Therapists for college students near New York University

I believe that all of us have had some challenges in our lives whether that translates to bigger traumas or smaller hardships. As a result of our challenges, we have beliefs about who we are and our place in the world. I use evidence-based practices including EMDR to identify and manage triggers that may manifest in fear, anxiety, and negative beliefs about who we are and what we deserve. Let me help you break free from your People-Pleasing, Perfectionist, and/or Procrastinating tendencies and find peace with being your authentic self.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the pressure you put on yourself or by what everyone else seems to expect from you? College can come with a long list of demands. Do well in classes. Make friends. Join clubs. Keep everyone happy. Figure out your future. When all of this adds up, it can start to feel heavy and confusing. I’m Emily, a therapist with extensive experience working with children, teens, and adults in community mental health clinics, schools, non-profits, and group practices. I help students work through anxiety, depression, self-doubt, identity exploration, social challenges, and the impact of past experiences or trauma. I use approaches like CBT, DBT, and psychodynamic therapy, along with a strengths-based and trauma-informed perspective. What this really means is that we work together to understand what you are experiencing and develop tools that fit you as an individual. My goal is to offer a space where you feel safe, accepted, and supported while you figure things out. You deserve a place where you can be honest, build confidence, and move toward self-acceptance. Whatever you are facing, you belong here. I am here to listen, help you make sense of things, and support you as you work toward the life you want.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with years of experience in various settings, including university counseling centers (Baruch, NYU, Fordham), a psychiatric in-patient unit, a community outpatient clinic, and a rehabilitation hospital. I have an extensive experience working with young adults and adults coping with a wide range of mental disorders and life stressors (e.g., depression; anxiety; trauma; adjustment issues; acculturation issues; interpersonal difficulties; racial trauma). I utilize an integrative approach that synthesizes elements from various therapy models (e.g., psychodynamic, CBT, DBT). Through this approach, I will support you in gaining new in sights and meanings, building new skills, recognizing your incredible resilience, and breaking free from unhelpful patterns that may be holding you back. In our therapeutic journey together, my primary aim is to establish a profound sense of connection with you. Using this therapeutic alliance, I will gently yet firmly encourage you to confront your challenges, facilitating new experiences and understanding.

Hi, I'm Kelsey (she/her)! Whatever brings you here, whether it's anxiety, relationship patterns, self-exploration, disordered eating, obsessive thoughts, family dynamics, or a life transition you didn't expect, you deserve a place where all of it can be explored honestly. Patients of all identities are warmly welcomed in my place of care. With a particular passion for supporting individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community, I recognize how gender, race, sexuality, and privilege shape your mental health and lived experience. At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to building a strong therapeutic alliance, because understanding the relationships we hold in our lives begins with the relationship we build together. This space is one of open communication and reflection, where your unique experiences are met with authenticity and curiosity. I take a holistic and person-centered approach to your care, drawing from psychodynamic theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and somatic work. These evidence-based frameworks come together in a way that is tailored to you, your story, and what you need most right now. Getting to know you as a whole person is something I genuinely look forward to. We'll move at a pace that feels right, and our work will reflect your goals every step of the way. The path that brought me to this work is a personal one. My own experience in therapy showed me firsthand how impactful attunement and the therapeutic relationship can be, and that experience planted the seed for everything that followed. As a queer clinician, supporting individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community carries deep meaning for me. Eating disorders and the intersection of that experience with co-occurring conditions are also areas of personal interest and clinical focus. Understanding how these experiences layer and inform one another shapes the depth of care I bring to each patient I work with. Outside of the therapy room, photography is one of my favorite creative outlets, helping to ground me and keep me present.

I see psychotherapy as a collaborative process to help individuals gain a fresh perspective on their lives, recognize repeating patterns in their behaviors and relationships, and find new solutions for old problems. My approach is psychodynamic and eclectic, balancing both depth and real-world focus to address the unique needs of each patient at the intersection of their physical, mental, internal, external, interpersonal, and sociopolitical spheres of experience. I have a particular passion working with individuals who find themselves outside of the narrow band of supposedly “normal” identity and desire, including people who are “kinky”/involved in BDSM, nonmonogamous, polyamorous, in open relationships, queer, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and/or trans* (transitioning or not transitioning). I endeavor to use my concentrated graduate study, post-graduate training, and clinical experience in these areas to provide a warm, open, and supportive space to facilitate self-understanding and growth.

