Couples Counseling Therapists in Stanfordville, NY

I specialize in mood disorders and anxiety. I've published five books--Undoing Depression is probably the most familiar---on depression, stress, and happiness, My latest, "Rewire," was released August 2014, and I'm working on a new book about self-destructive behavior. My approach is basically psychodynamic, with a lot of CBT and mindfulness. I believe that anyone can change--the brain can literally be rewired--but it takes a lot of patience and practice. Most of the people I meet have been battered around by life, and it's left scars--difficulty hoping, difficulty trusting. It's my job to mobilize that hope and trust.

Russell Shelkowitz, LCSW-R has extensive experience working with adolescents (12+), adults (individuals & couples), and families, and has provided compassionate and effective care in diverse settings, including hospitals, private practices, and outpatient clinics.

People come to me with emotionally painful life issues - anxiety, depression, and troubled or failed relationships. I help them go beyond problem solving to creating richer, fuller lives. With over 30 years experience, I am an actively engaged therapist committed to helping my clients grow emotionally. Please contact me by email. I will respond promptly to email inquiries. If you prefer to text, please do so, but no voice messages please.

How do you find the right therapist? Education and training is important, but at least as important is finding a therapist with whom you can truly be yourself. I've been told by my patients that the reasons they value therapy with me are that I'm easy to talk to, I really listen, and I'm interactive. They say I "get" them, which helps to develop trust and safety. It can be difficult to talk about your personal struggles with someone you don't know. My warm, calm and non-judgmental nature makes it a little bit easier. I have 30 years of experience, deep empathy and a sense of humor.

My approach to psychotherapy is based on both my education and more than 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, including research, teaching, writing, and supervision. Psychotherapy is a path defined by both therapist and client. Each individual client brings unique resources, strengths, weaknesses, problems, hopes, and expectations to therapy as well as their own idiom, their way of expressing themselves. Together, we will search for what gives meaning to your life and what may be interfering in its realization. Successful psychotherapy depends on the quality of the relationship between client and therapist.

Whatever it is that brings you to therapy, I stand by the commitment, “I’m here with you.” I believe that each of our stories are equally sacred as they are unique and see therapy as an opportunity to cultivate curiosity for ourselves and to let go of self-judgement. Taking a Psychodynamic approach, I aim to help my clients unravel, experience, and understand themselves more deeply, through building awareness, flexibility, and the capacity to make change. Humor, authenticity, and the willingness to experiment is foundational to my approach.

Welcome. This time of global change and uncertainty makes it more crucial than ever that we have supportive connection and compassion, and we choose to love ourselves. It's my honor to work with people who want to be their authentic selves in the world (rather than who their history tells them they should be), and recognize their right to find meaning, satisfaction, and joy in living. With our relationship as a support, I'll invite you to expand your awareness, uncover childhood messages that may be limiting your life choices, explore your identity and existing roles, and guide yourself toward the self-love that is life-sustaining.

We have been helping people learn how to make the changes they want since 2008. Relationship woes? Existential Angst? Have a troubled teen or child in trouble? Feel stuck your life? You are not alone. There are other people out here going through this too. This is temporary. We will reach out to you, discuss your needs, and pair you with a therapist familiar with your needs. Together, you will meet, identify issues, collaborate to create a plan, follow through with some reasonable interventions, and figure out ways to make the changes last.

To me, as a therapist, it is essential to develop a safe, nonjudgmental, honest, and supportive space for each and every client to unpack, process and move forward. I work with children ages 3-18 years, adults, and families facing various challenges and diagnoses.

I am an LMHC with experience in treating depression, anxiety, trauma, substance abuse, dually diagnosed, and a variety of other mental health needs. I have a Master’s in Counseling/Community Psychology with a certification in Forensic Mental Health. My work experience includes crisis services, psychiatric Emergency Room, and incarcerated adults. I am a Certified Anger Management Specialist through the NAMA, and provide Impaired Driving Assessments through the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).

