Therapists in West Village, New York, NY

A graduate of Yale University, NYU Graduate School of Social Work, and NPAP, I feel very blessed to love my work even more today than when I first entered private practice some 30 years ago. Every day brings wonderfully rewarding emotional and intellectual challenge, newness, growth and "realness" in my deeply involved work with my patients.

Great psychotherapy doesn't require spending years on the couch. Our contemporary, action-oriented approach means we'll roll up our sleeves and get right to work, giving you meaningful, relevant input you can put to use in making changes today.

Sam (they/them) works with individuals and couples in relational and collaborative ways. They specialize in treating trauma, depression, and anxiety and its impact on patients' relationships, capacity for intimacy, careers, and self-concept. Sam finds working with artists, academics and intellectuals, innovators working in Tech, leaders in the public service sector (politics, nonprofits) and the entertainment industry, LGBTQAI folks, non-monogamous individuals/couples, and people with alternative spiritual practices deeply fulfilling and offers all of their patients a judgment-free environment within which to connect.

Therapy is an opportunity to discover our unique individual humanity and gives us the tools to get to know ourselves in a more true and authentic way. I work collaboratively with my clients to help them access the full range of their creative potential. My practice combines traditional, alternative and contemporary approaches that are rooted in psychodynamic, gestalt, and mindfulness orientations. My approach is humanistic, interactive, and present centered.

People often come to me during life transitions when they feel anxious, scared and sad. Together we explore and develop more self awareness that leads to greater self acceptance and purposeful decision making. I work with Individuals and Couples to heal from traumas, process grief, work through shame and self judgment, improve relationships, manage career challenges. Additionally I have a special interest in working with parents during postpartum and beyond.

Life can be quite stressful impacting how we feel on both a physical and psychological level. This can lead to depression and/or anxiety, which at times can negatively impact every area of life. There are many ways of coping that can help you become stronger in this process, leaving you with a more positive experience both within yourself and in your relationships. Letting go of old ways of living life that keep you stuck is not so difficult, it just takes acknowledging that this issue exists and skills (you already posses) that I can help you get back to.

Having a good life is a conscious exercise of free will directed toward a game that raises the level of comfort, joy and fulfillment. Thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, believes, personality traits..., have a huge impact on our well-being. I draw from modern contemporary approaches to psychotherapy that guide and inspire a transformative experience reorienting self toward sustainable wellness. A mind-body-soul approach that blends science and wisdom of healing traditions. I would consider it an honor to be your guide, witness, and companion of your amazing and unique journey inside yourself!

My practice centers on helping people live everyday more fully. Daily pressures to manage work, relationships, and ourselves often leave us feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Some people express these feelings through anxiety or persistent self-critical thoughts. Others may feel discouraged, guilty, ashamed or sad. Many use substances, food, risky behavior or other distractions to momentarily feel better. Psychotherapy can help resolve these issues by creating a space to gain better coping strategies, enhance your focus of your place in the world, and develop greater resiliency.

Sometimes life's challenges can cause us to feel overwhelmed, stuck, and unfulfilled in different areas of our lives. I work closely with you to create a supportive therapeutic space where we can safely explore your thoughts and feelings, overcome obstacles, and build a path towards a more fulfilling life for you.

As a therapist, what I find most satisfying is to help people who have experienced trauma early in life. If you are someone who feels you were denied the love and caretaking you needed as a child because of abuse or neglect, we would be a good fit for therapy. I can help you unburden persistent feelings of lack of worth, guilt or shame that may be keeping you from having a rich, fulfilling life. I am an active participant in sessions, asking questions and guiding you to explore your experience of things that happened to you and around you. I reflect and give feedback on what you tell me.

Are you feeling anxious, overwhelmed and lacking motivation? Talking about what wears you down and organize your thoughts in a safe space will be helpful. I practice interpersonal psychotherapy focused on problem solving in the here and now, which also incorporates thought changing therapy. Life transitional issues are a natural source of stress, but also create opportunity to change. My therapeutic goal is to focus on how to change your thoughts about your circumstances to enable you to move forward fruitfully and with new and changed perspective. We cannot choose our history, but we can manage it better.

We all have the fundamental need to grow into and express who we are meant to be. However, this natural process can be inhibited by our need to adapt to pressures of family and society, by trauma, or by seemingly unresolvable contradictions in our personality. The goal of therapy is to bring this latent process to life, and to make it more conscious. A good therapeutic relationship will help you to be more receptive to yourself and to notice and honor these inner workings.

Do you feel lonely, depressed, or rejected? Do you feel bad about yourself, have anxiety, or experience trauma? I work with adults, couples, and adolescents. I'm a trained psychoanalyst who also practices mindfulness and meditation. Therapy is a process of self discovery and change. It will assist you in understanding your patterns and teach you how to put words to your lived experiences. It will help you feel better about yourself and allow you to interact with the world around you more effectively. I can help you to reduce the intense feelings that get in the way of accessing your fullest potential.

My approach to doing therapy is different for each person who comes to me, so it's hard to describe what being in therapy with me is like. My training and background is broadly psychoanalytic, but I am pretty sure I am more interactive than most other therapists with my training and orientation. I am supportive, direct in my way of talking about problems, and have a good sense of humor.

Young adults (ages 18-40) have special needs, including: transitioning to new life events; feeling insecure about friendships; recognizing unresolved trauma/loss; creating a sustainable work/life balance (often while struggling with pressures to succeed and/or procrastination); and comparing themselves to others while efforting to figure out what they want professionally/socially/romantically. Because of the limited services in New York that address the specific needs of this population, Ms. Francis' private practice focuses on them.

My style of therapy is to try to understand the context of the symptom or problem you are having in order for us to have as much information and material to work with and to work through the problem. We tend to struggle with symptoms because we think of them discretely rather than expanding our lens to think about our struggles in a historical, environmental, and biological background. In working together to broaden the scope, we are better able to understand how the problem formed initially, its potential purpose in your life now, and how to move forward without its having the same negative impact.

I work with people of diverse sexualities and racial/class backgrounds, from teens to seniors. Many are new to NYC or in other transitions. Clients come with anxiety, a trauma surfacing, work or relationship issues. Now most people's lives and psyches have been affected by the pandemic in some way. I find that people want to understand themselves, break free from self-damaging patterns, and live more fully, even joyfully. They're figuring out how to negotiate this tumultuous world while being true to their own values. They look at how society's shaping of gender, sexuality, race, class, age and (dis)ability affect their life.

If you feel stuck in the same unproductive problems and feelings around work, relationships, or any other issue that's important to you, I may be able to help you get to a better place. Many of my patients have considerable insight into their situation, but most find it difficult to change unproductive patterns, or "will" themselves into feeling better. You can break out of the circles of behavior that leave you feeling frustrated or overwhelmed. As a therapist, it is my job to help you gain awareness of unconscious roadblocks and help you tap into your natural ability to heal.

People seek therapy when they are feeling overwhelmed and when their usual coping skills aren't working. Maybe you're feeling stuck in your work life or relationships, or struggling to find a sense of well being. These difficulties can lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety and addictions, to name a few. I envision therapy as a space where two people can focus together on whatever is causing you pain. I believe this process can lead to greater self-awareness, effectiveness, and personal freedom, as your choices become more conscious and your sense of self deepens.