I specialize in helping people who have OCD, phobias and insomnia. It's very common for these problems to emerge in college, which can add immense pressure to an already intense time of life. Many people who struggle with these issues are very functional in other ways, and work hard to hide their pain. You may be used to solving problems on your own, and you might ask yourself "What's wrong with me? Why can't I fix this" when your usual strategies haven't helped. In our work together, I can help you understand why you keep getting stuck, and find a way to break free. My clients with OCD are smart, conscientious people who want to do the right thing. The things that they fear feel like very real possibilities to them, and they feel like it would be irresponsible to just ignore them. They want someone to tell them that everything is going to be okay, but when someone says that, they have a hard time believing it. They might go back and forth between feeling like other people are in denial about the terrible things that can happen in life, and feeling angry with themselves for not being able to stop spiraling. My treatment approach to OCD is very sensitive to these aspects of OCD. We don’t put energy into determining probabilities or disputing whether or not something is possible. Instead, we help you learn to trust in your own ability to distinguish between real world problems that deserve your time and attention, and OCD created problems that don’t need to be (and can’t be) solved because they are based on a believable, but false story. Once you feel confident that you can tell the difference between these two kinds of problems, you won’t feel the need to seek reassurance or do compulsions. People with specific phobias spend a lot of time and energy trying to avoid the thing that they fear. They are often very creative at finding work-arounds! At the same time, they might also feel limited by their phobias, and wish to seek help. Unfortunately, they might also have an impression that therapy will be like a sadistic game show, where they are forced to come into contact with something terribly frightening. This is not the case! Therapy for phobias is all about education and increasing your sense of self-efficacy and self-acceptance. We go at your pace, with the goal of helping you live your life freely. When you have insomnia, most advice about sleep is not helpful. You probably feel like you know more about sleep than anyone, and yet you still find yourself awake all night and exhausted all day. In therapy, I will listen to you and help you understand why you have been unable to sleep well. Then we will create a plan that actually helps you sleep!

While some clients enter therapy with specific goals and I am more than willing to be of assistance, I pride myself as a culturally competent and community values forward professional with an understanding that each client has a unique system of support and challenges. My experience has been rather eclectic in terms of population I have worked with, I have come to feel connected to adolescents and immigrants who require specific lens of care. As a bilingual therapist able to provide sessions in Mandarin and English, I am eager to be of support for fellow members of the community who struggle to assimilate or navigate in the metropolitan NYC area. I have more than 8 years of experience in outpatient mental health settings, half of which was spent as a case manager specialist and more than four years of experience as a clinician. I have worked closely and successfully with individuals, families, couples and groups across all ages and backgrounds. As an immigrant, queer woman of color, I find myself to be able to compassionately provide a mirroring comfort for clients of all identities but especially those who might share similar identities as me. I have found my clinical approach to blend from Gestalt, person-in-environment approach, and trauma informed lens. Throughout treatment, I also utilize a variety of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) interventions when skills training is in order and my style can be described as motivational but compassionate. My past clients know me well to be able to match their pace, using various analogies and references from books I am reading and humor to get to know them. I graduated from UGA with an undergrad Bachelor of Science from UGA in 2016 with two years of research experience during that time and received my master’s in social work from NYU Silver in 2020 with specialized training in community leadership. During my time as a mental health case manager, I have completed training in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) motivational interviewing. In my previous clinical position as a LMSW, I received my Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) training certificate in 2021, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills training in 2024, and my Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in 2025.

Thriving Wellness Center is a leading provider of Autism and ADHD evaluations, therapy, and support services for teens and adults. We take a neurodiversity-affirming approach, helping clients better understand themselves while providing evidence-based tools to thrive in daily life. Our experienced team of clinicians specializes in uncovering the unique strengths and challenges of each through comprehensive diagnostic assessments and tailored treatment. What sets us apart is our focus on personalized, compassionate care—offering not just a diagnosis, but ongoing support through individual therapy and group programs.

