| Office: |
New York and East Hampton Psychotherapy and Couples Counseling
Washington Square Institute
41 East 11th St (between Broadway and University Place)
New York, NY 10003
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| Phone: |
View phone number
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| Email: |
Send email
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| Website: |
www.michaelzjody.com
www.easthamptonmarriagecounseling.com
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| Profession: |
Licensed Psychoanalyst (L.P.)
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| Services: |
Psychotherapy/Counseling
Telehealth (Video/Phone) Therapy
Career Evaluations and Counseling
Coaching
Marriage Counseling
Mediation
Couples Counseling
Psychoanalysis
Psychotherapy
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| Session Formats: |
Individual
Couples
Family
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| Practice Description: |
 | Because of Covid-19 I am offering telehealth/teletherapy sessions. Please contact me if you would like to meet via phone, Skype, FaceTime or Zoom. |
Psychotherapy & Couples Counseling with Humor and Compassion.
Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens. --CARL JUNG (1875-1961)
HOW DOES TALK THERAPY WORK?
There is a writers’ saying: “How can I know what I think until I see what I say?” This is called shaping at the point of utterance. The same principle applies powerfully to psychotherapy. Sometimes you don’t know what you really feel until you begin exploring and unpacking your thinking. Discussing your thoughts, feelings, emotions, conflicts and problems with another person can be of great help. If that person is caring, professionally trained, smart, sensitive and objective, then talking with that person and exploring your difficulties and concerns can be illuminating, and of tremendous assistance.
Airing your thinking aloud with a professional, focused, compassionate second ear, can help you to unpack your emotions, rethink chronic problems and worries, and live more consciously. It can give you clarity and allow you to see your problems and issues in a new light. The next time you find yourself depressed; anxious; creatively blocked; in conflict with your mate, family or children; engaging in an unhealthy behavior like reaching for a drink, fattening food, or a drug, you may be better able to comprehend why you are driven to do so, and make conscious some of the connections that were previously unconscious. What happened to trigger the feeling or behavior? Why did it happen then? And most important: must it always proceed like that or can you do something to prevent such harmful or unproductive behaviors from recurring?
Self-awareness and understanding are the necessary first steps to turning injurious behaviors around. Real change can only follow self-knowledge and self-understanding. And it is such genuine change that finally allows you to free yourself from chronic problems and live your life more consciously and with greater pleasure and freedom.
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Practice Specialties or Interests:
(Strengths are
in bold text) |
Relationship Issues
Anxiety
Depression
Adjustment Disorder
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Anger Management
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Communication Disorders
Conduct Disorder
Divorce
Ethnic/Cultural Issues
Gender Identity
Grief/Loss
Infidelity
LGBTQ Issues
Life Transitions
Men's Issues
Parenting Issues
Personal Growth
Self-Esteem
Sexual Abuse
Sexual Dysfunction
Stress Management
Professional Issues
Creative Issues
Interpersonal Problems
Sexual/Relationship Issues
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| Age Specialties: |
Adolescents
Adults
Elders
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| Treatment Approaches: |
Behavioral
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Eclectic
Existential/Humanistic
Integrative
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
Intersubjective
Object Relations Therapy
Person-Centered Therapy
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychosocial Therapy
Self Psychology
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
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| Additional Languages: |
French
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| Education: |
Master of Arts
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1982
Master of Arts
New York University, 1986
Licensed Psychoanalyst
University of the State of New York, 2005
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| License #: |
000386-1 |
| Licensed In: |
New York |
| Additional Licenses/ Certifications: |
New York State Licensed Psychoanalyst (L.P.) |
| Professional Affiliations: |
 | International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC) | | American Counseling Association (ACA) | | Division 39 of the American Psychological Association (Div39/APA) |
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| Fee Schedule: |
Sliding scale fees depend upon your ability to pay and your insurance coverage $150-$300. I am happy to discuss adjusting your fee either on the phone or at our first meeting. |
| Accepted Insurance: |
Aetna
Cigna
United Behavioral Health (UBH)
Additional Plans Not Listed
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| Insurance and Billing Instructions: |
My services are often covered in full or part by health insurance plans. Please check your own insurance coverage carefully by asking the following questions:
• Does my plan include mental health benefits?
• How much is my deductible, and have I met it for this year?
• What is the coverage amount per session?
• What is my copay?
• Does my plan pay for out of network? |
| Office Hours: |
Tuesdays and Wednesdays |
| Additional Comments: |
A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. -- ROBERT QUILLEN (1887-1948)
HOW DOES COUPLES COUNSELING WORK?
The aim of couples counseling is to improve communication and increase understanding between partners. As with individual talk therapy, when thoughts and feelings are brought into the light, ventilated and examined honestly, calmly and openly, then each member of the couple will be better heard, understood, sympathized with and respected. From such enhanced understanding comes increased acceptance, tolerance and forbearance. When partners understand each other, they are better able to forgive, accept, appreciate, and ultimately love one another.
No relationship will ever be without its struggles, wrangles, and disputes. However, there are two basic kinds of fight or conflict in any marriage or relationship: unconstructive conflict and constructive conflict. In unconstructive conflict, people fight, get hurt and angry, say things they later regret, and possibly even escalate into actions that damage each other or the relationship. Constructive conflict, on the other hand, is where differences of opinion are honestly examined, and a new level of understanding and compromise is arrived at.
How can you tell the difference between the two kinds of conflict? Simple. After an unconstructive conflict, both parties tend to feel worse, and nothing has been positively addressed or changed. On the other hand, after a constructive conflict, the issue has been resolved or at least improved, and both parties feel better.
The main job of the marriage counselor is to provide a safe and protected space where each partner will feel safe, supported and assisted in making her or his thoughts, feelings and needs known and understood. Each member of the couple should feel secure, respected, heard, and understood. And each should be able to speak freely from the heart without being afraid or feeling negatively judged.
As one of my patients once said, “I speak in Ellie and he hears me in Matt.” (Don’t worry, I changed the names.) A counselor may act as interpreter, clarifier, mediator, translator, and intermediary. Counseling can help couples out of recurrent fights and seemingly irresolvable issues, it can allow partners to move on after an affair, and it can help you to really hear and see one another. Marriage counseling can help and succeed at every stage of a relationship, beginning, middle and even at the end where a divorce mediation process may save a great deal of pain, heartache, anger, and even some attorney’s fees. |
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| Years in Practice: Over 20 | | Accepting New Clients: Yes | | Sliding Fee Scale: Yes | | Prescribe Medication: No | | Wheelchair Accessible: Yes | | Public Transportation: Yes |
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