Meet our founding members

Dr. Dawson Dufort is a licensed clinical psychologist and one of the co-founders and co-owners of Kind Mind Psychological Services. With over 15 years of clinical experience, he is dedicated to helping adolescents, young adults, and adults navigate life’s challenges with clarity, resilience, and confidence.

Dr. Dufort specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, and life transitions. He has particular expertise in working with individuals during pivotal developmental periods, where changes in identity, relationships, and direction can feel overwhelming. His approach is thoughtful, structured, and tailored to each client’s unique needs, with a focus on achieving meaningful, lasting results.

His work is grounded in evidence-based treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Through this approach, Dr. Dufort helps clients identify and challenge unhelpful patterns of thinking, develop healthier perspectives, and build practical skills to improve emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning.

At Kind Mind Psychological Services, Dr. Dufort takes a collaborative and client-centered approach to care. He considers the full context of each individual’s experience, including cognitive, behavioral, and social factors, to better understand what may be contributing to current challenges. This comprehensive perspective allows him to help clients break long-standing patterns and move toward more adaptive and fulfilling ways of living.

Dr. Dufort provides individual, couples, and family therapy, as well as psychological assessment and evaluation services. He is committed to creating a supportive, professional, and results-oriented environment where clients feel understood, empowered, and equipped to reach their goals.

Dr. Daniel Kaplin, a clinical psychologist, scholar, and healthcare executive, is committed to the seamless integration of evidence-based practice with compassionate organizational leadership. As one of the co-founders and co-owners of Kind Mind Psychological Services, Dr. Kaplin ensures that the practice’s operational framework remains firmly grounded in the clinical values of growth, empathy, and systemic integrity.

In his clinical practice, Dr. Kaplin employs an integrative approach that combines Relational, Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT), and Existential therapies. He specializes in assisting clients in identifying and dismantling ingrained behavior patterns and negative perceptions that hinder their ability to lead fulfilling lives. With extensive experience in inpatient, outpatient, and community mental health settings, he treats a diverse range of clinical populations, firmly believing that every individual possesses the internal resources necessary for transformation. His “human-first” approach creates a safe, non-judgmental environment where clients are empowered to regain their agency and achieve their personal objectives.

Dr. Kaplin, a distinguished figure in the field, has dedicated over two decades to academia as a faculty member at the City University of New York (CUNY). His extensive academic contributions encompass numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as a comprehensive textbook on the psychology of immigration. His research and writing focus on the intersections of cultural, ethnic, and religious identity, employing a critical lens to address the unique needs of minority populations. This scholarly rigor informs every aspect of Kind Mind, ensuring its continued prominence in contemporary psychological discourse.

Dr. Kaplin’s executive role as a co-founder and co-owner is a natural extension of his lifelong commitment to advocacy. His leadership record is characterized by high-level service within the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA), where he has held positions such as former President, Member of the Executive Committee, and President of NYSPA’s Division of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. His experience in navigating legislative committees, bylaws, and diversity task forces enables him to effectively manage the complexities of a professional corporation with clinical precision.

By effectively balancing the roles of Owner, Administrator, and Practitioner, Dr. Kaplin has established Kind Mind Psychological Services as a practice where operational excellence serves as the cornerstone for profound clinical healing. He continues to serve as a dedicated mentor and leader, committed to nurturing the next generation of clinicians and advocating for a more equitable mental health environment.

Dr. Amy Lee is a licensed clinical psychologist, Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in New York, Perinatal Mental Health Certified (PMH-C) clinician, a member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and formerly an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) – College of Staten Island. Dr. Lee brings over a decade of extensive clinical experience across private practice, specialty clinics, and community settings. She currently maintains her own private practice and conducts psychological evaluations in the community.

Dr. Lee specializes in working with adults navigating the lasting impact of childhood or intergenerational trauma, particularly those who identify as adult children of dysfunctional families. She offers compassionate, individualized care for a wide range of concerns, including trauma, depression, anxiety, panic, intrusive thoughts, low self-esteem, identity issues, family discord, difficulties with motivation and procrastination, relationship challenges, life transitions, postpartum depression and anxiety, and decisions around a childfree lifestyle. Through comprehensive psychological evaluations and thoughtful treatment, Dr. Lee helps clients gain deeper self-understanding and develop the resilience needed to move forward with confidence.

Dr. Lee employs an integrative, solution-focused approach grounded in behavioral principles, attachment theory, and object relations, while incorporating evidence-based strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She works collaboratively with clients to dismantle unhelpful patterns, build practical skills, especially healthy boundaries, assertiveness, and emotional expression, and replace them with more adaptive ways of thinking, feeling, and relating. By blending insight with actionable “behavioral experiments,” she supports meaningful outcomes that improve emotional well-being, relationships, and day-to-day functioning.

As one of the cofounders and co-owners of Kind Mind Psychological Services, Dr. Lee intends to train early-career mental health professionals to work collaboratively with their clients to reduce their suffering and improve their quality of life. Dr. Lee is also committed to providing personalized, high-quality care that honors each client’s unique background and values. Her warm, collaborative approach creates a supportive space where clients feel understood, respected, and empowered to grow. If you are ready to heal old wounds, strengthen your sense of self, and create a more balanced and fulfilling life, Dr. Lee invites you to reach out and begin this journey toward clarity and lasting change.