Find a Therapist in Mahopac, NY

My approach in therapy is collaborative, supportive, and goal oriented.

For over 13 years, I have dedicated myself to supporting people of all ages through a range of stressors, including anxiety, depression, tense family dynamics, grief, chronic illness, and life transitions. In this work, I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous pressures individuals face to appear “okay” and the self-blame that often comes from not meeting unrealistic societal expectations. These experiences have deepened my passion for helping those who are entering parenthood, raising young children, caregiving, redefining roles and boundaries in relationships, and navigating the complexities of grief and loss. Taking the first step to address emotional challenges is an act of tremendous courage, and you don’t have to face it alone. When life feels overwhelming, a strong therapeutic relationship can provide the support needed to navigate your journey toward growth and meaningful change. Together, we can draw on your strengths and collaboratively focus on your goals. If you choose to work together, we can uncover underlying barriers and unhelpful patterns contributing to your distress, while also identifying and strengthening your personal resources to foster growth. My clients frequently describe feeling genuinely listened to, understood, and met with warmth and authenticity during our sessions.

In-person evening or weekend therapy available in Scarsdale, White Plains, and Mahopac. I help couples and adults work through relationship conflict, emotional distance, sexual concerns, anxiety, depression, trauma, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), alcohol-related concerns, men’s issues, and patterns that keep repeating. Some people come in with a partner. Others come in alone because mood, drinking, trauma, anger, avoidance, or relationship stress is affecting the life they want. My work is practical, direct, and focused on understanding what gets stuck, so we can work on what needs to change.

My approach is to work with you to identify your personal goals for growth and build awareness through deep reflection on your life and the way you see the world.

When looking for someone to help you with adapting to complex life situations and challenging emotional issues, it is vital to find someone who you feel comfortable being with, who respects you, and focusses on your goals. I strive to work in a warm, empathic and engaging style, blending a variety of therapeutic tools, that best match your specific needs. Refined over my 30 years in practice, I would describe my approach as results driven, hands on and active. First we explore your situation and what you want to change. Equally import, is finding and strengthening what you already enjoy in your life and is working well. Using this strength based vantage point, we detemine what needs to change and the best tools to use to making these changes for you, or a family member. I frequently work with people who want to feel less restricted by anxiety, depression, panic, OCD, or the impact of various forms of traumatic experiences. Working with people as they become more free to choose what to do, where to go and who to be with is enormously gratifying. I also really enjoy working with people who have difficulties fully tapping into their innate talents to create satisfying relationships and academic successes, because of executive functioning differences such as ADHD. Individual's who are on the spectrum have different ways of experiencing the world, and I can help them translate their experiences to better mesh with those around them.

As a licensed marriage and family therapist, my goal is to provide a safe, nonjudgmental environment to work through any problems you may be facing. I received my master's in marriage and family therapy from Hofstra University after completing a graduate degree in psychology in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. I’m trained in therapy modalities for individuals, couples, and families. I have specialty areas in couples therapy, anger management, chronic andor terminal illnesses, as well as grief. Couples, revive your love, rediscover each other, and work through your differences. Learn to not only hear, but to listen to each other. Therapy is a chance to rebuild, rediscover, and move forward with new relationship knowledge. I take a client-centered approach and work with you to address your areas of concern.

It is my sacred honor to help people with their deepest and most personal issues: their ancient wounds, in their lives within and without; their deepest hopes and fears, dreams and longings, and the blocks that interfere with creating their lives and finding and birthing their Selves. It saddens me deeply to see our world being offered "quick fixes," "bandaids," and "get over it" or "transcend it" philosophies for dealing with life's deepest wounds and traumas. It saddens me to see people being offered symptom "management" instead of real healing -- managing thoughts, feelings, and more -- leaving the real wound beneath the symptom, beneath the surface to continue to haunt them in their lives. It saddens me to see our world encouraging people to repeat as adults what they did as children - repress their feelings and find defenses to keep them away. For children, this is sanity- and life-saving. For adults, this is society degrading feeling and keeping us emotionally stuck, emotionally unmatured. For adults, this is society working against our healing, our growing, our transforming, our becoming all we can be. It saddens me to see us go 'round and 'round the vicious cycle of cause and effect when we leave our own individual wounds unhealed -- deeply affecting the state of our world and our country -- and then when the state of our world and country, in turn, triggers those same unhealed wounds within us. I bring to clients a message of lasting healing, healing to the root. I help people find and claim their own wounds, commit themselves to the real work of healing inside and out, work at their organic rhythm and pace to build their capacity to feel, and more. I also help people recognize the link between their individual healing and the healing of our planet. With a passion for safety and for healing to the root, I am committed to helping heal and transform our world one-by-one and on a global scale.

