Our Story
"Good therapy isn't a script. It's a relationship, and every relationship looks a little different." — Gordon Gooding, LCSW-R
How We Began
Gooding Wellness Group started with a simple observation, one that came from years in local schools, not a boardroom. Gordon Gooding began his career in the public school system in 1995. Since then, he's spent decades as a school social worker working with students from Pre-K through 12th grade, often staying connected with them and their families well beyond graduation. Working with kids, families, and other professionals through these years taught him something no private practice could: how deeply childhood experiences shape the rest of a person's life, and how much of a difference it makes when a therapist actually understands a young person's day-to-day world, including school, friendships, family, trauma, and all of the variables they face.
When Gordon moved into private practice, he saw a clear gap. There were very few clinicians in private practice who truly knew what it was like to work with kids and teens every day. As someone in the schools every day himself, Gordon knew firsthand that social workers who lived in that world had a better window into the academic, social, and emotional challenges young people and their families actually face. His early private practice office was just a few doors down from a local coffee shop, and that's where he started meeting with fellow school social workers over coffee, inviting them, one conversation at a time, to join him. In 2016, those conversations became Gooding Wellness Group.
How We've Grown
What began as a handful of clinicians was never meant to become a large group, but the need on Long Island was real, and families kept asking for therapists with genuine, hands-on experience with children, teens, and the families around them. Today, Gooding Wellness Group has grown to roughly 20 clinicians, each hand-selected not just for their license but for their specialized training and their genuine desire to help. Our team now brings together deep experience in trauma and EMDR, anxiety and depression, addiction recovery, and couples and family therapy. Our team's experience has also expanded beyond the school environment to include seasoned professionals with backgrounds in inpatient adolescent treatment, intensive family treatment, outpatient substance abuse treatment, and more. Growth was never the goal for its own sake. Ever since we started, we've prioritized quality above all else — from clinical expertise, to billing, to creating a warm and comfortable healing environment. It's our goal to ensure every new client feels welcomed right from their initial call, and to place a strong emphasis on ongoing, specialized clinical training for our clinicians. We set the bar high on purpose, and as we've grown, we've kept it there.
A Resource to Our Community
Cold Spring Harbor isn't just where we practice, it's home. Gordon grew up here and still lives just about a mile from the office, and that sense of community shapes how we work. Every call, email, and text to Gooding Wellness Group is answered by a licensed therapist who knows our practice and our clinicians, not a bot or answering service. When we're not the right fit for someone, we're committed to connecting them with outside professionals and organizations who can help, because we care more about people finding the right support than about filling our own caseloads. We believe strongly that the most meaningful therapeutic work happens in person, especially for kids, teens, and anyone working through anxiety, depression, or substance use. That's why in-person care comes first at Gooding Wellness Group, whether that's a session in our Cold Spring Harbor office or a Walk and Talk session outdoors. We also offer teletherapy throughout New York State for the days our clients genuinely can't make it in. Above all, we're committed to being a real resource for Long Island families and to fighting the stigma that still keeps too many people from getting help.
Our Vision Forward
Gordon doesn't run Gooding Wellness Group alone. Peter Juliano, LCSW, joined the practice as a clinician in 2021 and became a minority partner in 2025. Peter's background in inpatient treatment with teens and families adds a level of depth few local practices can offer, and today he helps oversee our day-to-day clinical operations alongside Gordon, making sure the standard we set in 2016 holds true for every client who walks through our door, or joins us on a walk-and-talk session, or logs on for teletherapy. Together, Gordon and Peter are building toward the same goal that started this practice: connect the right support to the right person, provide clinicians who are highly experienced and trained, and keep fighting the stigma around mental health so more people on Long Island get the help they deserve. As Gooding Wellness Group continues to grow, that mission, not the size of the group, is what will keep guiding us. "When we connect the right support to the right person, lives change — families heal, relationships strengthen, individuals find hope again." — Gordon Gooding, LCSW-R Ready to talk to someone? Book a consultation with our team, or meet the clinicians who make up Gooding Wellness Group.
