Our culture is now so saturated with "therapy" that it can be difficult to know what the word means. Here is some basic information about what you can expect from psychotherapy with me.
I am a New York State-licensed clinical psychologist. I earned my Ph.D. at Duquesne University in 2007 and completed my residency at Stony Brook University. For much of my career, I focused on psychotherapy and teaching. While most of my time is now spent doing research, I maintain a small therapy practice and occasionally have openings for tele-video or in-person work.
In my view, "mental health" is about freedom of thought and action, rather than comfort or happiness. My main goal as a therapist is to help my patients talk about things that feel impossible to talk about. That helps them do things that felt impossible to do, to live with the sources of their suffering more peacefully, and to be better able to change them. My main method lies in radically close attention to what my patient says and does. This kind of attention is unusual, since it tries to suspend the usual assumptions about what the person "means." My approach is grounded in psychoanalytic theory and existential-phenomenological philosophy and psychology.
If you are interested in what therapy with me can look like, or have an academic interest in therapy, my book Lacanian Psychotherapy discusses some of my theoretical interests and provides glimpse of what it might be like to work together. It was written over fifteen years ago, so it does not describe my current work, but these ideas and techniques are still part of what I do.
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I treat:
Panic Disorder (with or without agoraphobia)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (especially related to childhood abuse)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (using Exposure and Response Prevention)
Functional Neurological Disorders
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I sometimes see patients for multiple sessions per week.
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I see people virtually and in person.
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As a clinical psychologist, I only provide treatment for clinical problems. I will not provide treatment for the sake of general "growth," life-improvement, or reflection.
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I do not provide: General CBT; life skills coaching; couples and family therapy; forensic assessments; custody assessments; assessments for surgery or other medical treatments; or mandated psychotherapy.
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I only respond to inquiries from the patient. I do not return messages from loved ones reaching out on the patient's behalf.
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If you are interested in therapy, please contact me (see contact button and respond to questions).
I can also be reached at (315) 464-3440.
What is a Clinical Psychologist, and how is it different from a "therapist?"
The word "therapist" can apply to many types and levels of training, from bachelor's degree to doctoral degree. The LMHC ("Licensed Mental Health Counselor") for example, refers to a license that requires a master's degree.
To use the title Clinical Psychologist in New York state, one must hold a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and be licensed through the NYS Department of Education. The Ph.D. in clinical psychology is the most advanced degree of academic and practical training in psychological treatment, assessment, and research. It includes several years of graduate level coursework, hundreds of hours of practical experience before graduation, a full-time residency ("internship") at the end of the Ph.D., and a dissertation (major research project) judged to add new knowledge to the field of psychology.
After completing the Ph.D., the New York State clinical psychology license requires an additional year of postdoctoral experience and supervision, as well as successful completion of the national Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology. See all requirements here.
Syracuse, NY