Insight is not enough psychodynamic
You can understand a pattern completely and still be inside it. Getting free of it is a different piece of work.
A life that feels more like your own.
Therapy for high-achieving adults and couples navigating burnout, anxiety, relationship challenges, and life transitions in New York.
In person in the Financial District and Williamsburg, and virtually across New York.
MSW, New York University · BA in Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
From the outside, things work. Inside, something feels off.
You might be looking for a therapist because the life you've built just doesn't feel like enough. Maybe the career you worked so hard for is now feeling empty or aimless. Maybe your relationships are leaving you feeling disconnected rather than close. Maybe you're realizing how much of your life was shaped by what was expected of you, rather than your true desires. You know something needs to change, but you don't know how to get there. Therapy can be a space to understand yourself more deeply. A space to feel less alone and start moving toward a life that feels more whole.
Where this work usually begins
See all specialtiesHow I work
How I work
Most of the people I work with can already describe their pattern accurately. Knowing it has not changed it. So we go after the threads between your past and your present—not to explain you, but to loosen what is still holding on. It is patient work, and it is grounded.
More on my approachWarmth, not neutrality trauma-informed · AEDP
We go toward what hurts without judgment, at the pace you set. I will not sit behind a blank face while you do it.
Out of survival mode somatic
Years of coping leave you at a distance from what you want. The body tends to register that first, so I ask about it.
A note from me
I spent seven years inside the kind of pressure you are describing.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked at Boston Consulting Group for seven years, from summer intern to Project Leader. I know the standards, the pace, and the quiet cost of meeting them well.
It means you will spend less time explaining your world to me, and that I am not thrown by people who analyze everything, including their own therapy. It also means I am not offering you coaching. This is therapy—the aim is understanding yourself, not optimizing yourself.
— Vanessa
I see adults, older adults, and couples—in person in the Financial District and Williamsburg, and virtually across New York. Sessions are available in English and Spanish, and the first conversation is a free fifteen minutes.
Training and credentials
New York University
Master of Social Work
University of Pennsylvania
BA in Psychology
A first step
I offer free 30-minute virtual consultations
You can book a free 30-minute virtual consultation to see if we are a good fit. We will talk about what brings you to therapy, how we will work together, and answer any logistical questions you may have!
Schedule a free consultation (opens in a new tab)