Psychodynamic Therapists in Newton, MA

Please note: I can't take insurance but I have a sliding scale - we will figure something out! - - Everyone has their own strengths and needs, children and adults alike. Sometimes the needs are overwhelming and the strengths are hard to find. Those are times when it helps to have someone who will listen, understand, support, validate, encourage, and help. I believe it's important to honor all emotions as valid and all needs as real. I also believe those needs don't have to define who you are, and that recognizing and accepting something as real - a loss, a child's behaviors - opens the way to start making positive changes.

I am a Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center affiliated faculty. I believe people come to therapy when they feel stuck in their lives with no options in sight. Many times, these feelings stem from a lack of understanding of past trauma histories, misunderstandings in relationships, accumulated stress, lack of self-compassion, identity confusion, and unmet needs, among others. I create a safe and genuine space to help you sort out these feelings and problems while promoting a sense of self-agency, self-compassion, and self-love.

You deserve to feel heard, understood, and valued for who you are as an individual! When we feel stuck and misunderstood, challenged by uncomfortable feelings, or we are struggling to navigate life, engaging in therapy allows us to understand what is contributing to each of these experiences. Being able to talk through these moments helps start us on a path toward feeling fulfilled and enlivened. Together, we will explore how your past and present experiences, your interpersonal relationships, and your learned coping strategies contributes to how you feel.

How do we remain hopeful with so much uncertainty, inequality, and suffering in the world? How do we take care of ourselves while also supporting others? How do we practice compassion? How do we accept those parts of ourselves (and of others) that are so often judged by our society? These are some of the kinds of questions I often pose to clients as we explore how our individually-lived experiences, coupled with larger historic and systemic trends, often influence the ways we understand and feel about our lives. My work with clients is rooted in a greater commitment to social justice issues.

Limited daytime availability- I am a licensed therapist practicing in Brookline, MA. I treat individuals and couples presenting with a range of issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, family conflict, and relationship challenges. I use an integrative therapeutic approach, drawing on psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral (CBT), and dialectical behavioral techniques (DBT).

I believe all individuals are capable of healing and growth. Having a safe, trusting relationship with a therapist can be an important part of that process. In my practice, I aim to create an open space for us to work towards your goals while allowing you to feel heard, cared for, and accepted.

I specialize in the treatment of anxiety and depression, using multiple approaches (see below). Many of my clients are graduate students, and young professionals. But I also work with older adults, who are juggling work, relationships, and family commitments. Life in Boston can be exciting, but also demanding and stressful. I work with clients on reducing the stress and creating more of a work/life balance. I believe in the power of the therapeutic relationship and in the healing process, but I also believe in the importance of using various tools and techniques to help clients achieve their goals.

I believe that moments of transition provide powerful opportunities to examine and understand why and who we are, what we can do to accept ourselves while making the changes we want to see. Whether that transition is around perinatal experiences, employment, relationship challenges, or any other way our identity changes over time, it is my privilege to help people come through feeling healthier and stronger than they did before. I firmly believe that everyone that I work with has the power to be who and what they want to be. My job is simply to help them find their way.

I am currently accepting new clients for both individual and couples therapy and have openings Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings. In my work I focus on creating an environment that is safe enough for clients to explore feelings and experiences, and to delve into the things that worry them. Clients I work with are often struggling with parenthood, marriage, partners, or children, personal relationships, or major changes in life. I love working with clients who are curious and engaged, and for clients seeking art therapy services, therapy is also a priority to provide new means of expression and healing.

DAYTIME/TELEHEALTH SESSIONS AVAILABLE I am an experienced clinician of approximately 20 years, with a private practice solely dedicated to work with TEENS, COLLEGE-AGE clients, and YOUNG ADULTS. Not only are these the age groups to which I am most drawn, I find that narrowing services to specific populations allows me to truly focus on and understand the unique needs and challenges of these groups. My style is described as warm, friendly and down-to-earth and I have had a lot of experience and success supporting hesitant and/or first-time clients in counseling/therapy.

