How I Work
As an experiential psychotherapist, I will help you get to know yourself in a new, deep way. Instead of talking about what’s on your mind in a narrative way— as you might with friends or family, or in traditional talk therapy, which can often feel rote and unproductive— we'll focus on your here-and-now experience by bringing mindful awareness to the sensations, emotions, and deeply-held beliefs you experience during our time together. By focusing on your moment-to-moment experience, we’ll help you access your inner life fully and bravely, and we’ll get underneath the familiar stuck points that might be holding you back. We’ll uncover and heal the parts of you that you may feel ashamed of and we'll strengthen and celebrate the core self inside of you that feels right, but may be scary to express.
Let’s work together to help you unleash what you already have inside: the ability to move through this time of your life with strength, clarity, courage, and resilience.
My Training
My therapeutic style is creative and integrative, incorporating my training in several powerful experiential modalities, including Accelerated Experiential Psychodynamic Therapy (AEDP), an attachment and emotion-focused psychotherapy, Core Self Reclamation Therapy (CSRT), a trauma-healing belief-focused psychotherapy, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SPI), a body-based trauma psychotherapy. I have also trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy with the National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) and inherited family trauma therapy with Mark Wolynn’s Family Constellation Institute.
I have a Masters of Social Work from NYU, and an undergraduate degree in cultural studies from Barnard College. Prior to opening my private practice in 2016, I worked for years in maternal and family health in New York City’s public hospital system. I am enriched by and committed to ongoing clinical training and receive private clinical supervision regularly. As a white cis woman, I am aware of the power and privilege that come with my experience, and I am actively committed to anti-racism in my work.
“Rena is an empathic listener who always seems to know the right words to say. She is skilled at understanding complex dynamics and providing just the right amount of support to be the best you possible.”