Find a Therapist in Woodland Park, NJ

From a heartfelt place, I mirror back each person's beauty and potential. With intention, attention, skill and humor, I facilitate the process that allows each person to become more of her/his authentic self and to manifest that self into the world.

I use an insightful and personalized approach to help clients identify barriers to happiness and gain a better understanding of their emotions and experiences. Knowing yourself deeply is an essential ingredient in creating the life you want, and this type of emotional learning ideally occurs within the context of a non-judgmental therapeutic relationship. My goal is to help clients explore behavioral patterns and achieve psychological well-being. My approach focuses on helping clients with a range of issues such as grief, depression, anxiety, interpersonal conflict, and anger management. I provide clients with the emotional self-regulation tools, coping and communication skills, mindfulness techniques, and self-management strategies needed to cultivate change.

We offer a community-based facility serving individuals and families. Patricio Destuet, our director, has over two decades of experience serving our community. We offer treatment for anxiety, panic, depression, chronic illness, family problems, and domestic violence. We help children navigate academic challenges, learning and behavior difficulties, ODD, ADHD, and ADD. We offer parenting counseling to parents of children and adolescents, as well as services for couples and families. We have a professional team approach, using on-site social workers, psychiatric staff, and psychologists. We do not maintain a waiting list! We use a variety of techniques, including dynamic therapy, play hour for children, and cognitive therapy. We also offer family and couples counseling, parenting counseling, and a host of community services, including parenting groups. Our experienced licensed mental health professionals for adolescents, adults, and children are available in our office or for referral. We work with school counselors, the community, neurologists, psychiatrists, and primary care physicians. We're conveniently located near public transportation and parking.

I help adults as they get ready to make important changes in their lives. I value working with people from various religious backgrounds, nationalities, sexual orientations, and ethniccultural identities and as my client, I commit to ensuring that you feel seen and valued. Clients can expect to gain self-knowledge, to find clarity and acceptance, to feel empowered and capable, and to learn practical skills and strategies. Whatever you are facing, whatever life has thrown your way, you are not alone.

We are a collaborative team working on your health and well-being. In the interest of enhanced communication between us, I'd like to take the time to explain the process of counseling. The process of counseling can be both exciting and scary, as you reach within yourself to achieve your full potential. It often takes a "leap of faith" to begin the counseling process, and you've already achieved that difficult goal. You will set and achieve many other difficult goals in our time together! In counseling, I work primarily from three different viewpoints. The first is called cognitive-behavioral, which is really just a term to describe the fact that I believe that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are very intertwined, and that sometimes our problems are caused by the way we think, feel, and/or behave. This gets complicated because all of these things become mixed with one another, so after a while it may become difficult to sort out what started the problem in the first place. One of the things I will do in therapy is to help you sort out your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and which of these may contribute to your problems. Sometimes simply restructuring the way we think is enough for us to work through our problems. A second viewpoint I work from deals with the family in which you grew up. Many of the things we experience in our childhood affects us throughout our lives, and, in fact, help to shape the personalities we have as adults. One of the things we will do in therapy is explore your family history to look for patterns and themes that may affect you and play out in your life today. Sometimes simply recognizing your family's patterns, whether currently, or how you think and feel about them in the past, can help you to work through your issues. Finally, I work from a systemic point of view. Simply put, I acknowledge that each one us is embedded in a greater context than ourselves. We have families, friends, school, work, community, and other life situations that greatly affect how we function. I will work with you to discover if there are any systemic difficulties in your life, and help you to resolve them. These are my primary ways of helping you in counseling, though I will utilize a variety of techniques to help you in any way that I can. One of the things that you can expect, though, is that I will be giving you 100% in our work together. If you put the same amount of effort into this process, you will be amazed at what you can achieve!