Sometimes life throws us curveballs, and we might feel stressed, overloaded, or struggle to make decisions. You might be struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, low self-esteem, unhealthy relationship patterns, major life decisions, professional and academic performance, or parenting issues. These challenges might be keeping you up at night or are interfering with your peace of mind. As a therapist, my primary goal is to provide a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment for my clients, to explore their thoughts and feelings.

Welcome to my practice! I am a bilingual Spanish/English therapist that works with adults, and young adults to help improve their overall quality of life. Whether you have a history of anxiety, depression, or mood disorder, or you are at the moment going through a difficult time in your life, therapy can help you cope with your symptoms, and find ways to make changes in your life. I also work with parents to help them cope with the stress-related symptoms of having children with special needs/disabilities and mental health issues.

People seek therapy when they’re facing a predicament that’s making them suffer or keeping them stuck. Perhaps you’re having difficulty coping with stressful life circumstances. Maybe anxiety is preventing you from pursuing what’s important to you. You may be feeling disconnected from yourself, or want closer relationships. Or perhaps you feel a sense of shame that keeps you from expressing important parts of yourself. Within the safety of a trusting relationship, we’ll explore the predicament that brings you in, working toward deepening your self-understanding and changing unhelpful patterns that are rooted in the past.

I work with individuals across the adult life span, couples/folks in relationships, and families who are looking to feel more connected to themselves and others, navigate distress and conflict, and build more meaningful relationships and lives. My clients encompass the spectrum of gender and sexuality identities and live within a variety of relationship structures - monogamous, polyamorous, and non-monogamous. I collaborate with my clients to explore your strengths, needs, goals, history, and where you want to be in your life and relationships.

Psychotherapy represents a deeply personal journey, often intertwined with intricate and conflicting emotions. Central to its effectiveness is the establishment of a safe, respectful, and supportive therapeutic environment, laying the groundwork for self-awareness and growth. My practice is dedicated to facilitating this process, guiding individuals towards enriching their interpersonal relationships and fostering personal development. With a foundation rooted in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theories, supplemented by a commitment to harm reduction principles, I tailor my approach to meet the unique needs of each individual.

I am an LMHC whose aim is to create an empathetic and empowering therapeutic environment for each individual. I tailor treatment to the unique needs and strengths of each person by flexibly integrating techniques from a variety of clinical frameworks including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral and dialectical behavioral therapy. Through the collaborative work conducted in treatment, I strive to enhance an individual’s insight into his/her struggles, cultivate resolutions that improve quality of life, bolster self-esteem, and establish skills to manage symptoms adaptively.

Alexandra Vlahakes, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Massachusetts. Her specialties include helping adolescents and adults struggling with depression and anxiety, PTSD and trauma-related disorders, bipolar disorder, and people struggling with emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal issues. Dr. Vlahakes takes a particular interest in working with persons struggling with borderline personality, as well as consulting for dissociative disorders. Dr. Vlahakes also provides supervision for license-eligible practitioners as the Director of Clinical Training for Brighter Life Therapy, PLLC.

I help people who are having a hard time, often because of anxiety, relationships, work, and life transitions. I have extensive experience with a number of approaches that alleviate anxiety and depression and help you feel more in control. I will listen closely to your story, attending to what is most bothersome right now and what your goals are. We'll discuss possible approaches to help you feel better. Then, together we will make a plan. I have extensive experience offering coping strategies and problem-solving skills, as well as CBT, IPT, and other relationship-focused psychodynamic therapy.

I am a licensed psychotherapist trained to work with individuals, couples, and families. I have a doctorate in counseling psychology from Boston University. In clinical practice I have worked in a multi-cultural mental health center, the Veteran's Administration, Boston University Student Counseling and private practice helping many clients manage and master the change process. Together, we work toward healing and change. My approach is active and empathic and can take the form of short-term problem solving approach or more in-depth exploration. Clients learn to decrease stress in their lives whether due to anxiety, depression, work, personal relationships or chronic illness.