Many of the students I work with seem like they have everything together on the outside, but internally feel anxious, emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure of who they are. You may be high-achieving, creative, or thoughtful, yet constantly overthinking, second-guessing yourself, struggling with perfectionism, or trying to meet expectations that never fully feel like enough. Over time, it can become exhausting to keep pushing through while quietly carrying stress, pressure, anxiety, or self-doubt on your own. In our work together, we slow things down and explore what’s driving that pressure beneath the surface. Therapy becomes a space to reconnect with your own voice, values, identity, and sense of direction so life begins to feel more grounded, authentic, and emotionally sustainable — not something you constantly have to perform your way through.

I GREW UP IN THE IN-BETWEEN — moving back and forth between the US and China, I know first-hand what it is like to be faced with the unknown, the struggle of finding yourself in a new place, a new culture, a new stage of life, or a new identity. I FIND JOY in helping people find the pieces of themselves they can rely on and fall in love with through it all. My goal is to honor the beauty of your existence while teaching you the skills that can carry you through rougher times. The process of healing, learning who you are and what you need to care for yourself, is a challenging but rewarding one. IT TAKES COURAGE to confront and accept yourself completely, and I hope to provide a compassionate and safe space for you to explore, to grieve, to rage, or to find joy in everything that you've experienced. The fact that you have survived everything so far to be here now is more important than anything else. It is an honor for me to witness your courage and your strength. IT IS A PRIVILEGE to be a part of your journey. I admire you. You matter to me.

Your emotional wellness is not a luxury – it’s a necessity in an ever-changing society. In order to create real change in your life, you must care for your mental health needs. I provide quality therapy for young professionals in NYC, couples therapy, and perinatal therapy. No matter what your age or relationship status, if you’re here it’s because you’re looking to make a change. Maybe you don’t feel good enough – you’re insecure and not sure what your next step is. Or perhaps you’re overloaded with tasks and your anxiety is through the roof, you’re feeling so overwhelmed that you don’t even know where to begin. Living in a world of anxiety and worry takes a toll on your mental health. If you find yourself not feeling good enough, or you’re taking care of others instead of yourself, it might be time to seek help. I support people going through major life transitions such as becoming a parent, starting a relationship or dealing with the breakup, having work-related stress, becoming an entrepreneur, or getting through graduate school. I also work with clients who suffer from low self-esteem and those who feel like there’s something in the way of enjoying life. By providing safe and supportive space in therapy, I empower clients to feel good about themselves, build resiliency and take steps towards greater happiness. In my practice, I believe that therapy shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all experience. I utilize elements of CBT, Internal Family Therapy, Mindfulness, and Gestalt therapies which are tailored to your unique needs. You will learn coping skills to manage anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship problems, social anxiety, and criticism. Please visit my website, www.yuliyagolubev.com to schedule a free 15-minute consultation call.

Dr. Robert Reiner and the team at Behavioral Associates provide expert mental health care for patients of all ages. We specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) alone or combined with technology to treat symptoms without depending on medication. Same and next day initial appointments available. Book online today.

Based on my experience, the students I work most effectively with often face similar challenges, especially as they adapt to college life and cope with stress or feeling overwhelmed. These individuals tend to find value in receiving support and guidance while adjusting to the demands of their new academic and social surroundings. I've found that my approach works best for those who are looking for practical ways to manage stress, improve time management, and build resilience in both academic and personal aspects of their lives. Through establishing a supportive and understanding therapeutic connection as well as medication management, my goal is to empower students to tackle their college journey with confidence and strength.

We are a small group of cognitive-behavioral psychologists who specialize in anxiety and OCD. We focus on helping you figure out what your patterns are, and how to change the ones that aren't working for you anymore. In addition to anxiety disorders, we also see patients with ADHD, Autism, and survivors of sexual assault. But don't worry if you're not sure what's wrong - whatever stress or difficulty you're having, we can help you identify it, understand it, and overcome it.

