Welcome to my blog! I am a manhattan based psychotherapist,  passionate about my work with people. In addition to the many trainings I have had in psychotherapy practice, I spent a decent amount of time (and money..) as a psychotherapy patient which was invaluable for personal growth.

Knowing what it’s like to be a client (sometimes fun, sometimes maddening… sometimes the most powerful experience ever..) and constantly refining my own development as a therapist since I believe life is always about continued growth (even if you're a therapist who has a lot of answers), I have had a lifelong interest in finding ways to help us take what we learn in therapy and learn how to practicalize it into in our daily lives.

In this blog I will share many things including-  techniques on how to work with your thoughts and feelings, new methods for becoming more aware of your experiences, behavioral suggestions and a whole range of other helpful insights and perspectives to help you grow. 

There is no question that I can't replicate psychotherapy in a blog because as research has countlessly demonstrated (and as those of you who have had a long term good therapy know) the relationship with your therapist is key in your healing. However.... there are what I call “therapy bytes”- things we CAN take home after the session ends (besides the couch!) .. or after a course of therapy ends, or if you've never been to therapy- things you can use to enhance your personal growth.

Enhancing your awareness and your curiosity about your inner experience really is the ultimate goal of psychotherapy ( and I believe- good spiritual practice. More to come later!). Yes, some people think therapy is really just about helping finance their therapist's second home, but I would argue that it's about an intimate knowing of yourself.

But... guidance comes in many forms and I will therefore be including here -concepts from many schools of psychotherapy as well as some of the universal concepts that all therapies (and philosophies/ religions) share. Every week someone comes up with a new way to "package" one... and so it sounds new and sexy. One example is the  current “mindfulness" craze. You've got mindful eating.. mindful parenting.. mindful vacuming...( make up your own and watch it stick..!..) . 

Personally, I am a big proponent of mindfulness but in all honesty- it's NOT a NEW idea!  Mindfulness has been around for centuries! It is really just a new term for the age old wisdom practiced by healers and buddhists of paying attention with exquisite awareness to each moment.

Having spent a lot of time reflecting deeply on many of these universal principles and psychological insights that seem to work (in therapy, in self-growth, in spiritual practices), my goal here is to distill these ideas for you and pinpoint the subtleties and nuances that underlie them so that you can use them in your own daily growth/ healing.

In your own journey, you may have noticed that sometimes self help books or therapists (or meditation teachers, rabbis..) will share an idea or suggestion with you and you’ll find they’re just too broad... or you think you get it but then you try to apply it once you leave your therapist’s office or close that book, you find you suddenly have no idea what you thought it meant! 

Early on in my own therapy- I found it really frustrating when my therapists (yes plural.. there have been many..)  would say things that just sounded VERY VAGUE like "just sit with that and we'll talk next week..." .  I can remember leaving a session feeling like "but how?" "what do I DO with that?" ”you can’t leave me hanging like this?!" (oh yes they can!) "Does that mean THINK more about it? Hmm… feel it? "And  where do I sit?… "(ok, you may have to figure out that last one yourself)

My approach as a therapist is holistic.  I'm trained first and foremost as a Gestalt therapist (usually unpronounceable by most people even the therapists who practice it.....  sounds like "gefilte fish"). Gestalt therapy is a fun, creative, experiential, here and now therapy that helps you live more in the moment (see my website for further details). In my practice, I  also incorporate my training in many other therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioral, psychodynamic, somatic psychology, ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) etc...

Because I am often working on my own consciousness  - as I feel this is why we're here on this earth- to continue to grow- not to arrive and stop there, I will also be sharing with you what I learn from my meditation and spiritual practices, some personal stories and reflections, concepts from the wide world of psychotherapy, kabbalah and Buddhism/ Buddhist Psychology, my work with energy healers, some new age thinking, insights gleaned when I emerge from my huge pile of books etc..

I hope you will tune in and that this blog will guide you to go ever deeper into the richness and wisdom that already lives inside you and help you heal /or open in the ways you most desire or didn't even know you could.

May you find the love and infinite joy that is your esssence!

Stacey