About Emergence Health & Wellness for Men

Born and raised in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, I split my youth between the North and South Shores. After graduating from Suffolk University, I entered the workforce full-time, trying out careers and professions, finding my way to UPS’ air division as a safety supervisor. Finding my life was still not complete, I had this inner drive to find purpose and give back. I left my job position and went to work at Whole Foods, looking for a reset. Through networking, I landed an interview at McLean Hospital and soon began my career in mental health. Working with adolescents, I began to learn Dialectical Behavior Therapy and began to climb the ladder and was sent for formal DBT training with Behavior Tech & the Linehan Institute. As a clinical educator, I provided direct patient care, teaching adolescent patients and their families, DBT skills and working with a strong team, created a formal workbook for the residential and partial hospital programs using the materials created by Jill Rathus & Alec Miller, earning the staff selected, Lenny Bellino Award.

Considering what the next step in my career, I began taking graduate courses at Bridgewater State University. With my direction set on studying Social Work, I gained admission to the Boston University School of Social Work. At BU, I took on a leadership role within my cohort as a student liaison and eventually being appointed to the University’s Graduate Student Advisory Board working directly with the University Provost. As my program progressed, I began my field work with the federal Judiciary as part of U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services working directly with formerly incarcerated individuals. It was with U.S. Probation, I recognized a passion for reform, rehabilitation and reintegration. As my placement ended, I transitioned into my next placement, Fenway Health. Working in a community health center, I was part of the Low Threshold Team which worked to remove barriers to treatment for individuals struggling with joblessness, housing insecurity and those recovering or in active addiction. In recognition for my work at Fenway Health, I was nominated by faculty at BU for the Saul and David Bernstein Prize for outstanding “group work” in the classroom and field.

When the world shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I took it upon myself to lead the team at McLean which created a virtual partial program in less than just one business day. Through their dedication, the team ensured that patients remained engaged in treatment and staff remained on the job. The program created, was used as a hospital-wide model for all McLean Departments. As a result of our work, the team was recognized by Mass General Brigham with a Pillars of Excellence Award and I was personally recognized by McLean Hospital with the Jeanne Dolan Award.

As rewarding as my work with McLean Hospital was, I could not ignore my inner passion for outpatient therapy working directly with clients in the field living their daily lives. After six years, I said goodbye to McLean Hospital and began providing outpatient services. Within that role, I began to expand the existing DBT program for adults and started what was termed “Grad Group”. Researching ways of providing individuals with opportunities to generalize the skills they had acquired during the introductory stage of DBT.

The program which brought about the initial “Grad Group” has continued to blossom and grow with the founding of Emergence Health & Wellness for Men. With a decade of experience working with DBT, I have created a comprehensive DBT program, including the rarely addressed Third and Fourth Stages. 

Now that you’ve learned a decent amount about me, I can’t wait to get to know you and start our work together! 

-Sean