The Samaritan Counseling Center is accredited as a service center by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
Rev. Jan Hubbard, LMSW
Janet holds a M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary; M.ED from Western Carolina University, LMSW from University of Buffalo. She served as a United Methodist Minister for over 30 years and retired from active Ministry in 2022. Rev. Jan has worked with the Samaritan Counseling Center since 2016. Her areas of specialty are mental health counseling and spiritual direction. Rev. Jan’s professional practice encompasses grief support, anxiety and depression relief, family systems therapy, relationship and marriage counseling, and addiction recovery with a particular focus on co-dependency and Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) issues. She has training in the following areas: Dialectical Behavior therapy, Cognitive and Behavioral therapy, Family Systems and use of Mindfulness tools. She has worked in a variety of settings: Hospital and Work place Chaplaincy, Pastoral Care and work with Family Justice Center supporting survivors of domestic violence. “I enjoy my work with the Samaritan Counseling Center – a faith informed small box agency that seeks to connect people with personal and spiritual growth that promotes individual and relational healing.”
Penny Mckenna MSEd MA Counseling LMHC Experience in both public education as an educator for 30 years and as a therapist for the last 8 years — working with a broad spectrum of mental health issues at Samaritan Counseling Center including relationships, adolescents, grief, depression, anxiety and spiritual issues. Additional experience includes 3 years as a therapist at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center working with challenging patients with diagnoses including addiction recovery, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, the schizophrenias and PTSD. Further trained to offer trauma-informed therapy to her clients.
Mike Balk, LCSW-R
Mike is a clinical social worker with decades of experience in Veteran Affairs. He spent years being a social worker/ case manager for Veterans with mental health or substance abuse issues, helping his patients overcome their difficulties. Mike provided emergent responses to homelessness/ crisis situations and case management to maintain housing. He has a history of building beneficial and trusting relationships with his clients. His education at SUNY at Buffalo resulted in MSW and ED.M. Mike has received over 10 service awards.