I often work with people to address relationship-based issues (the relationship with themselves or with others). This may show up as working on low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, anxiety and/or depression, identity issues, life transitions (those welcomed and not-so welcomed), and trauma.

With relationships, I am often helping those who are single and have difficulty with dating, the heartbroken, people experiencing conflict and/or ambivalence in their romantic relationship, and those divorcing or divorced. Exploring or addressing one’s sex life or sexual expression is commonly part of this work as well.

I also help couples slow down, identity recurring emotional-based patterns of interaction, and work towards building or rebuilding resilient, long-lasting, loving, secure attachments, improved communication, and repairing relationship injuries.

I work with anyone 18-years-old or older, and I am a firm believer that psychotherapy is for everyone and I welcome you to contact me if anything you are reading resonates with you.

That said, a majority of the people I work with are gay men, couples, high achievers in high-demand work settings, college and graduate students, those in the arts, music, and other creative fields, people exploring their gender, sexuality, and/or relationship structures (i.e., monogamy and non-monogamy), and those who value or believe in healing and growth through appreciation of the unconscious mind, the influence of early childhood experiences, insight, and the therapeutic relationship.

For individual psychotherapy, I am well trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This means I am collaboratively working with you towards, among other factors, exploring, processing, and re-experiencing emotions, identifying more accurate perceptions, trying new behaviors, and building a life narrative.

For couples therapy, I am trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT). Here, the goal is to foster emotional openness to be safe and available with your partner(s), identifying recurring negative cycles of interaction and uncovering the underlying emotions “fueling” the cycle, and helping each partner be a secure base and safe haven to one another with secure attachments.

Yes - I offer both individual and couples therapy; I am not able to simultaneously be an individual and couples therapist for the same person.

If you are unsure of whether or not to pursue individual or couples therapy with me, we can decide together based on what you are hoping to change or, after having met to get to know you better and what your difficulties are, based on my clinical judgement of what is the most pressing issue.

Generally speaking, if the main issue is the relationship dynamic, couples therapy may be the best starting point. If the focus is more personal (anxiety/burnout/depression, exploration of identity, sexuality, or gender, self-esteem, fear of abandonment, trauma, high-achiever pressure, etc.), individual therapy may be a better fit.

In some cases, a combined approach may make sense, and I will work with you to connect you with a provider for the additional therapy you need.

The first session (and often one or two more sessions) is dedicated to you having the time and space to tell the story of your life, and to share what your concerns, problems, patterns, or difficulties are. My aim is to begin understanding what it is like to uniquely be you to have been you.

We will explore what is bringing you to therapy, how you understand why you are experiencing what you are experiencing, how what is occurring now may be connected or related to experiences in your childhood and in other seminal moments of your life, and we will identify your strengths and your goals for therapy as well.

We will also strive to understand the influence and/or impact of past treatments and responses, developmental and neurobiological factors, and relationship themes or patterns.

We will also begin to know what it is like to work together; towards the end of this intake process, I will also invite dialogue on how this feels for you, to make sure you feel confident and hopeful about the work ahead.

For individual and couples therapy, sessions are held once a week at minimum. Sometimes, depending on what may be being worked on, one-off addition sessions are held in a given week or the session frequency changes to twice a week.

Bi-weekly (i.e., every other week) sessions are typically only held as our work is beginning to wrap up.

The session length is between 45 to 60 minutes.

You have the freedom to withdraw from therapy at any time. Individual psychotherapy ends when you feel you have experienced meaningful, lasting change, or when you feel this work together has brought you as far as it may towards your goals and life agenda. This often means a reduction or relief from certain symptoms, deeper understanding of recurring ways of relating, feeling, thinking, doing - and being - such that you feel more freedom to make different choices.

Couples therapy ends once your partner and you can ask each other and answer, from the heart, “yes,” to the question, “A.R.E. you there for me?,” meaning: Are you (a)cessible to me? Will you (r)espond to me? Are you (e)motionally attuned to me? This means your partner and you can do on your own what has been practiced in our work together: notice the negative cycle when it starts, slow it down, and reach for each other in a clearer and more vulnerable way, and respond in a way that feels safe and connecting.

