Interpersonal therapists in Hell's Kitchen, New York NY

I work with adults who want to change their lives and get to the root of what makes them think, feel, and react in ways that keep them stuck. They desire to lessen stress, reduce anxiety, and improve their relationships. We work together to understand and minimize their negative responses to triggers. We explore the events, thoughts, and feelings that led to painful relationships and low self-esteem. We work together to develop realistic individualized strategies to minimize unhealthy patterns that prevent joy and peace in their lives. We collaborate to implement realistic changes that improve their quality of life.  

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As a therapist I deeply respect each client’s unique strengths and perspectives. Using a collaborative approach, I walk alongside clients as they heal from painful experiences, empowering them to write the next chapter of their life. Even in life’s most challenging moments, every individual has the capacity to heal and grow. I strive to create a space for this healing that is comfortable and safe where you feel free to express yourself fully and authentically. Rooted in an LGBTQIA+ affirming and anti-racist framework, my approach blends evidence-based practices like cognitive behavioral therapy with a holistic understanding of each person's circumstances. Sessions are tailored to meet individual needs while celebrating and building on your strengths. My goal is for you to feel seen, heard, and supported as you work toward creating a life filled with meaning and fulfillment. With warmth, empathy, and a sprinkle of humor (because let's face it, laughter is the best medicine after all), I aim to connect authentically with clients and trust in their power to reclaim their stories. Together, we can regain control over the narrative and begin a new chapter—a chapter of healing, growth, and empowerment.  

I founded Manhattan Mental Health Counseling after discovering that many New Yorkers struggle to find competent psychotherapists. Our mission is to provide knowledgeable, compassionate and effective psychotherapy in the intimate setting of a warm and inviting private practice while also accepting many of the insurances which are popular in New York. Our therapists. Our practice is composed of a team of licensed mental health counselors with multidisciplinary expertise including: anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, grief, self esteem and LGBTQ among others. Our mission is to help our clients build the tools needed to cope with a variety of mental health conditions, allowing them to pursue their dreams while living a balanced and healthy life.  

I have over 25 years experience working with individuals & couples of diverse backgrounds, ages, & sexual orientations. Our focus will be on removing psychological obstacles that prevent you from reaching your goals & improving your relationships.  

To change, to grow, to connect, to stay connected, to be the very best of yourself are the reasons to come into therapy. Those issues are at the center of my work. Understanding how you got here, where you want to go, and how to get there. We begin with the here and now, and slowly, at your own pace, unpeel the proverbial onion (which is know to cause tears) and you create your life without barriers.  

Who wants to feel better? You, or else you wouldn't be looking at psychotherapists websites. But wait, there's more...maybe you're not sure you can feel better. Maybe you've never been to a psychotherapist before & this is all new to you or was something that "other people" did.  

I'm here to help you both solve your immediate concerns and live more fully into the strength and beauty of yourself. I'm a compassionate and culturally-competent therapist and counselor, with an interest in working with individuals and couples including on all kinds of issues I believe we can all experience helping people move towards a better and healthier life. I'm trained in DBT, CBT, compassion focused therapy and couples work, and I especially enjoy working with people bringing issues concerning race, culture, religion and spirituality. I offer a free 15-minute consultation with anyone interested in working with me, and I look forward to speaking with you about what you want to accomplish in therapy.  

I am an experienced clinician. I have worked successfully with a wide range of patients and keep a diverse practice because I highly value the experience of working with people from different backgrounds and lifestyles  

