Susan Morgenstein, LCSW

People come to therapy for different reasons. You may be experiencing emotional pain, feeling unfulfilled, or perhaps stuck, and are looking for a way to feel better. The decision to see a therapist is usually one that is not taken lightly and can be fraught with a sense of vulnerability and ambivalence. Therapy can provide a safe space to explore thoughts and feelings; including your identity, values, goals, key relationships, ways of coping, transitions across the life span, illness, loss, trauma, anxiety, and depression to name a few. I believe a critical component in therapy is the therapeutic relationship itself. The relationship between patient and therapist forms the foundation where growth and change can occur; a place where you can feel seen and heard, free from judgment. This relationship gives you the ability to think freely and be curious without shame or guilt. Through our work together, you can expect meaningful, positive change, while increasing your self-awareness, self-understanding, and self-compassion.

I have my Master’s degree in Social Work from New York University and am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I completed post-graduate training at The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and received a certificate from their Two Year Training Program in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. My social work roots impact my belief that you cannot look at a person as separate from their environment. I take a holistic, strengths-based approach with the goal of understanding your unique experience through different perspectives; including influences from family, culture, society as a whole, as well as, your emotional and psychological experiences. My approach is warm, interactive, and collaborative. I work from a psychodynamic perspective, using a relational approach which means I want to understand the ways in which past experiences work to inform the present while also being mindful of ways the therapeutic relationship becomes a window into other interpersonal relationships.

Through my diverse experiences as a social worker, I’ve developed a specialty in psycho-oncological issues and the unique mental health challenges of those with physical illnesses. In the past four years at SelfWorks, I’ve helped my patients with illnesses, relationship issues, parenting, life transitions, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and personality disorders. I am a member in good standing with The National Association of Social Workers. In addition to my professional experience, I am a life-long New Yorker who loves dogs, running, and biking.