The Therapist at MMH
Nicole Sullivan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of Mastracchio Mental Health, a private therapy practice specializing in the emotional and relational well-being of children, adolescents, and families.
Nicole graduated from Villanova University with Bachelors in Science in Psychology and from Thomas Jefferson University with a Masters in Science in Marriage and Family Therapy. With more than eight years of clinical experience, Nicole has worked alongside children and families navigating a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and relational challenges. Her areas of focus include anxiety, depression, ADHD, behavioral concerns, adjustment difficulties, parenting challenges, separation and divorce, co-parenting, and significant family transitions.
Nicole believes that when a child is struggling, there is often more to the story. Their behaviors can communicate needs, emotions, and experiences that they may not yet have the words to express. For this reason, Nicole takes a family-centered approach that looks beyond the presenting concern to understand the patterns and relationships influencing a child's emotional well-being.
Her clinical work is grounded in Structural Family Therapy and Attachment Theory, with a trauma-informed perspective. She helps families better understand one another, strengthen connection, establish healthy boundaries, and develop practical tools for navigating difficult moments.
Rather than focusing solely on changing a child's behavior, Nicole works to understand what is happening beneath the surface and how the family system can become a source of safety, connection, and support.
Nicole feels privileged to walk alongside children and families during some of the most meaningful and challenging seasons of their lives. She brings warmth, curiosity, and genuine compassion to her work while maintaining a thoughtful and intentional clinical approach.
She believes that therapy should be a place where families can be honest about what is happening without fear of judgment—and where meaningful change can begin.
Working with Nicole
A family-centered approach
Nicole believes that when a child is struggling, there is often more to the story than the behavior or symptom that initially brings a family to therapy.
Nicole takes a family-centered approach that looks beyond the presenting concern to understand the patterns and relationships influencing a child's emotional well-being.
Nicole has three years of experience as a family-based clinician, working with high-risk and high-conflict families. Family-based work trained Nicole in the Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) model. This model puts the family system and greater community at the center of change, support, and connection.
Nicole works with a systemic mindset in treatment of all families, children, and individuals.
Meeting families where they are
Nicole understands that reaching out for therapy often comes after months, or even years, of trying to navigate challenges independently.
Families may seek support when a child has become increasingly anxious or withdrawn, behavioral challenges are creating tension at home, parenting has begun to feel like a constant cycle of conflict, or a major life transition has changed the way family members relate to one another.
Nicole's approach is compassionate, collaborative, and nonjudgmental. She creates a space where parents, children, and adolescents can feel heard while also receiving thoughtful guidance and practical support.
Depending on a family's individual needs, therapy may include individual work with a child or adolescent, parent consultation and coaching, family therapy, or co-parenting support.
Importance of relationships
Nicole believes some of the most meaningful changes happen within relationships.
When parents feel more confident and connected, children can feel more secure. When communication improves, conflict can begin to shift. And when families understand the patterns they have developed, they can begin creating new ones.
Through therapy, Nicole helps families step outside of the day-to-day stress, gain a new perspective, and develop healthier ways of relating to one another.
Her goal is not simply to help children manage symptoms or change behaviors. It is to help families build stronger relationships and create an environment where children feel supported, understood, and able to grow.
Begin with a Conversation
Nicole offers confidential consultation calls for parents and families who are considering therapy. The initial conversation provides an opportunity to share what the family has been experiencing, ask questions, and determine whether Nicole's approach and services may be a good fit.