Individual Counseling
Feel more present and joyful.
Full life counseling for those seeking greater peace, energy, and fulfillment in their lives.
You’re managing or even doing well in daily life. Still, you wonder…
The clients I work with often face questions about meaning, fulfillment, and a sense that something is missing, whether they are struggling, or at the beginning of their life’s path, or already successful in many ways. We all carry the potential to grow more joyful and to contribute something great and real — to ourselves and to those around us. My approach to counseling is to help you experience a better life; not just to fix old problems, but to open up vital insights, new experiences, and leadership as well.
Therapy for successful individuals seeking a better quality of life.
The people I work with are often thoughtful, high-functioning, and good at figuring things out. But what they’re feeling can’t be solved with logic alone.
- Work is successful — but there’s a restlessness that is hard to explain.
- The same relationship patterns keep recurring, despite your best efforts to change them.
- Addictive cycles — food, screens, sex, alcohol, overthinking — feel more numbing than soothing, in addition to their other negative impacts.
- A breakup, a loss, or a shift at work has thrown you off balance.
- You feel a sense of anxiety, depression, or lack of clarity that seems beyond resolving.
- Or maybe you are a parent watching your child fight off good advice and caring, and making bad decisions. Parents and/or teen and young adult children can benefit greatly from the right kind of support.
In therapy, I help you access the emotional and relational parts of yourself that are harder to locate in yourself, but that are real and have real impact in your life. We work with the full picture — inside and out.
Insight, energy, and the space between: my therapy approach.
In Zen, one question that is explored is: What is your true nature? Many of us go through life without a clear understanding of what our life really consists of, and what leads to joy and liberation. If we want to live more fully, we need both the insight to know ourselves deeply, and the ability to express that insight with energy in our daily lives.
That’s why I call my work Insight and Energy.
Insight is awareness
Seeing what’s going on in your inner landscape and seeing what makes life meaningful. The patterns. The parts you value and the parts you wish did not exist. Areas that you’ve learned to overlook. We help make the landscape clear to see. Emotional and cognitive benefits are the reward.
Energy is expression
Translating insights into effective actions in the world, actions that strengthen relationships and lead to success in many dimensions, is the other part of the therapeutic work. Having insights into yourself and your life is vital, but taking skillful action based on those insights is ultimately the most fulfilling aspect of growth.
This is work rooted in decades of Zen practice and over 30 years teaching Tai Chi Chuan. When inner clarity and outer action move together, life doesn’t just look different. It is fully lived with appreciation.
What tends to shift with psychotherapy.
Counseling helps you to be yourself more fully, without the inhibitions or confusions that make life difficult, and with more awareness of yourself and of others.
Changes that my clients have described to me include “no more dissociation”; “able to drive over bridges and in tunnels without the phobias kicking in”; “expressing sexually to my partner without the anxiety”; “no longer attacking myself as I used to do”.
Here is a summary of some benefits that psychotherapy work supports:
A calmer body
Tension functions as an early-warning message, as it should, instead of being perpetually present.
Better decision-making
Less spinning, more knowing. You start to sense what fits a situation and what does not fit.
Relationship shifts
Blame fades, enthusiasm comes in. Conversations are based on shared interests and shared joy.
Sense of purpose
Drive to accomplish becomes sustainable — not due to pressure, but based on felt meaning.
Living from your own center:
Rather than following someone else’s script, you start writing your own.
Real balance
You feel more fully present — whether you’re in a meeting, or speaking to a friend, or cooking dinner.
What shapes the work.
No one tool fits every moment. Depending on what you bring in, I’ll draw from the approaches and therapy tools that feel most useful for you.
Gestalt Therapy
Focuses on present experience, including our present experience of the past. Change happens when we fully meet what is real at this moment.
Psychoanalytic Depth
Helps us spot the hidden yet powerful patterns — old habits of thought and feeling that strongly influence us from beneath the surface.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
With heartfelt connection we never shame and blame, and we listen well. NVC provides a vital shift from typical communication.
