More than 19 years experience resolving emotional
problems and their ensuing symptoms big and small.
James Blechman, LCSW-R, LMFT, LP, CGP has practiced individual, family/ marital and group psychotherapy since 1988. He is a state licensed Psychiatric Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R), a state licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and a state licensed Psychoanalyst (LP). He is also an AGPA certified Group Psychotherapist, and an AASECT Certified Sex Psychotherapist. He is a member of several professional organizations including National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), and the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA).
914-763-1939
212-727-2961
203-803-3730
Westchester Office:
151 East Street
South Salem, NY 10590
(between Ridgefield, CT and Katonah, NY)
New York City Office: 156 Fifth Avenue Suite 725 (at 20th St.)
Connecticut Office: 151 East St. on the New Canaan/ Wilton/Ridgefield border
Individual Psychotherapy
Treatment is offered for a wide range of emotional issues, such as:
• anxiety • depression • anger • dissatisfaction • mid-life issues • sexual problems • infidelity and recovery from affairs • divorce • intimacy issues
• work-related conflicts • addiction and recovery • history of mistreatment in childhood • career dissatisfaction and transition • loneliness • shyness • body image problems • low self-esteem • stress
When symptoms or problems threaten to erode your (or your family's) health and well-being, psychotherapy has been demonstrated not only to provide relief, but also long-term personal growth and heightened emotional knowledge. This helps to insulate you against the further innumerable challenges in life. Psychotherapy allows you to better understand yourself and others, leading to greater satisfaction in all aspects of life— in work, love, family and play.
Marriage Counseling/ Couples Therapy
A loving relationship takes thought, wisdom, patience, courage, and hard work.
In couples therapy, you and your partner will be helped to identify the areas of conflict that require resolution. Together you can explore and decide what changes are needed in the relationship and in the behavior of each partner for both of you to achieve contentment. These changes may encompass different ways of interacting or being with one another. You will both be helped to communicate and listen to each other more effectively, to share responsibility within your relationship, to avoid criticism and to identify common life goals. At times individual investigation related to personal emotional problems in one or both of the couple is required.
If two people who feel unhappy in their relationship try to find out where the trouble lies, face the human reality that it is inevitable to make mistakes, and take responsibility for the unhappiness, whether it be caused by infidelity or a general feeling of dissatisfaction, they have a good chance to work things out.
Some couples come to therapy wanting to explore the possibility of a constructive separation. If you are at this point, then therapy can help you to separate in the least damaging way.
Children
A relationship built on trust is vital to the success of any treatment involving a child. The young person in treatment must feel comfortable, safe and understood, in an environment in which honest thoughts and feelings can be expressed, often for the first time. The therapeutic relationship that develops in this environment enables improved expression of feelings and behavior, leading to growth and improvement in interpersonal relationships at home, in school and elsewhere.
Adolescents
Teenagers who are struggling with any of the following—depression, anxiety, behavior problems, substance use, family conflicts, anger, relationship problems, negative peer influences, social skills problems, academic problems, sibling conflicts, lack of motivation, difficulty focusing, eating disorders—benefit greatly from talk psychotherapy.
Parenting
Parents often desire concomitant therapy of their own to help them understand what their young person needs from them to foster emotional development. Parents can be helped to avoid ineffective parenting responses by learning ways to strengthen a positive and loving relationship with their child. Parents can also explore strategies for managing children with special needs, such as ADHD, divorce adjustment, and addictions.
Groups
People create the same impasses and blocks within group therapy as they do in their daily lives. They block themselves in their relationship with other group members just as they block themselves with associates, friends, lovers, and relatives. Many people have ingrained mannerisms by which they handicap themselves, and group therapy is the arena in which we both evoke these mannerisms and help the patient recognize and overcome them. The group context serves as a microcosm of reality and is the ideal place to solve interpersonal problems. The successful group member finishes not simply with a superior capacity to relate to others, but also with more inner comfort and with a better ability to realize his or her own potential. In short, effective group treatment should enable people to make inner adjustments, and to use themselves effectively—so that they are better able to love and to work.
Insurance
Payment by credit card, cash, or check. Payment is due at each session in order to minimize the extra overhead of billing. If you have medical insurance that reimburses for mental health sessions and allows for out-of-network providers, then you can request a bill for you to submit directly to your insurer. I do not bill insurance companies directly or take responsibility for collecting from your insurance carrier. Reimbursement is between the insured and the insurer.
Initial consultation is $375. Ongoing fees are discussed at the time of consultation. Weekly sessions may be 25 or 45 minutes in length.
Supervision for Therapists
Supervision is offered for therapists seeking LCSW licensing, "R" privilege for insurance reimbursement status, group certification with AGPA, and for therapists interested in managing individual, group, couples and family cases. Supervision helps a therapist to understand what a patient is saying and what the patient avoids saying. Together we work to understand symptomatology, psychopathology, patient diagnosis, patient’s psychological state of development, the transference message, and what the patient’s resistances are towards saying everything and toward growing and developing emotionally. Therapists are helped to understand their own feelings and thoughts with respect to their reactions (both objective and subjective) to the patient. Good supervision: • Offers the therapist insight to him or herself and the patient. • Helps the therapist develop his or her own style combining informed intuition and theoretical and experiential clinical knowledge. • Helps the therapist work with satisfaction, maintaining growth and balance in their own personal life while developing and achieving professional goals. • Helps the therapist maintain the code of ethics specific to their professional licensing requirements, and calls attention to any possible violation.
