Therapy for Lawyers
In New York City

You're good at this. That's rarely the problem.

The problem is more often that you've stopped sleeping properly. Or that you're irritable at home in a way you don't recognise. Or that the work you used to find absorbing now just needs doing, and you can't remember when that changed.

Most lawyers I see aren't struggling because they can't handle the job. They're struggling because handling it has cost more than they expected, and there's been no obvious moment to stop and notice.

I practised law before I practised therapy

I was a litigation attorney before I trained as a psychotherapist, and later spent years in corporate finance, including as global head of talent at an investment bank. That matters here for one practical reason: you won't have to explain the environment. Not the billing, not the politics, not what it's like to have a client call at 11pm and know the answer has to be yes. I've been in those rooms. We can start from what's actually happening rather than from context-setting.

What brings lawyers to therapy

Burnout — depletion that a holiday doesn't touch
Anxiety — anticipatory dread, difficulty switching off, physical symptoms
Depression — flatness, loss of interest, going through the motions competently
Relationship strain — a marriage or partnership absorbing the overflow
Alcohol use that's crept upward without a clear line being crossed
Loss of meaning — the work still gets done, but you're no longer sure why
Identity questions — who you'd be if you weren't this

These are clinical presentations, not career problems. You probably don't need help deciding what to do professionally. You're excellent at that. What's missing is somewhere to be honest about the parts of this that aren't working, and to figure out how to address them.

How the work goes

I work best as a therapist for lawyers with an idea of what your best outcome looks and feels like for you, even as a dream. Part of the work is to uncover and refine the goals as we work together. To some extent this involves cross-pollinating the skills of tenacity, curiosity and courage that made you successful in your career, into other areas of your life.

Structurally I draw on relational psychodynamic work for the patterns, CBT for examining beliefs that don’t survive scrutiny, and DBT for the capacity to hold competing truths without collapsing one into the other. In practice that means we can be rigorous and analytical when that’s what’s needed, and slower and more exploratory when it isn’t.

Practical details

In person: 125 East 23rd Street, Manhattan
Telehealth: across New York State
Fee: $250 per session
Out-of-network: documentation provided for reimbursement
Complete confidentiality

Start with a conversation

Fifteen minutes, for both of us to explore fit.

Therapy for Lawyers In New York City