Find a Therapist in Spring Lake, NJ

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

Beginning therapy can feel like a big step, whether you’re looking for support right now or navigating an upcoming transition. My goal is to create a space that feels warm, welcoming, and genuinely safe for you to show up as you are. In our work together, we’ll focus on helping you better understand yourself and make changes that feel realistic and sustainable. Sessions may include both reflection and practical steps forward, depending on what feels most helpful to you. I recognize that societal systems, bias, and discrimination can have a real impact on mental health, relationships, and sense of self. As a queer-identifying therapist, I offer gender-affirming, celebratory care and work closely with individuals from marginalized communities. I often support clients navigating identity, relationships, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Together, we’ll work toward helping you feel more grounded, more confident, and better able to move through challenges with clarity. I have experience supporting both individuals and couples as they move through periods of change and uncertainty. Over time, clients often find they feel more connected to themselves, more secure in their decisions, and better able to handle what life brings. If you’re considering therapy, you don’t need to have everything figured out to reach out. Reaching out doesn’t commit you to anything. It’s simply a chance to see if this feels like a good fit.

You've probably been holding it together for a long time. Managing the job, the relationships, the responsibilities, the version of yourself that everyone else needs you to be. And you're good at it. That's actually part of the problem. High-functioning doesn't mean fine. It means you've gotten very good at keeping the harder stuff out of sight, including from yourself sometimes. And at some point, that stops working. The anxiety bleeds through. The relationship hits a wall. The transition you thought you were handling turns out to be bigger than you expected. Or you just wake up one day and realize you've been running on empty for longer than you can remember. That's usually when people find us. I'm Manuela Correia-Guerra, a licensed professional counselor, approved clinical supervisor, and the founder of MVCG Psychotherapy Services in Spring Lake, NJ. I've been doing this work for nearly 20 years, and what I've learned is that the people who are hardest to help on paper are often the easiest to work with in the room. Sharp, self-aware, motivated. They just need someone who won't let them intellectualize their way around the actual work. That's what we do here. At MVCG, I've built a close-knit team of clinicians who share the same core belief: that real change requires more than coping strategies and a sympathetic ear. It requires honesty, clarity, and a willingness to look at the things you've been carefully not looking at. We work from a person-centered foundation, which means you lead and we follow your pace. But we're not passive. We'll ask the questions other people won't. We'll name the pattern you've been living inside of. And we'll stay in it with you until the work is actually done. My own approach is shaped by Carl Rogers and Gestalt therapy, which is a long way of saying I believe deeply in your capacity to figure this out, and I'll be direct with you while you do. Not harsh. Not clinical. Direct. There's a difference. We see clients in person at our Spring Lake, NJ office, serving Monmouth and Ocean Counties, and via telehealth throughout New Jersey. We specialize in anxiety, high-functioning anxiety, trauma, life transitions, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), couples and marital counseling, caregiver support, and men's mental health. We accept most major insurance plans, including Aetna, Cigna, Horizon BCBS, Optum, Oscar, Oxford, Meritain, and UnitedHealthcare. If something here sounds familiar, that's not an accident. Reach out. We'll take it from there.

Dr. Spada is a gestalt psychotherapist catering to New Jersey where she runs her own practice. She is uncompromising in her dedication to the well-being of her clients. Her practice philosophy is to provide holistic and evidence-based care that is respectful of the concerns, values, and aspirations of her clients. She believes in empowering her clients to achieve their greatest potential. A well-trained professional, Dr. Spada earned her master's degree in social work from the State University of New York, Stony Brook. She also holds a Ph.D. in social work from Adelphi University. Dr. Spada's sound clinical knowledge and passion towards her work are commendable and make her a valued asset in her practice. She has an individualized approach to patient care and carefully considers all aspects of her patient’s physical and mental health in the interest of properly treating them. Dr. Spada has a passion for creative and deep-reaching individual and couples therapy and does her best to motivate people to live their best lives.

I am at ease in treating adults with stress, trauma, anxiety and depression; and I bring a sense of calm and presence to difficult conversations, always looking for the opportunity for clients learning, growth and improvement regardless of the circumstances.

