Gordon Gooding LCSW, ACSW
Director / Founder / Psychotherapist
Meet Gordon
I know from my own experience that struggles and challenges can threaten to overwhelm us, making us feel frightened, alone, and unsure of our ability to manage them. When I faced those challenges myself, I was grateful for both the help I received and the insight I gained from it. That experience shapes how I show up for clients, and how I built Gooding Wellness Group.
I began working in the public school system in 1995 and spent my entire career as a school-based social worker here on Long Island, working with students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Some of my earliest and most formative years in this field were spent with the youngest children just beginning to make sense of the world around them. Sitting with them, session after session, taught me something no textbook could: how deeply childhood shapes the rest of a person's life. That understanding has stayed with me, and it still sits underneath every trauma case I take on today, no matter how old the client sitting across from me is.
What those years taught me is this: when schools, families, and communities get the right support, not just any support, we can make a significant difference in the lives of students and families academically, socially, emotionally, and in their relationships. That belief still drives how I practice today, both privately and in schools.
Getting to do this work isn't something I take for granted. I feel fortunate every day to serve and support the people of Long Island, and that gratitude hasn't worn off in all these years.
My Approach
I rely on evidence-based methods like Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, I don't believe good treatment follows a fixed script. Every person who sits across from me is different, and the plan has to fit them, not the other way around. What I try to bring to every session is simple: real compassion, paired with real honesty. I want clients to feel understood, not managed. That means speaking plainly instead of in clinical jargon, and showing up authentically, because clients can tell the difference between a therapist reciting a technique and one who is actually present with them. Trauma is where most of my own specialty lives, and after more than 30 years in this field, including years spent with the very youngest clients, I've come to understand just how far childhood experiences reach into adulthood. That understanding shapes how I treat trauma today, whether I'm sitting with a teenager or an adult who has been carrying something since they were seven years old.
Founding the Gooding Wellness Group
That conviction led me into private practice, and in 2016 I brought together a small group of experienced school social workers who shared my belief that community, connection, and real day-to-day experience with kids and families make all the difference in treatment. What started as a handful of clinicians has grown into a team I'm genuinely proud of, each one hand-selected for their specialization and experience, and each one holding to the same standard: quality over quantity, always. Curious how Gooding Wellness Group came to be, how we've grown, and where we're headed next? Read the full story on our Our Story page.
The Power of Community
Cold Spring Harbor isn't just where I practice, it’s my home. I grew up here and live just about a mile away. I try to make therapy as flexible as possible, using the community to help you feel comfortable. Whether that means meeting at a waterfront park or taking a 'Walk and Talk' session outside rather than sitting in an office, we can find a setting that works for you. I believe strongly that the most meaningful therapeutic work happens in person. That's especially true for kids, teens, and for anyone working through anxiety, depression, or substance abuse, where the connection, presence, and accountability of a face-to-face session are difficult to replicate through a screen. Teletherapy has its place, and we offer it throughout New York State for clients in Huntington, Northport, Oyster Bay, Syosset, and beyond, on the days you genuinely can't make it in. But at Gooding Wellness Group, in-person care comes first, because it works. Our kids, and the rest of us, are on screens enough these days. Being in person matters. It always has and always will. I'm proud of the team we've built and how the Gooding Wellness Group has grown into a leader in Long Island's mental health community. We hold ourselves to a high bar through continued professional education, so we can keep meeting the challenges our clients bring us. My goal, now and going forward, is the same as it's always been: connect the right support to the right person, provide clinicians who are highly experienced and trained, and keep fighting the stigma around mental health to save and improve lives. Being able to do this work, in the community that raised me, is something I don't take lightly. I'm grateful for it every day. "When we connect the right support to the right person, lives change — families heal, relationships strengthen, individuals find hope again." — Gordon Gooding, LCSW-R