I work with adults and young adults that desire change in their lives. My areas of expertise include anxiety, depression, perfectionism, stress and life transitions. I specialize in helping my clients develop the tools needed to manage difficult emotions and create a healthier way of thinking. In my virtual practice I prominently use Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) as my treatment approach. I help you develop coping skills to manage emotions that are interfering with your day-to-day life. We simultaneously explore your underlying thoughts to create an understanding of why these emotions exist and how they can be overcome.

Finding the right therapist can be a very confusing and overwhelming process! On your initial visit, I will spend a generous amount of time with you on your presenting concerns and your goals for therapy. Having 16 years of experience, I can accurately assess the type of therapy that would be most useful for your specific situation. My specialty is Cognitive Behavior Therapy and I find most clients achieve significant progress with this approach. When you work with me, together we'll break down your patterns of thinking and behaviors that cause anxiety, depression, and hold you back from enjoying life. You will develop the skills to feel better and create positive change. Many clients find my style a "very refreshing" change from their former therapy. In couples therapy, I use a highly structured format that enables couples to communicate in a way they never have before. This new way of communication gets right to the core issues. My approach to couples therapy brings resolution to issues much faster than traditional therapy. I am available by phone to discuss any questions or concerns you have before beginning therapy.

You may be entering a new stage in your life, whether it is heading to college and moving out of your childhood home, starting your career, choosing to seek graduate or advanced training, or becoming serious in a committed relationship and starting your own family. You know what you want to achieve, but need additional support in navigating the stresses of setting off on this new path. Or maybe you want help in redefining the roles your family members and loved ones have in your life as you walk towards adulthood in a chaotic world. Maybe you have started your own family and made the decision to become a parent. You may want to parent differently than your parents, but are unsure how. You might be experiencing anxiety around being responsible for a vulnerable new human being. Children can be mirrors, reflecting our own experiences of childhood back onto us. Perhaps past painful experiences of not having your own needs met in childhood are bubbling up and you want to have a safe space to process and explore those experiences. Perhaps you are noticing that your child is experiencing challenges. They may have learning or attentional difficulties, are struggling to navigate difficult life transitions, or are acting out and appear to be overwhelmed with big emotions they don't know how to manage. Whatever issue is bringing either you or your child to therapy, I believe you also bring with your own unique strengths and abilities. My approach as a therapist is to first focus on developing a relationship built upon mutual respect that allows you to feel safe, supported, and heard. In sessions, my goal is to empower you to take the lead and choose the direction therapy will take. Therapy is a place where you can explore both your strengths and challenges, ask questions, and take risks. My therapy approach is client-centered, trauma informed, and strengths based. Most importantly, my approach is tailored to your unique strengths, needs, and goals.

I have specific expertise working with couples as well as individuals navigating difficult relationships. I particularly enjoy working with high-achieving professionals, over-thinkers, new moms and dads, and cycle-breakers. I am an active therapist, meaning that I will ask questions and point out patterns to help you get to the root of what really brought you into therapy. I am a warm but direct straight shooter who values transparency and I use humor, intuition, and spontaneity in my work. My aim is not to tell you what to do, but rather to help you listen to your own inner wisdom.

You’re tired. Maybe you’ve been holding everything together for everyone else, but inside you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck. Your mind won’t slow down. You replay conversations. Old pain shows up when you least expect it. You’re functioning but you’re not at peace. If that’s where you are, you don’t need to be fixed. You need space to breathe, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and begin to feel steady again. When we work together, I help you slow things down. We identify the patterns keeping you stuck and gently unpack the experiences that still feel heavy. I don’t believe in just talking about problems. I focus on helping you experience real relief in your daily life. If trauma is part of your story, we may use EMDR to help your brain and nervous system reprocess painful memories so they stop hijacking your present. If anxiety is loud, we’ll build practical tools to quiet the noise and help you feel grounded and in control. I’m warm, direct, and culturally responsive. I’ll support you, challenge you when needed, and walk alongside you as you build clarity, confidence, and emotional stability. You don’t need the perfect words. You just need to show up. Healing is possible and you don’t have to do it alone.