Many of the people I work with are thinkers, caretakers, or high achievers: the ones who analyze everything, show up for everyone else, or keep pushing toward the next goal. Somewhere along the way, that stopped being enough. My training is existential and influenced by Jungian thinking. In practice, that means I care about what your life means to you, the choices you’re facing, and the whole of who you are, including the parts that don’t make tidy sense. Hardship reaches everyone. In my experience, the people who spend their energy dodging it often end up living at a smaller scale than they were built for. I’d like to help you build the courage to see yourself honestly, so that fear stops making your decisions. Some pain can’t be solved. It can only be faced. I work with adults who are carrying a loss or a reality that won’t change: a death, a relationship that ended, a family that split apart, an illness that redrew the future, a child they hoped for, or a life that took a different shape than the one they worked toward. Together we build the steadiness to hold that pain without letting it run everything, so there’s room for sorrow and joy in the same life. Outside of sessions, you’ll find me baking sourdough, watching sci-fi and thrillers, and holding on to the punk energy of my years in a band. I laugh at myself easily, and I’d say it’s a healthy habit. I don’t aim to make you more ordinary or fit you into a template. I bring over ten years of clinical experience, steady attention, and a firm belief that whatever surfaces in our work, however strange or hard, has meaning and deserves to be taken seriously. I’m also a certified Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga facilitator (TCTSY-F). It’s a research-supported, body-based approach for people whose trauma lives more in the body than in words, and when it fits, I can bring gentle, choice-based movement into our sessions. Therapy with me suits you if you’re curious, can tolerate complexity, and want to understand yourself. If you’re looking for a quick repair. I may not be the right fit. If you’d like company while you work out who you are, I’d be glad to meet you. I see clients online across New Jersey and New York, and in person for walk-and-talk sessions in Long Valley, NJ. Visit Person to Person Psychotherapy and Counseling for more information about my practice: https:www.person2persontherapy.com

Feeling more like a passenger than a driver on life's journey is a common experience, especially when the path you're on doesn't align with your goals. The overwhelming stress and anxiety you feel may stem from trying to meet expectations that no longer serve you, leaving you feeling stuck and uncertain about how to move forward. Reaching out for support is a courageous first step toward feeling better. Imagine finding the clarity and peace you're seeking, allowing you to focus on your own needs and goals. Together, we can explore the patterns in your life and equip you with proven techniques to help you thrive rather than just survive. Our sessions are a partnership, honoring your past while energizing your present to create a better future. I provide both in-person and telehealth sessions for residents in New Jersey. If you're ready to start your journey toward personal growth and a more meaningful life, please feel free to email or call me today.

Most therapists will smile, nod, and ask, “How does that make you feel?”—but if that actually fixed the problem, you wouldn’t still be looking for someone who gets it. I believe people come to therapy because they’re tired of feeling alone with their struggles, not because they want a scripted response. My specialty is addiction recovery, but I’ve learned over the years that addiction rarely travels solo. It brings along old wounds, shame, anxiety, depression, relationship stress, and the feeling that you’re supposed to hold everything together on your own. My approach is steady, honest, and human, and I meet you where you are. I don’t offer cookie-cutter advice or quick fixes. Therapy with me is about uncovering the resilience you already have—even if you’ve stopped believing in it. Whatever you’re facing—addiction, relationship pain, or something you can’t yet name—I’ll meet you there with honesty, compassion, and zero judgment.

My approach in working with patients is based on my clinical training and experiences. As well I provide unconditional positive regard. I never judge my patients and the advice I give comes completely from my heart and soul. I have total love of mankind and therefore I truly believe in bringing a piece of mind as well as hope and power to my patients. I believe that ANY problem can be solved.

My approach to working with people is based on listening carefully. Together we will create a space where we can explore past and present relationships and come to understand the many levels of your experience. The goal is to feel more in control and generally to feel more whole and enlivened. Over my 30 year career I have worked with all kinds of individuals and couples covering a broad range of emotional issues and life circumstances. I look forward to meeting you in a consultation to see if we are a good match to work together.

You've likely tried to understand what's getting in your way. Maybe it's a pattern you keep returning to, a relationship that isn't working the way you'd like, or a low-level unease you can't quite name. And yet, insight alone hasn't been enough to create the change you're looking for. That gap is exactly where therapy becomes meaningful. I'm Kelly, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and psychotherapist. I work with adult individuals and couples who are self-aware and motivated, yet find that understanding alone hasn't been enough to create the changes they're looking for. My approach is integrative and mindfulness-informed, drawing from psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive-behavioral frameworks. What ties them together is mindfulness, not as a technique, but as a foundational orientation. Rather than trying to eliminate difficult thoughts or emotions, you learn to observe them differently. That shift in your relationship to your inner experience is where lasting change begins. This work is collaborative, attuned, and grounded. I bring both structure and genuine presence to each session, and I work at a pace that honors where you are. If any of this resonates, I'd welcome the chance to connect.

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.