Deja Desai, LAC
Licensed Associate Counselor
Deja Desai is a Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC) with extensive experience supporting children, adolescents, and families through a variety of emotional, behavioral, social, and life challenges. With a professional background spanning mental health counseling, school-based services, behavioral intervention, and child advocacy, Deja brings a compassionate and developmentally informed perspective to her work with clients.
Deja earned her Master of Arts in Counseling from Montclair State University and holds a New Jersey School Counseling Certificate. She also earned her Bachelor of Arts in Family and Child Studies with a concentration in Family Services from Montclair State University, along with a Certificate in Child Advocacy. Her educational and professional experiences have provided her with a strong understanding of child and adolescent development, family dynamics, emotional wellness, and the importance of creating supportive environments where individuals can feel heard and understood.
Throughout her career, Deja has gained extensive experience working with children and adolescents in both educational and behavioral health settings. As a school counselor, she has provided individual and group counseling addressing students’ academic, social, and emotional needs while collaborating closely with families, educators, administrators, and other professionals. Her experience also includes crisis management, behavioral intervention, anti-bullying initiatives, and supporting students who require additional academic or emotional accommodations. Prior to her work as a school counselor, Deja worked in community-based behavioral health, providing in-home interventions and support to children experiencing significant mental health and behavioral challenges. In this role, she helped children strengthen coping and communication skills, supported families in implementing effective interventions, and collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to promote each child’s emotional and behavioral well-being.
Deja’s therapeutic style is supportive, collaborative, and strengths-based. She recognizes that each client brings their own experiences, relationships, challenges, and strengths into the therapeutic process. She strives to provide a safe and nonjudgmental space where clients can openly express themselves, better understand their emotions and experiences, develop healthy coping and communication skills, and build greater confidence in navigating life’s challenges.
Her extensive experience with children, adolescents, and families allows Deja to appreciate the important connection between emotional well-being, relationships, family systems, school experiences, and a young person’s overall development. She values collaboration and believes that meaningful therapeutic progress begins by meeting clients where they are and helping them recognize and build upon their existing strengths.
Deja joined Monarch Counseling Center in July 2026, where she provides therapeutic services as a clinician. She is committed to helping clients feel supported and empowered as they work toward greater emotional well-being, stronger relationships, and meaningful personal growth.