We all have gifts from God, and I believe helping people to heal is one of my gifts. We are all on a journey of self discovery. All aspects of our life including the work that we do, the people that come into our lives, and the things that happen to us all provide an opportunity for growth and deepening our connection with ourselves and others. I have known I wanted to be a therapist since I was 13, because it was the first time when I saw a therapist that someone actually tuned into my feelings. Through this experience, I felt seen and truly began to see myself. The most valuable subject we can learn about to be successful in life is ourselves! How are we supposed to navigate through our lives without knowing ourselves? How can we be centered if we do not understand some underlying principles about psychology, such as how we interpret our environment, defense mechanisms we employ to protect ourselves from pain, and the mind-body-spirit connection? How can we navigate the many ups and downs of life without this knowledge? We cannot; we will be lost! That is why there is so much suffering in our world, because individually, as families, and as a society we are trying to navigate our lives without truly understanding and healing ourselves. Through understanding and healing, it helps to stop years of negative multi-generational patterns in families and helps to promote a deeper, happier more peaceful connection within and with others, which in turn, makes our world a better place.

Everyone struggles with a variety of issues throughout their lives and I am dedicated to your healthy growth and development. I utilize play therapy for children and a cognitive behavioral approach for adolescents and adults. I have a passion for helping couples to reconnect and become friends again. Discover the tools to improve and transform your everyday life. I believe there is hope in all circumstances and we are all a work in progress.

As an integrative, multidisciplinary therapist, I offer a blend of evidence-supported and holistic approaches to help you achieve emotional and spiritual wellness. Specializing in anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions, I provide personalized therapy with the aim to unearth barriers and foster a deeper connection to your true self. In our work together, we'll use holistic and integrative therapy to help you first "put out the fires" in your life and learn to keep them at bay so that you can connect with your inner self, align with your values, and find your purpose. Many people come to me for help with anxiety, depression, trauma, or major life changes, looking for practical tools to "fix" their problems while working toward longer-term emotional balance, self-compassion, and a fulfilling life. I can help you navigate your emotions in the here and now, understand past challenges so they can stop plaguing you, build resilience, and ultimately move forward with intention. I understand the courage it takes to seek support and a desire to lead a more fulfilling life. Together, we can navigate challenges, uncover your strengths, and work towards goals. Your journey to self-discovery and healing is unique, and I'm here to guide your every step. Let's embark on this transformative path together, moving from pain to celebrating empowerment.

If you're ready to make a change, I can help. Sessions are dynamic and change-oriented. Working together I will assist you in gaining an awareness of the faulty thinking that stems from your past and learn to replace negative thinking patterns with a more positive, realistic outlook. We'll get to the root of what's fueling your struggles, and then we'll work toward applying new ideas to help you create healthier behaviors and pursue happiness more effectively. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with a humanistic approach, I can assist you in looking at yourself and the world with a new perspective. You'll experience relief from symptoms, change self-defeating behaviors, and enjoy better quality relationships. My goal is to help you actively and effectively create sustainable change in your life. People tell me that they experience more self-compassion and less self-blame through their work with me.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with twenty-five years of experience. I work with individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, eating issues, addictions, victimization, trauma, and loss. I am psychoanalytically trained, and I also use cognitive behavioral approaches, such as identifying and correcting undermining thought patterns and behaviors, as well as skills training when appropriate. I believe that most difficulties are related to our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and the unhealthy defenses we develop, usually in childhood, to protect ourselves from hurt. Once helpful, but now outdated, these defenses can prevent self-awareness and the constructive resolution of our problems. These blocks to awareness can contribute to symptoms such as low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, interpersonal problems, eating issues, addictive behaviors, and the like. Together, we can identify your defenses, explore your true feelings, and help you develop healthier coping skills and a greater sense of well-being. In addition to my clinical work and training, I have 20 years of social work experience with men, women, and children in the foster care and domestic violence shelter systems. I have developed and managed shelters for abused women and children, and I have provided crisis intervention, counseling, court advocacy, psychotherapy, and parenting skills training. I have facilitated groups for men who abuse their partners, and I coordinated a supervised visitation program for families involved in custody matters.