Are you a student who is struggling with many of the adjustments that come with attending college? Maybe you are homesick, lonely, attempting to make new friends, or have symptoms of anxiety. Many students coming into college feel the need to get all A's or procrastinate and have time management issues. You might have relationship difficulties, or family expectations that are too high to meet or unreasonable. Feeling sad, depressed, and overwhelmed can be isolating. I hope to be able to create a therapeutic relationship with you to help manage all of these normal feelings that come with entering a new experience in your life and becoming an adult.

Healing is rarely a direct path, and you don't have to walk it alone. As a queer psychotherapist, my work is rooted in LGBTQIA+-affirming, trauma-informed, relational therapy for adult individuals and couples. Whatever brings you here, whether it's a persistent sense of being stuck, patterns that feel hard to break, or a quiet discontent you haven't been able to name, I'm here to help you make sense of it. Drawing from a psychodynamic framework, I help you explore the cycles of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may be keeping you from living the life you want. Together, we'll uncover how you became who you are, and how you'd like to grow. My commitment is to create a space that feels genuinely safe for exploration, connection, and vulnerability so that you can show up openly and honestly in our work together. Specializing in attachment-based, relational therapy, my approach is engaging, open-minded, gentle, and direct. Getting to know your internal world fully, understanding who you are and the challenges you've faced, is where our work begins. From there, we find pathways forward together. You can expect a compassionate, nonjudgmental environment where curiosity and honesty are always welcome. Using psychodynamic and relational therapy, we'll explore what's keeping you feeling stuck, conflicted, or discontent, and work through it at a pace that feels right for you. Every person who comes to me brings a unique story, set of needs, and goals, and my approach is personalized to reflect that. Trust and connection are the foundation of everything we do here. My path to becoming a therapist is deeply personal. Growing up, navigating my own queerness and systems of oppression, coming of age in a low-income and unstable home where I was parentified at an early age, and supporting family members through addiction and encounters with the justice system shaped how I see the world and how I show up for the people I work with. Those experiences gave me a firsthand understanding of how systems, circumstances, and identity can profoundly affect a person's sense of self and sense of possibility. They also deepened my commitment to providing care that is integrated, compassionate, and anti-oppressive. Whatever you've carried, and however you've gotten here, I bring both clinical training and lived understanding to our work together. Outside of the therapy room, you'll find me behind a drum kit, out on my bike exploring Brooklyn, or underwater on a scuba dive. Photography, swimming, and reading nonfiction also keep me curious and grounded, while competitive game nights, good TV, and my amazing cats provide plenty of joy and laughter.

Rubin Therapy, LCSW, P.C. offers personalized individual therapy for college students, graduate students, and young adults throughout New York and New Jersey. We provide virtual sessions in both states, along with in-person appointments in Brooklyn Heights, NY and Kendall Park, NJ. Our team is made up of licensed social workers and licensed associate counselors who specialize in helping clients navigate anxiety, depression, stress, family dynamics, life transitions, self-esteem, time management, and dating and relationship concerns. We take a warm, practical, and collaborative approach, helping clients build insight and develop effective coping tools to manage the challenges of school, work, and adulthood. We are an LGBTQIA+ affirming practice. One of our New Jersey clinicians has specialized experience working with transgender and nonbinary college-aged clients and young adults. We accept insurance: Aetna, Cigna, Optum UHC, and many BCBS plans.

Past experiences may be affecting how you see yourself, relate to others, or move through the world. Healing is possible. Many come to therapy feeling weighed down by trauma, difficult relationships, low self-esteem, or unresolved childhood experiences. You may be functioning on the outside while feeling stuck, disconnected, or unsure of yourself on the inside. Many of the adults I work with struggle with trusting themselves or others, setting boundaries, or feeling worthy of care and connection. Therapy can help you build insight, strengthen your sense of self, and develop healthier, more fulfilling relationships. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who works with people seeking deeper understanding, healing, and meaningful change. My approach is warm, exploratory, and open, with an emphasis on creating a space where you feel safe enough to be honest and work at your own pace. My style is collaborative and nonjudgmental, grounded in respect. Beginning therapy takes courage. If you’re ready to explore your experiences in a supportive and compassionate environment, I invite you to reach out.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.