Group therapy brings together individuals who share similar challenges to provide a sense of community and a rewarding treatment process.
We offer a wide range of group therapy options that cover subjects such as interpersonal issues, identity, and building skills. The aim is to help you better understand yourself, your reactions, and your impact on others. We explore how emerging group issues relate to real-life struggles and emotional distress.
There is a focus on discovering one's typical patterns of relating to others (sometimes self-defeating) and the roles one typically occupies in relationships. Difficult earlier life experiences may get re-created in the group, and this allows for deep exploration, insight, and the re-working of trauma.
With the group's support, you can try new ways of relating, enabling you and other participants to show up more authentically in their relationships. As a group, you will complete activities such as working, playing, supporting, and confronting each other. We offer group therapy in New York City, and individuals throughout New York State and in other states can participate in one of our virtual sessions. Our groups cover a range of topics, including:
Interpersonal Groups
Interpersonal groups are an opportunity to understand our relationships with ourselves and others. Rather than develop a specific skill as you would in individual therapy, we encourage participants to pay attention to the interpersonal thoughts and reactions of all individuals, which in turn improves your own communication and relationship-building skills.
Loneliness and Intimacy: Negotiating Needs, Fears, and Desires: An Adult Psychotherapy & Interpersonal Process Group (Virtual) Tuesdays 6:00 - 7:15 PM
Status: Accepting new patients
Leaders:
Israel Meth, Ph.D. at [email protected] or +1 347-292-7032
Kendall Schellenger, Psy.D. at [email protected] or +1 347-292-7655
Description:
Do you feel like your personal and interpersonal struggles are hindering your ability to negotiate your needs and desires? Or are you having difficulty fully expressing yourself within an interpersonal space? This group provides support and understanding while building the skills to face challenges such as:
- Intimacy
- Sexuality
- Identity
- Boundaries
- Self-expression
- Conflict
- Isolation
- Loneliness
Through this group, you will gain insight into how you relate to others and the underlying issues interfering with your ability to communicate clearly, form genuine connections, and express yourself. You will also learn how to approach your fears and defense reactions with compassion as we explore possible origins in earlier struggles with caregivers who may have injured or failed us. Together, we will struggle with the sometimes conflicting desires for intimacy and autonomy, noting feelings and reactions that cut us off from others who carry the emotional supplies of recognition, support, and nurturance we also may deeply need.
As we attend the group process, we will focus on how we show up, discuss issues in the here and now, and identify patterns among us to increase awareness and move us toward better ways of connecting and being authentic. Our loneliness and intimacy group is ideally suited for those already participating in individual therapy sessions.
Please contact either co-leader if you wish to join or make a referral to the group.
Topic or Identity Group
Topic and identity groups focus on specific issues, like self-esteem or anxiety, or how various identities, such as race and gender, can influence self-perception. These groups provide a supportive environment ideal for sharing, learning and practicing coping skills.
Queer Resilience Psychotherapy Group (In-Person) Wednesdays 6:00 - 7:15 PM
Status: Accepting new patients
Leader:
Abigail Elakman, Psy.D. at [email protected] or +1 347-369-4660
Description:
This queer-led psychotherapy group is for queer young adults (ages 18 to 30) looking for support in their identity journey. We’ll create an affirmative space to develop resiliency skills and explore gender, sexuality, and other dimensions of your identity — as well as our encounters with an increasingly challenging socio-political context.
Group topics will include:
- Communication skills for authentic self-expression
- Strategies for handling conflict, rejection, micro and macro aggressions, and discrimination
- Self-love, self-discovery, and self-reflection as opportunities for growth
- Local resources and spaces for connecting with the greater LGBTQ+ community
Facilitated by Dr. Abigail Elakman, a Queer, LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist, this group is ideally suited for those already participating in individual therapy, as it provides a complementary space for processing individual work in a supportive community.
Please reach out to Dr. Elakman if you're interested in participating.
Skills-Based Group
Skills-based groups involve activities, discussions, and other exercises to help participants learn new coping mechanisms to empower them to make long-lasting positive changes.
Adult Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Group (Virtual) Thursday 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Status: Accepting new patients
Leader:
Gerald Pantoja, Ph.D. at [email protected] or +1 347-201-1814
Jenni Marques, Psy.D. at [email protected] or +1 347-201-1669
Description:
The Adult Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) group is a skill-focused 90-minute weekly group found to be most helpful for those who have difficulty regulating their mood and emotional states without the use of alcohol or drugs or engaging in maladaptive or self-harming behaviors. Some skills you will focus on in the group include:
- Mindfulness
- Navigating relationships
- Managing emotions
- Self-empowerment
People raised in invalidating, unstable, chaotic, and trauma-inducing environments are most likely to benefit from the skills in the DBT group. Participants should be in individual psychotherapy while in the group. The complete training cycle is six months or 24 sessions. The group is also open at rotating intervals throughout the program and based on the availability of open spots. You can join the group after you have an intake with Dr. Gerald Pantoja ([email protected]). Please feel free to contact him for any other questions!
A Comprehensive Approach to Treatment
To learn more about our group therapy options or attend a group session, we invite you to reach out to the group leaders today.