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. 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 prior to scheduling your first session. Luna Behavioral Health Center can provide you with 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--Starting Feb 21st 2022!

Luna Behavioral Health Center is offering a free support group titled “Las Lunitas – An Empowerment Group”. La Lunitas is offered to self-identified Latina adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18. The aim of Las Lunitas is to provide a non-judgmental safe place for Latinas to explore, process and cope with stressors stemming 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, teachers). Las Lunitas offers a safe place to speak about all of these challenges and find healthy ways of coping with them.

Las Lunitas-An Empowerment Group is offered at no cost. The group consists of eight weekly 60-minute sessions. Each session will review a coping strategy followed by an open forum to process any topics introduced by the group members. The final session will provide a brief women self-defense course. The group is limited to 8 individuals who are willing to commit to the 8 week program. If you are interested in learning more about Las Lunitas – An Empowerment Group – please contact us at info@lunabehavioral.com. The first group will be taking place on Feb 21st 2022 at 6 pm.

Staff

Learn More...
Magdalena Perez, PhD
Learn More...
Michelle Diaz, MS, LCPC, NCC
Learn More...
Melina Pantoja, LCSW
Learn More...
Veronica Frias, MSW
Learn More...
Luis Enriquez, MA
Learn More...
Voichita Moldovan, MA
Learn More...
Olivia Tamayo, MS, LSW
Magdalena Perez, PhD

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.

Michelle Diaz, MS, LCPC, NCC

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.

Melina Pantoja, LCSW

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.

Veronica Frias, MSW

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.

Luis Enriquez, MA

About

Luis Enriquez has been a part of the Elgin Community since 1997. He enjoys walking in the outdoors, watching a variety of documentaries and loves spending time with his family and his dog, Julia. He is a devoted member of the community and someone who loves, cares, and is invested in his community. He finds purpose and fulfillment in his profession and in the volunteering work that he does for the DuPage and Kane County Senior Citizens Council.

Experience


Luis is an English /Spanish speaker and holds a Master's degree in Community Mental Health from Judson University. Previous to his Master's degree, Luis obtained a degree in Business Administration from Elgin Community College. His professional experience includes being an addiction recovery support specialist with 15 years of experience. Additionally, Luis is trained in Anger Management, to work with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. He practices with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy foundation. Luis enjoys working with individuals who want to make a difference in their lives. He intends to practice with empathy, understanding and promotes a non-judgmental space.

Voichita Moldovan, MA

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.

Olivia Tamayo, MS, LSW

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.

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.

(Optional)

This field is required

We Are Hiring - Click here!