Zen Presence
Deeply felt presence can relieve our crowded thoughts and open spaciousness. Mindfulness isn’t a technique, it is a way of taking in and seeing the amazing beauty of this moment.
Tai Chi Chuan Awareness
For over 30 years I have taught Tai Chi Chuan, which helps us be our whole selves, releasing tension and directing energy from the heart to where it is needed.
Systems Perspective
Decades of consulting for small and large organizations showed me the harmony of work and our human nature, and how to connect with people used to high performance and high stakes.
Reflections from clients.
Therapy changes how life feels. These words speak to that.
Connect
You tell me what’s on your mind. Maybe a pain (“I can’t stop worrying”). Maybe a fog (“Something’s off”). Whatever the issue is, it is real and merits attention.
Explore
We generally meet weekly or every other week. You share your thoughts and story, and we have honest discussions. The issues to resolve, and their resolution, become clear.
Act
Insight becomes experiments in your life: new words with your spouse; a decision to work fewer hours; taking care of your health; pursuing a hobby that’s waited long.
Review Goals
We check on progress together. Some clients seek only to resolve one issue. Other clients enjoy continuing for long-term growth and for deeper well-being.
Your therapy journey
Frequently asked questions
How long until I feel better?
People often feel lighter after a single therapy session, but that is not a long-term “fix”. In some cases, where a single, very specific issue needs discussion, therapy can consist of just a few sessions, but often the issues are broader than that.
Working on patterns that took years to build it can take months or years to resolve the roots of problems. We will talk openly about what is shifting, and whether the work still feels important for lasting healing.
Do you give homework?
At times, yes — but not in the school sense. It might be a suggested conversation to have with a spouse or partner. It could be leaving work each day by a certain time with few exceptions. It could be engaging in social activity if there has been too much isolation. But the dialogue and focus we have during sessions already supports helpful shifts for new, more enjoyable and productive patterns in daily life.
Is this therapy spiritual?
I’ve spent decades in Zen practice and Tai Chi Chuan, so some of that perspective informs how I perceive the issues that clients experience. However, I do not bring up spirituality per se as a separate topic, unless it is central to the client’s experience. Spirituality is part of the daily life, and need not be seen, necessarily, as a separate topic.
Do you take insurance?
The therapy work is out-of-network, which means that your insurance can reimburse you if they provide out-of-network benefits; this is easily verified with your insurance provider. With out-of-network coverage, you pay the fee and then get reimbursed. Many of my clients have this kind of coverage, while others pay out of pocket.
How long does therapy last?
It depends. Some people come in for a few sessions and feel done, especially if a very specific issue needs advice or support. In other cases, clients stay longer because they are finding value and are growing in understanding of and appreciation of life.
What if I’m not sure after one session?
You will have a sense of whether it feels like a good fit or not after one or possibly a few sessions. If you’re not sure, we can also discuss it.
Do you work with trauma or psychosis?
I work with people dealing with anxiety, trauma, burnout, addiction, relational struggles, and questions about meaning and purpose. If something is outside my scope, like severe complex trauma or psychosis, I will say so and point you in a helpful direction.
Can you help with work or leadership issues?
Absolutely, yes. I spent 25 years consulting for organizations from Fortune 500 to one-person — hospitals, tech firms, banks, startups, and retail. If you are facing leadership stress, values that feel unsatisfied at work, overwhelm, or communication issues, we can help increase your inner resources of resilience, improve self-awareness and communication, and grow well-being through more clarity and comfort in oneself.
For employees at any level, we can also consider the implications of moving within an organization, or choosing a different direction that involves leaving the current work situation.
Do you see people online?
Yes. I offer secure video sessions, and also see people in person in Long Island.
What is the first step?
Book a free 15-minute call, via email or phone call to (718) 229-209. This is a conversation to see if working together feels right and makes sense.
Ready to walk with both feet?
Reach out when you’re ready to stop repeating patterns that don’t work well, and start living with both insight and energy.