The ending of therapy is a collaborative process and planned to the best of our abilities. It’s a rare chance to explore and process endings, loss, and what it means to say “goodbye.”

I am only licensed to practice psychology in New York State (#026010).

I offer telehealth sessions on Mondays through Wednesdays.

I offer in-person sessions at 352 7th Ave, New York, NY, 10001 on Thursdays and Fridays.

I generally work standard business hours (Monday-Friday), from 9:00am to 5:00pm (first session at 9am, last session at 4pm).

My office is located at 352 7th Ave in Midtown Manhattan, just steps from Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall. You can get here easily via the 1/2/3/ subway lines (34 St-Penn Station), the A/C/E lines (34-Penn Station), or the N/Q/R/W lines (34 St-Herald Square - about a short walk). It’s also accessible by LRR, NJ Transit, Amtrak, and multiple MTA bus routes that stop near 34th Street and 7th Avenue.

The fee for an individual or couples session is $300 per session. This is before insurance is applied.

You may pay with credit or debit card, check, cash, and/or FSA and HSA funds. Co-pays and co-insurances are typically issued directly to you 2-3 days after a session via a HIPAA-complaint third-party billing system. Out-of-network or or out-of-pocket fees are typically charged with a card securely stored on file by the end of the day of the session.

I am in-network with Aetna insurance (and some plans that use the Aetna network); your out-of-pocket cost (e.g., co-pay or co-insurance or amount due before your deductible is met) is set by your specific plan; you do not pay the difference between my fee and the insurance’s cap of my fee.

Many other insurance plans that I am out of network (OON) offer OON benefits too. Because benefits vary widely, the most accurate way to confirm your cost is to call the number on the back of your card and ask: 1) Do I have out-of-network mental health benefits? 2) Do I have an out-of-network deductible, and if I do, how much do I have left until it is met? 3) What is my co-pay or co-insurance amount once my OON deductible has been met?

If you are OON with me, I will provide you with a monthly superbill you may submit to your insurance for a possible out-of-network reimbursement.

Please note I do not accept insurance for couples therapy, even if I am in network with your plan for individual therapy. Most insurance plans either do not cover couples counseling or require a billable mental health diagnosis for one partner, which often does not fit the goals of relationship work. Couples sessions are therefore private pay; I can provide a superbill - however, reimbursement for couples therapy is uncommon and depends entirely on your plan.

If you prefer not to use insurance, you’re welcome to pay privately as well.

There is a 48-hour cancellation policy: If you cancel the session within 48-hours of the start of your appointment, there is no cancellation fee. If you cancel within 48-hours of the start of your appointment, there is a cancellation fee equivalent to the full session fee. If we are able to reschedule to another time within the same week, the cancellation fee is waived. I am unable to guarantee having availability to reschedule.

If there are a frequent amount of cancellations, we will need to address what may be leading to the cancellations and if alternative arrangements need to be made depending on your needs, including possibly ending therapy.

In individual therapy, what you share is confidential, with limited legal and ethical exceptions (such as risk of serious harm to yourself or others, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, elder, dependent adult, or a court order). I do not share your information, including family members or other providers, without your written permission.

In couples therapy, the relationship is the patient, and confidentiality applies to the work as a whole. In addition to the same limits of confidentiality in individual therapy, I do not keep secrets with one partner that could affect the therapy. If something significant is shared individually, we will plan together how it can be brought to you partner’s attention. Communication between sessions is typically limited to scheduling and brief logistics unless we agree otherwise; all communication correspondence includes both parners and myself to ensure everyone is on the same page.

If you are having a psychiatric or medical emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. You may also call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for 24/7 support.

My practice does not provide 24/7 coverage. I cannot guarantee being able to respond in a timely manner, however I am generally available during the week and on the weekends for urgent matters through brief phone calls or having a session as soon as feasibly possible.