About

Cristina Defuria, LMFT (she/her) has been in the field for twenty years, focusing on couples and families since graduating from Drexel University in 2009.  Her maternal family migrated here from Italy and growing up in a large Italian family provided her with so much love, connection….and anxiety. The sacrifices made to provide her a better life were never taken for granted, as she listened to the stories of war, death, and adapting to life in a new country. Like many of us, Cristina has done the work to understand the generational trauma that has been passed throughout her family as well as heal within her relationships to become the person she is today.

Cristina has worked in the school setting, on base with military families, in the community working with families at their homes as well as private practice outpatient. All these different experiences have led to a respect and curiosity toward people’s stories and healing.

In 2020, these experiences led to founding The Counseling Center for Relationships.  As a wife and mother; Cristina’s goal was to create a Center that provides exceptional clinical care while honoring the integrity of the field for our employees – with a work life balance that is gold standard compared to other practices in the area. Practicing what she preaches, Cristina brought Kaitlyn Tassillo MA, LPC on as a partner to balance the responsibilities and still be able to provide the care to our clients without feeling burnout.

Kaitlyn Tassillo, LPC (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a half marathon runner, a wife, and a mother.

Kaitlyn was born and raised in Ocean County she comes from a family with first responders she understands the complexity of trauma, PTSD, and the delicate underpinnings it has within a relationship and family system. Kaitlyn received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgian Court University. She has worked in various settings such as inpatient substance abuse programs, outpatient mental health programs, outpatient substance abuse programs, and crisis settings. In each setting, providing quality client care has remained the primary goal.

Kaitlyn has honed her craft and is passionate about supervision for other therapists finding their footing in the field. Kaitlyn is a wonderful Licensed Professional Counselor, a dedicated wife, and a loving mother. On top of all that, she’s also a passionate half- marathon runner! Hailing from Ocean County and coming from a family of first responders, Kaitlyn deeply understands the intricacies of trauma, PTSD, and how they can affect relationships and families. She obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgian Court University. Kaitlyn has gained valuable experience in various settings, including inpatient substance abuse programs, outpatient mental health programs, outpatient substance abuse programs, and crisis settings. She always prioritizes top-notch care for her clients. In addition, she’s enthusiastic about providing supervision for other therapists as they embark on their journey in the field.

At The Counseling Center for Relationships (TCCFR) you can find specialized couples and family therapy, therapeutic groups, Brainspotting, sand tray therapy, meditation, family and divorce mediation and more evidence based and exciting modalities.

Areas of specialty are multi-faceted, including infidelity recovery, blended families, reunification counseling, premarital counseling, depression, anxiety, life transitions, parenting and co-parenting, retirement, empty nest, menopause.  We specialize in working with substance abuse and eating disorders in the context of family therapy.

Our Center provides therapy for all of New Jersey as well as telehealth for Florida and Pennsylvania. We have therapists fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and Urdu. As relationship therapists we strive to reach as many families as we can, helping them on their journey to healing.