Find a Therapist in Rockville Centre, New York.

When you come to me for psychotherapy, I will listen without interruption until you are ready for input. Then I ask difficult questions that make you think. If you want solutions, we work on those together. Many of my questions though are designed to help you consider your options and further self-discovery. I try not to answer your questions right away, because then it's about me, not you. I will help you to feel less frustrated and hopeful about your future.

I welcome and foster your deep expression of joy, sadness, vulnerability, and wisdom. When you know that you are fully accepted as yourself, and when you can fully see yourself, then you can also accept and love your full self as you truly are, because ultimately we are all amazing beings. By the therapy pointing to moments and narratives that are full of authenticity and feeling, as well as clarifying narratives that hold you back, you can start to sense and feel areas of yourself that you had forgotten existed, or had forgotten the importance of. Through therapy you can, via open, insightful discussion and safe emotional connection, reclaim lost parts of yourself and thrive.

Psychotherapy has been proven to relieve symptoms of stress. Stress comes in many forms, feelings, expressions and feels different for each person. My goal in psychotherapy is to hold a safe space for you to explore what it is that brought you here, so that, together with you, I can help you improve your life, reduce your stress symptoms as well as discover and experience meaning in everyday life.

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 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.

The mind, body and spirit are intimately connected to how we asses our overall health and wellness. Most of us can agree that our own mental, physical and spiritual wellness is the single most important priority in our lives. However, how much of our energy and hard work goes into nourishing and improving these areas of our lives? In today's fast paced world, many of us spend too much time and energy on areas of our lives that are draining and depleting and not nearly enough time on the areas of our lives that enrich and nourish our health, wellness and overall sense of joy. The good news is we all have the ability to adapt and change.

I am successful. I have what I thought I wanted I should be happy but I feel like a failure and why don’t people understand what I am going through? Does that sound like you? Then you are in the right place. When you feel this way it time to look at your life, relationships and where you want to be. With a free consultation I can get you started.

Whether you are seeking help with a specific problem or simply trying to build a deeper understanding of yourself, my goal is for you to walk away with the confidence of having a clearer path towards your desired life. We do this by examining your life and its issues, identifying ways to move forward, and helping you pick the approach that will fit best for you. Don't worry about the issue, be it addiction, anger,family issues.....there is always an approach. If you want the help, I am determined to help you.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you find yourself struggling with the same old issues to no avail, I can help. Using a collaborative approach, I will work with you to identify the feelings, beliefs and behavioral patterns keeping you stuck. We will get curious about the narrative you have about yourself and question long-held ideas of what you should and shouldn't do and be. Through this process of exploration, discovery and growth, you will open up to new ways of understanding yourself, the world, and what is truly possible for you.