Professional Counseling Services
RELATIONSHIPS/ABUSE/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
It is my belief that humans are social beings. That being said, our relationships and connections to others bring meaning to our lives. I am dedicated to helping clients succeed in relationships and enrich their lives by building positive supports, identifying relationship patterns, and exercising healthy boundaries. I empower those in abusive relationships and teach clients how to reconstruct healthy relationships. Together, we will explore your psychology and your emotional/cognitive responses in an effort to gain insight into the self and promote growth. I am supportive of clients who are pro-commitment as well as those that would like support moving on. Change happens once a deeper understanding of oneself occurs. By understanding yourself through exploration of your fears, wishes, dreams, motivators, as well as how you relate to others, making changes will appear more tangible.
SELF IMPROVEMENT/STRESS MANAGEMENT/FINDING BALANCE/CONFLICT RESOLUTION/ SELF ESTEEM/LIFE TRANSITONS/MULTICULTURAL ISSUES/RESUME & INTERVIEW SKILLS/NAVIGATING OFFICE DYNAMICS/COMMUNICATION SKILLS/BREAKING THROUGH BARRIERS/MAKING THE MONEY YOU DESERVE
Balancing one's different life roles can be overwhelming, especially with the many demands that accompany each role. Being that I am humanistic in nature, I believe that people are putting their best efforts forth in terms of dealing with their current circumstances and juggling their various roles. I work with clients to identify conflicts and sources of stress in their lives and help facilitate self-awareness and positive change. I am solution-focused, practical, interactive and direct. Identifying stress triggers, developing healthy coping skills, and facilitating self-discovery will result in self-improvement and higher self-esteem. When clients have strong self-efficacy and can manage stress utilizing healthy coping skills, they are able to achieve their goals and live a happier life. I provide assistance composing and making revisions to resumes, reviewing interviewing skills and helping clients develop strong communication skills to advocate for themselves effectively. In addition, I also work with individuals who have concerns that arise specific to cultural, ethnic, religious and/or sexual minorities.
PSYCHOEDUCATION/CONSULTATION/INSIGHT DRIVEN THERAPY
Due to my experience working with individuals who have been diagnosed with severe mental illness, I have noticed how powerful the need for education and support is to the family members involved. If you have a loved one who is diagnosed with mental illness and are finding it overwhelming to cope, understand the illness, or to get them the resources they need to live successfully and independently in the community, please reach out, as I provide this service on a short-term and on a consulting basis.
PHYSICAL ILLNESS/CHRONIC ILLNESS/OVERALL WELLNESS/BODY IMAGE
Physical illness is a facet of one's overall wellness and tends to have negative effects on one's cognitive and mental wellbeing. Feeling understood is paramount and I can help you or a loved one find ways to verbalize your feelings, advocate for yourself, make decisions regarding treatment, cope with illness in a healthy way and re-balance your life. I have worked with individuals diagnosed with chronic illness as well as family members of those individuals. More specifically, I specialize in Crohns/Colitis patients and Breast Cancer patients. Furthermore, many breast cancer patients also deal with body-image/self-esteem issues during chemotherapy and post-reconstructive surgery which can also be addressed in treatment.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE/RELAPSE PREVENTION/RECOVERY ISSUES
I have a Post-Masters Specialization in Advanced Clinical Approaches to Addictions. If you or someone you know has an addiction, it can feel like an impossible feat. In fact, research demonstrates that there is a biological/neurological component to addiction. Together, we will identify the people, places, things and feelings that trigger the addiction and work together on harm-reduction methods, replacing the addiction with healthy coping skills, and linking you to the appropriate community referrals if additional support is needed between sessions. I also work with individuals that are working on recovery issues, preventing relapse and maintaining sobriety.
TRAUMA/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/DEPRESSION/ANXIETY/LOSS & GRIEF COUNSELING
I believe these to be among the most sensitive topics and I take great care in ensuring a delicate approach when dealing with these types of presenting concerns. Many of these can be debilitating if not treated properly. I am compassionate, understanding, nonjudgmental, and draw on the client's strengths. I like to define my clients, not by their presenting concerns, but by the client as a whole. I encourage addressing one's physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and cultural self to draw strengths from different areas and create balance and self-efficacy. I am honored to work with individuals who have chosen to share intimate details about their lives with me. Specific to trauma, people often create defense mechanisms as a way to cope with the trauma. Although defense mechanisms serve as coping skills in their immediacy, they can become destructive if they replace the ability to process and cope with painful thoughts and feelings. Clients will learn resilience. In terms of anxiety, I will work with the client to address specific needs and help them develop anxiety-reduction techniques.
SUPERVISION/CAREER CONSULTING/MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
For those thinking about entering the field of mental health as a provider and would like to consult regarding schooling/training, becoming licensed in the State of New York, or opening a private practice. Also, I provide supervision for current and/or new practitioners.
Psychological Counseling for Children & Adolescents
CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS/BODY IMAGE/ACTING OUT/MANAGING PEER PRESSURE/SETTING GOALS/ FAMILY CONFLICT/LIFE TRANSITION/DIVORCE
Adolescence is a challenging time period and it is true that all adolescents look for their rite of passage into young adulthood. Transitioning from high school to college can arise feelings of confusion, independence, fear and loneliness. Adolescents are also proven to be those most effected by other life changes such as divorce, relocating, etc. The fact that an adolescent does not want to divulge to their parents the things that are going on in their life is very normal. I take a personalized approach to build on their strengths, help my clients feel understoood, assist in developing good decision-making skills and learning to cope with life stressors in healthy ways. In addition, I can help clients with college admissions essays and learning interview skills through role-playing for their admissions interviews.