I offer a range of services to meet the needs of families, including individual and family counseling, couples therapy, and group therapy. I also offer workshops and training on a variety of topics related to family relationships and mental health. Fully Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Qualified Supervisor: New York - 002081 New Jersey - 37FI00221800 Connecticut - 003267 Michigan - 4101007427
We don't just give you tools. You know the ones. The tools that work fine on New Year's Day and two weeks after. Or on your days off. Or when you are home hermitting. Or when everything is going fine enough (okay, -ish) with your romantic partner, with your narcissistic mother, with your boss, with your creative project, with the news turned off. But THEN... Monday comes. Your heart got broken. Your mom shows up in your messages. Your boss calls you into their office. You HAVE TO look at your news feed (because the world might come to an end and you could have known about it last Tuesday). You know. LITERALLY ANYTHING that overwhelms you, upsets you, judges you, shames you, drains you. And your tools go out the window. Tools? What tools? And, notice that I didn't even address your creativity, because that went out the window on New Year's Day! Shit. Why? Because your nervous system DOESN'T CARE ABOUT Tools! Tools? What tools. But then... HEYOKA. Wouldn't it be nice if your mother couldn't bother you? Wouldn't it be nice if your own parts would quit sabotaging you? It would be so nice! All that time you used to spend scrolling, shopping, gaming, streaming, burned out, stressed out, micro-dosing, brain-fogged, hyper focused, anxious, depleted, sick, and depressed. And notice that I didn't even address your Empathic Co-dependency, because having to fixhelpsolveheal EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY is your mode of operation Every Day. WHY Heyoka? And why does she keep typing caps-lock? Because We Heal Nervous Systems (not just your nerves). So then... You can Move Beyond Trauma...and Drama...and Bullshit...and Your Own Part-icular Patterns and Stuckness and Coping and Nonsense. And THEN... (oh my, then)... that REALLY would be nice. But how? But what does this really mean? But is any of that really possible? But you don't know me, though, Sherry. And you REALLY don't know my MOTHER. (Or insert the name of your difficult person about here.) Would you like to tell me more so we can find out together if this would really work for you? Contact me. We'll set up a time for a quick phone call. Happy to listen, and I'll give you my honest assessment. Curious about anything else? The meaning or further exploration of something you read here? Whether we'd be a good fit? How this might be different from other therapy or other therapists you've had? Whether I've ever worked with another person like you, or a situation like you have? Or maybe you just really wanted to know the answer to why I typed in caps-lock? Contact me. We'll get you set up for that as well. And P.S. Sometimes people don't know what they want or need when they call. They just know they are compelled to do it.
Echoes of your earliest traumas grow stronger as grief makes it difficult to breathe. You’ll be trapped here forever; you’re sure of it. Trapped in a cycle of pain that seems impossible to break, as if on an empty rollercoaster that never stops. You’ve endured one loss after another. Now, you’re back in the loop again, repeating unhealthy patterns that have never worked and never will. You can see there’s a ride less draining and more thrilling, and it’s right in front of you, but just out of reach. So, you continue to stay put, alone, both anxious and defeated, going round and round again. There is a way off this rollercoaster, and we're here to help you off of it. We'll transform your grief into a powerful pathway to healing, addressing past hurts and current struggles head-on. Peeling away old band-aids and pouring in proven practices, you'll uncover hidden roadblocks as you inch steadily from denial and despair to acceptance. Experience a life where grief no longer defines you, where you’re empowered to embrace new possibilities. Our insightful and compassionate team stands ready to guide you down this life-changing path. It’s time to make a choice, take a chance, and feel the change!
Therapy isn’t about fixing who you are; it’s about understanding yourself more deeply and creating space for the life you want to live. You may find yourself overthinking, feeling emotionally exhausted, making sense of an existing diagnosis, navigating a season of change, or simply sensing that something in your life no longer feels right. Whatever brings you to therapy, I believe it should be a place where you can slow down, explore what’s beneath the surface, and begin making sense of the experiences and patterns shaping your life. I specialize in working with women at every stage of life, recognizing that each chapter brings its own experiences, challenges, and opportunities for growth. My approach is warm, collaborative, and individualized. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), psychoanalytic and psychodynamic principles, and mindfulness-based interventions to meet your individual needs. Together, we can explore not only what you’re experiencing today, but also the deeper patterns that may be influencing how you think, feel, relate to others, and move through the world. My clinical experience includes working in multiple settings dedicated to women’s emotional well-being, including graduate training at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. These experiences have allowed me to support women through a wide range of life experiences and mental health concerns and continue to shape the thoughtful, compassionate care I provide today. You don’t need to be in crisis or have everything figured out to begin therapy. Sometimes, simply recognizing that something needs to change is enough. I hope to provide a space where you feel understood, gain meaningful insight, and develop the tools and confidence to move forward with greater clarity and intention. If you’re ready to begin, I welcome you to reach out for a complimentary consultation.
At Heart Walk Counseling, I believe you deserve a space where you can feel heard, understood, and supported without judgment. Life can bring challenges that feel overwhelming, and you don’t have to work through them alone. My approach is warm, compassionate, and focused on meeting you where you are. I believe counseling should be a place where you can be honest about what you’re experiencing, explore what may be holding you back, and discover tools that help you move forward. Whether you’re working through anxiety, grief, relationship struggles, trauma, life transitions, or simply feeling stuck, my goal is to help you better understand yourself and create meaningful change at a pace that feels comfortable for you. At Heart Walk Counseling, we walk alongside you, not telling you how to live your life, but helping you find your own path toward healing and growth.