My goal as a therapist is to create a warm, supportive, genuine and safe environment where you alone or with your significant other feel comfortable sharing with me your negative repetitive pattern that prevents you from from sailing through your relationship more smoothly. I want to help you to reinvent your marriage or long term relationship so that your lives intersect in the same space so I can get the opportunity to teach you how to respect each other's differences and teach you how you can agree to disagree and yet you are still able to say "I love you." I can help you both to come up with a common love language when you are home and happy or not so happy; and I can also teach you another love language that works well publicly. One works well in the bedroom and the other works well in front of strangers. All couples must develop love languages that work well privately and publicly. I want your relationship to maintain the love that brought you together in the first place. You may wonder why your love is not consistent, and you may notice that the respect you once had for one another has dissipated and the personal meaning once attached to your relationship is no longer there.. Most couples in your situation have what I refer to as their own "dance of anger" that happens again and again and again. By this, I mean couples fight about different issues but the way that they fight takes on a repetitive negative pattern and that pattern is their way of expressing anger and/or rage, regardless of the argument at hand. I refer to the way that most couples argue and fight as their "dance of anger". Remember, you can't change your partner and that is why you need professional advice. I can be your "go to person" who can teach you how to effectively communicate when you once again have disagreements that can be a threat to the survival of your relationship. I only accept accept couples who really want to preserve their relationship and can tell me that they are willing to put in the hard work, because married monogamous relationships are difficult to sustain, but by taking your marriage vows seriously, you both signed up for a loving partnership for a lifetime. Taking your vows and dancing at your wedding is just not enough because everyone's life is difficult. Life is more like "a bowl of cherries" and despite the succulent juice from the cherries, you will still have to deal with "the pits." We can't always dance through our problems. Despite making yourselves an expensive wedding or having gone to the court to take your vows,-what all married couples dwell on is trust. Is one person feeling like they don't trust the other or both feel the same way when it comes to trust, then pick up your phone to call Lorna Hayim-Baker at Riverdale Therapy & Counseling Services. I offer a free phone consultation before accepting new couples. I tell the truth when I counsel couples, and therefore, I vet each couple before I agree to meet with them in an "in person session" to avoid sessions where one partner or both can blow up my session because their personality does not mesh well with mine. My heart goes out to everyone who is about to experience "a bad breakup" or "a disastrous divorce.". I go many extra miles for each and every couple who comes into my office. I try to understand their shared stories and having a shared story is a lot easier to problem solve because they are in sync; but more often than not, I have to hear out each partner because they each have different stories to tell. I decipher their own personal stories because, in reality, there are two different versions of the same presenting problem and then their is the third version which is the most realistic story. It is only fair to hear each partner's voice as they often come to session offering their own point of view, but if one pays close attention, it often seems like there are 2-3 different problems; but in reality, there are two different sides about he same problem and sometimes even a third side that the therapist discovers and is being presented by each person. All three stories are different versions of the same problem. All sides are carefully listened to and It takes time to hear each person's interpretation of the same arguments. All stories are aired and I do my best to come up with possible solutions by providing lots of feedback. Couples can disagree with me about possible solutions that are offered. I have become very attuned to my couples because I have been doing this type of therapy for a very long time. I listen carefully to their presenting problems before providing feedback. I am not always right but I am pretty intuitive at this point in my career. Someone must try to understand the couple who came in to preserve their relationship and the hope is that I, as their therapist will remain neutral and unbiased in order to shed light on why the couples are not hearing each other as they each struggle to voice their complaints. More often than not, one or both partners become very defensive and neither one is listening to the other and their fight escalates. That's why they need an unbiased and caring therapist to intervene and help the couple deescalate by having them share the details of the original complaint that turned into a communication breakdown. Couples begin fighting right in front of me & my job is to stop their dispute and call a halt to their bickering so we can examine why their communication pattern broke down in the first place. Both partners are acting out and becoming nasty and defensive. Each partner had the same wish, which was to have their voice heard as he or she expresses their own complaint. I need to point out when their wheels are spinning but they are getting nowhere and they are in fact, stuck. Couples need to stop and listen to each other so I can help them come up with a plan that can get them "unstuck." To be an effective couples' counselor means that at the end of the session, the couple walks out with a sense of having a shared understanding of their problems and with a shared sense of hope because they learned how to tackle the types of ineffective communications that lead to "blow out fights" Hopefully, I will be your therapist who teaches you how to not add fuel to the fire. I want to be part of the solution and teach couples how to stop turning molehills into mountains. I am the therapist who loves watching love as it grows and makes both partners seem so much more mature.