For over 30 years as a licensed clinical social worker, I have worked with individuals, couples, adolescents and children. I have a family systems approach to seeing each person as a part of a whole dynamic unit. This is especially valuable in working with couples. My clients have successfully worked through a variety of issues including marital problems, parenting problems, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, family illness and self esteem. My work with couples has been particularly rewarding in enhancing communication. Call me for a free consultation to discuss your particular concerns, and ways I can be helpful to you.

For more than a decade, I've worked with individuals and couples in crisis due to infidelity, abusive relationships and recent loss. I also help premarital couples get off to a good start, and assist established couples seeking to improve their relationships in the areas of communication, conflict resolution, intimacy and parenting. As a trauma-informed MFT, I believe our past experiences impact the way we form our identity and relate to each other in the present. As a Christian therapist, I integrate spirituality with IFS, EMDR and the Gottman Method.

Have you ever felt misunderstood, judged, confused, or couldn't find the "right" words to express yourself? What about feeling lonely in a relationship? We have all encountered or experienced these feelings at one point in our lives. Let's have a conversation to explore and unpack all that you seek. I specialize in Marriage & Family dynamics as well as individual and relationship issues. Unpacking all related topics, we will explore the concepts of communication, commitment, intimacy, marriage, premarital relations, divorce, non-traditional couples, and much more.

I've been a practicing clinician for over 40-years and continue to find my work both exciting and challenging. I offer a comfortable space for clients to reflect on themselves and learn new ways of living and working towards health and personal progress. We will work collaboratively to assure the right pace, methods and progress are achieved. I work effectively with individuals, couples, families and groups. I am at ease with most people regardless of gender, age, spiritual beliefs, sexual orientation as well other unique factors you bring to the session.

Seeking out psychotherapy is an investment in yourself so that you can reach your dreams and overcome emotional hurdles like depression, anxiety, trauma, loss, and addictions. I have experience helping hundreds of people jump over these types of hurdles and get more of what they want from life. In addition to traditional psychotherapy, I offer qEEG, which helps to diagnose and predict cognitive issues based on neurologically distinct brain activity, as well as Neurofeedback to successfully target those areas in the brain identified by the qEEG as dysregulated, resulting in reduction of symptoms and increase in optimal functioning.

Are you struggling in one or more of these areas…Do you have poor communication with loved ones that result in arguing without resolution? Do you have conflict with your children and don’t know how to help? Are you unhappy in your marriage? Do you have stress? Is your mind over thinking or obsessing? Feeling overwhelmed? Are you up all night? Are you angry? Are you or a loved one dealing with addiction? Are you unhappy with your job? Are you trying to make a change in life and don’t know what to do? Are you feeling depressed? Do you lack motivation? Do you have panic attacks? Are you suffering from anxiety?

Trauma isn’t what happens to us. It’s what happens inside of us. If I have learned anything from my own pain, my clients' pain, and the failures of our current system of mental health treatment, it’s that we are constantly misunderstanding the role of traumatic experience. Together we will find a therapeutic approach that works for you and your unique experience. In order to create lasting change in our lives, we need more from therapy than a verbal exchange. Over the last ten years, I have studied and employed a variety of experiential methods to address the root causes of trauma and help individuals invite lasting personal growth.

My practice aims to restore each person's innate mental and physical balance. I help people analyze their relationships, find patterns and learn new behaviors and ways of coping. I like to work closely with primary care physicians to optimize each client's total health.Because of my research background, I strive to stay current on evidence-based practice and to use the new findings of brain science to help people overcome mental disorders which can be helped by restoring brain health. I use clinical hypnotherapy to help patients with chronic pain and anxiety as well as for performance. I am also certified in EMDR

Are you at an impasse, or facing emotional difficulties that are getting in the way of your progress in life? These conditions can manifest in your home life, at work, or even within yourself. I welcome the opportunity to work together, building on your strengths and abilities, to overcome these obstacles and help you move forward in the most productive manner possible. I believe in your ability to grow and learn, even from the most difficult of life's challenges. Often this is best done with the support and guidance of a highly experienced counselor who is committed to life long learning.