Find a Therapist in Inwood, New York.

We strive to help individuals reach their highest potential and connect with their inner strength through the process of psychotherapy. Using a collaborative and supportive approach, we help you explore your roots in order to understand why an issue may be occurring and combine these insights with evidence-based interventions (e.g. positive reinforcement, relaxation training, mindfulness, coping skills) to help improve overall emotional health and wellness. We help you experience greater joy, peace and positive interactions with your loved ones.

I am a strong believer that good therapy is always safe but not always comfortable. I will establish rapport to generate safety and gently challenge my clients to explore their narrative and behaviors to explore how they can shift their mindset or actions to achieve their goals. With a tendency to let my client sit in the driver seat, my clients set the pace and I help them navigate their road.

As experienced, highly-credentialed clinical psychologists and couples counselors, Dr. Joel Stukalin and Dr. Sara Mandelbaum have the necessary background to conduct short-term or psychoanalystic psychotherapy with clients. This means that clients can decide to work on direct symptom-relief or more comprehensive therapy that may lead to a deeper understanding of inner-conflicts, self-aspirations and unconscious processes. In order to do our psychotherapy compassionately and effectively, Dr. Joel and Dr. Sara collaborate closely with clients to understand their initial motives and unfolding goals within the psychotherapy process. Clients often benefit from this higher standard of care.

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in a positive manner. Its aim is to help people understand the thoughts behind feeling anxious or depressed and addressing these thinking patterns. Psychotherapy will help you change behaviors and habits that are limiting you, to experiencing your fullest potential.

At Core Relationships, we are here to guide you towards stronger, more authentic connections that enrich your everyday life. Our therapists understand the heartache involved when issues such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, or relationship conflict are present. Our work is centered around finding the areas where you can touch base with yourself in a more present and authentic manner so that you can navigate your interpersonal relationships with confidence and ease. Whether you’re seeking individual or couples therapy, we’ll work together to find the inner alignment and strategies that empower you to thrive in all of your relationships beyond therapy.

I care deeply about the people I work with and offer a personable and warm approach to psychotherapy. I integrate a variety of therapeutic techniques, including CBT and Insight Oriented Therapies, and I tailor my sessions to meet your unique needs. My clients learn coping skills to address daily stressors, and how to alter negative self-talk that exacerbates anxiety, depression, and feeling out of control of their life. I help my clients explore patterns of thoughts and behaviors, and to address the root of what is troubling them. I center our work on building a strong therapeutic relationship where clients feel at ease, and are fully seen, without fear of judgement or rejection.

I provide brief solutions-focused psychotherapy to help clients assess personal and professional functioning, clarify goals, and strengthen social and emotional skills. I specialize in brief online relationship counseling. Online counseling allows clients to seek help as needed, engage in therapy at a schedule that's convenient to them, and keep their counselor as they progress through life. I work with LGBTQ and hetero clients on individual, couple, and alternative relationship concerns. Clients explore issues that impact their professional and personal relationships, including communication, power dynamics, and intimacy. I accept US$ and cryptocurrencies.

Psychotherapy is not anything to be scared of, or intimidated about. Seeking out a therapist or being in therapy isn't an admission of weakness or some kind of character flaw. Therapy is a collaborative process and a partnership with someone who is trained in and experienced with facilitating personal growth. And in this process, you are in the driver's seat. Our minds and emotions and relationships involve complicated machinery just like our bodies do and in the same way a medical doctor helps you stay physically healthy, Psychotherapy is designed to help you be and stay mentally and socially strong, and continually in a position to take on life's many challenges as your best self.

One of the most life altering actions when seeking to gain traction in the struggle to live a satisfying life is the choice to work with a therapist. It signals a ground-breaking change in our approach to meeting the challenges we face; demonstrating a shift that embraces the possibility of tapping into knowledge and support outside our own skull. Most of us have a better ability to see and understand the actions and motivation of others than our own. We all have personal blind spots. This is evident early in therapy, when one experiences striking progress as a result of new insights gained in therapy.

My patients benefit from psychotherapy with me because I show them not only how to feel better but get better. Getting better means learning how they make themselves upset and how to stop doing this even when life and people are blocking them. I teach skills for directly changing self-defeating behavior. I give patients tools for self-direction and emotional responsibility. I send my patients emails to prompt them to think differently between sessions. I help them to transfer the skills I teach from my office to their home and work environments. I teach people how to maintain and extend treatment gains so that they do not need to be in psychotherapy forever.

Psychotherapy is a safe place in which you learn to tell your truth. Psychotherapy has been called the "talking cure" because it has demonstrated, again and again, that telling your truth, your story, to someone who is empathetic and neutral reliefs symptoms such as depression and anxiety. However, psychotherapy is much more that just telling your truth; as a therapist, I am listening to what you are saying and what you are not saying, and I will make connections between "dots" in your life and share them with you. This process will help you look at your life, your relational patterns and your reactions from a different perspective allowing you make long lasting change.

I am honored to work with individuals and couples from many different walks of life. My approach is rooted in respect, authenticity, and collaboration — always holding you as the expert in your own story. In our work together, I strive to create a space that feels safe, supportive, and genuinely affirming, where you can explore challenges honestly and move toward healing, growth, and deeper connection.

Prioritize your wellness with psychotherapy in conjunction with medication management. Psychotherapy can offer a place to look at your current and past experiences from new perspectives and receive support as you move into the next chapter of your life. Let’s look at your wellness beyond just the biology. I want you to feel in control of your own wellness. As your doctor, I am committed to equipping you with the information you need to make clear, informed choices about your health.