced to social services at an early age as she shadowed her mom, a former WIC nutritionist during the summers. She acknowledges her upbringing to lead her into her current career in Social Work and therapy.
Experience
Veronica is a bilingual English-Spanish Master of Social Work clinician. She attended Northeastern Illinois University for her undergraduate degree in Social Work and completed her Master of Social Work concentrating on mental health from Loyola University Chicago. Veronica has extensive training and experience in working with prenatal/post-natal moms, maternal depression and early childhood development. She has experience in working with Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, educational concerns, relationship conflict and self-esteem conflict. In addition, Veronica has 5 years of previous work experience with the DuPage and Kane County social services and child welfare systems and is certified in working with domestic violence.
Veronica uses Solution Focused Interventions, motivational interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She enjoys working with individuals to help them remove the obstacles blocking their path so they can move towards growth and freedom.
About
Voichita Moldovan is of Romanian descent. She speaks both English and Romanian. She values family and those closest to her and enjoys traveling. She is someone that believes that hard work and dedication can help one achieve desired goals and outcomes.
Experience
Voichita received her master's degree from Judson University with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Previous to her master's degree, Voichita obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Legal studies from the University of Vasile Goldis, In Arad, Romania. She works with an Eclectic framework grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and is goal-oriented in her work. Voichita has worked with adults, adolescents, young adults, and children. Due to personal and past experiences, Voichita developed a passion in working with men, women, and families that have dealt with and continue to deal with issues of social migration, acclimation, adaptation, and other related hardships. She strives to be an agent of change in her profession and in the lives of those that she works with.
About
Ms. Tamayo is a Master Social Worker who is bilingual in English and Spanish. She is Ms. Tamayo earned both her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work degrees with a fellowship in Trauma Behavioral Health from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. After graduating from college, she was able to gain experience in crisis management, teaching life skills to adolescents and young adults with learning disabilities, and working with children and families within the immigration system. Ms. Tamayo’s experience varies from working with adults in a solution-focused approach to adolescents who are struggling to manage their depression and anxiety symptoms.
Experience
Ms. Tamayo uses a person-centered approach to therapy; this allows her to meet each client where they are at in their mental health and focus on everyone’s individual mental health needs. She enjoys watching her clients grow in their mental health journey and acknowledges all accomplishments, big or small along with providing the tools to help clients manage their mental health.
About
Maria Valdez, a native of Mexico who immigrated to the United States with her family at a young age, embodies the values of hard work, education, and loyalty instilled in her by her close-knit family. Raised in an environment that emphasized the importance of making a difference in the lives of others, Maria developed a deep curiosity for learning, leading her to pursue a career in psychology and the helping profession. Outside of her professional endeavors, Maria finds joy in spending time with her family both locally and in her native country, Mexico. She also enjoys activities such as jogging, hiking, music, movies, and relaxing in nature.
Experience
Maria Valdez holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and Spanish from Augustana College. She furthered her education at Northern Illinois University, earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology. Maria embarked on her career in 1999 in community mental health, where she gained extensive experience working with diverse clients and addressing various issues. Her expertise extends to assisting clients in psychiatric hospital units, aiding them in achieving stability and improving their level of functioning. For the past 17 years, Maria has dedicated herself to private practice, honing her skills and providing tailored support to her clients.
Maria is an English-Spanish bilingual therapist. She specializes in fostering a safe and trusting therapeutic environment where clients feel comfortable sharing their struggles and obstacles, with the goal of enhancing their quality of life and relationships. Drawing from a diverse range of interventions, Maria tailors her approach to optimize client growth and change. With experience in individual, couples, family, and group therapy, she addresses various issues including mood disorders, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, marital and family issues, and trauma. Maria’s genuine curiosity about her clients’ life stories, coupled with her warm personality, sense of humor, and extensive experience, guides her in facilitating meaningful change and growth in her clients’ lives.
Contact
If you are interested in learning more about services offered at Luna Behavioral Health Center, you can call us at 847-217-9797 or send us a message online by completing the form below. Luna Behavioral Health Center therapists offer a free 15 minute initial phone consultation.