Life's difficulties and challenges can pull anyone off balance for a time. Having a professional to support recovering that balance as you travel your personal journey may be the first step toward greater insight and establishing compassionate self empowerment. I am devoted to being that professional as we explore the inner and external landscapes of modern living.
I treat young adults, adults, and older adults presenting with a wide range of life issues, needs, and concerns. I focus on maladaptive stress, anxiety, and mood instability stemming from various life situations (academic distress, finances, career, family relationships, personal relationships, and the diagnosis and treatment of physical health issues as examples). I do so by increasing self-awareness while teaching skills to refocus stress and reduce the feelings of instability experienced. I also help build a healthy sense of identity and increase confidence to make adaptive, self-determined life choices. I believe in an informed, individualized approach to treatment that is provided within a compassionate, respectful, and ethical environment. I firmly believe that through these elements individuals can reach a degree of awareness, focus, and understanding that allows for increased meaning, purpose, satisfaction, and fulfillment in their lives.
Most people who find their way to me are not in crisis. They are tired. Tired of the same argument returning. Tired of feeling unseen by the person closest to them. Tired of noticing themselves end up, again, in a version of the same dynamic, no matter who the partner is. Maybe the connection in your relationship feels thinner than it used to, even when nothing dramatic has happened. Maybe you and your partner can barely sit through dinner without one of you shutting down or getting reactive. Maybe you are the one who keeps trying, keeps initiating, keeps holding the relationship together, and you are starting to ask whether you can keep doing it alone. Maybe everything looks fine from the outside, and only you know how lonely it has begun to feel. If you are coming on your own rather than as a couple, you may be sitting with a different version of the same question. Why do I keep ending up in this kind of relationship? Why does my closest person bring out a side of me I do not recognize, or do not like? Why do I want closeness and resist it at the same time? Why is it so hard to be honest about what I actually need? You may have tried therapy before. You may have read the books, listened to the podcasts, learned the communication skills, taken the assessments, made the lists. Some of it probably helped, at least for a while. And still, something underneath has not shifted. I am Dr. Ehsan Adib Shabahang, a doctoral-level therapist and the founder of AtReef Therapy in Cambridge, MA. I provide couples therapy and individual therapy, with a focus on the patterns that repeat in close relationships and within ourselves. My background is in psychology (PhD with a Social Psychology focus) and clinical mental health counseling. I do not work with everyone, and that is intentional. The work I do is best suited to adults who want depth, who can tolerate honest reflection, and who are ready to look at themselves with as much care as they look at their partner. My approach is relationship-centered and reflective. I focus less on quick communication fixes and more on what often gets left unsaid in a relationship: the protective behaviors, the hidden expectations, the longings that have gone underground, the parts of ourselves we have learned to keep out of view. Communication skills matter, and we will use them. But communication is usually not the real problem. The real problem is what each person is protecting underneath the words. This work is informed by Self-Reflective Relationship Therapy (SRRT), a framework I am developing. SRRT holds a core idea: what remains unseen within us often becomes repeated between us. The version of you that learned, early on, to anticipate disappointment, to manage other people's moods, to keep the peace, to perform competence, to stay quiet, to keep score, or to leave first will keep showing up in your relationship until you can see it clearly. SRRT is not a cure, not a hack, and not a substitute for therapy. It is the framework I bring to the room, and it is meant to give us a shared language for the patterns that are usually too close to see. In our sessions, you can expect honesty, structure, and warmth held together. I will not tell you what to do or whether to stay. I will not perform neutrality when I see something worth naming. I will help you slow down enough to see what you and your partner (or you and yourself) have actually been carrying, and to make sense of why it has been so hard to put down. We will move between what is happening between you in the room and what each of you brought into the room before this relationship existed. The patterns usually live in both places at once. Couples often come to me when they have stopped recognizing the relationship they once had, when one or both partners are quietly considering whether to stay, when trust has been ruptured, or when they want to do the deeper work before things become more strained. Individuals often come to me when they have noticed a pattern they cannot break alone, when a relationship has ended and they want to understand their part, or when self-reflection has stopped feeling like something they can do without help. You will not be rushed. You will not be handed a worksheet and sent home. The work is slower than most therapy you have probably encountered, and that is on purpose. Real change in how we love and how we are loved tends to happen at the speed of honesty, not the speed of strategy. If you are looking for short-term symptom relief, a place to vent without much pushback, or a therapist who will tell you what to do, I am probably not the right fit. If you are looking for depth, accountability, and a slower kind of work where understanding yourself in relationship is the point, I would be glad to hear from you. I see couples and individuals in person in Cambridge, MA, and via secure telehealth throughout Massachusetts.
Make the dream work with teamwork. I partner with you to decrease symptoms and improve your life’s journey. I encourage you to reach out for help with daily stressors. I offer premarital and family counseling and help with depression, grief, anxiety, anger management, and substance abuse. Let’s tackle the root of the problem. It’s my pleasure to serve you. For a free consultation, feel free to contact me at your convenience. I am experienced with premarital and couples counseling and offer Biblical counseling upon request. I provide ethically sound and Christian counseling for low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and mental illness. I work with adolescents and offer family counseling. If you feel anxious about sharing concerns with leaders in your church, I can help. I am trained in working with domestic violence survivors, LGBT populations, and Matrix 12-week Substance Abuse Training. I offer guided imagery, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Reaching out for support can feel overwhelming, and I honor the courage it takes to be here. I work with women navigating trauma, chronic illness, CPTSD, and emotional overwhelm. My goal is to offer a warm, welcoming, and judgment-free space where you can exhale and feel truly seen. I believe healing happens in a trusting relationship, so we’ll move at your pace, focusing on what helps you feel grounded, supported, and empowered. You don’t have to face everything alone—I’m here to walk with you.
