Michal Goldman, LCSW
Reconnect, Revitalize, Rebuild
Therapy for couples and individuals with relationship challenges in New York
Marriage and individual therapy in New York
Something doesn't feel right in your current relationships.
Maybe you are feeling stuck in negative patterns of conflict, or you are feeling emotionally numb or disconnected. You want closeness, happiness, and peace, but instead, you feel frustrated and alone.
You are unsure what more to do, but you know something needs to give. You are looking for clarity and real, lasting change.
Welcome! I'm glad you're here.
I'm a licensed clinical social worker specializing in couples therapy, relationship challenges, and discernment counseling. The therapy modalities that I use have proven effectiveness in helping you reconnect and heal.
My goal is to help you develop clarity and give you tools to communicate more deeply, heal past wounds, and build more loving, secure relationships.
Services
Marriage
Counseling
Individual
Therapy
Couples on the Brink
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"
- Anais Nin
Welcome to my page!
I've dedicated my career to helping people who are struggling in relationships find clarity and connection.
While relationships can stir up intense feelings of pain and frustration, healing can bring strength and hope as powerful as the struggles.
And for the nitty gritties about my credentials...
I'm a licensed clinical social worker in New York (license # 092547). I specialize in couples therapy, relationship challenges, and discernment counseling.I have conducted extensive postgraduate training in emotionally focused therapy (which is often considered the gold standard treatment for couples work because of its high success rate and lasting results after treatment ends).
I have additional advanced training in internal family systems, the Gottman approach, solution focused therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and discernment counseling. The therapeutic approaches I use are supported by research and have been shown to help individuals and couples reconnect and healI consider myself a lifelong learner, and am constantly increasing my skill set to help you in the most effective, evidence-based ways possible.My goal is to help you increase clarity, and give you tools to communicate more deeply, heal past wounds, and build more loving, secure relationships.
To sum up, as Carl Rogers Said:
"know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul just be another human soul"
Struggles in relationships can feel overwhelming, and first and foremost, I respect your journey and am honored to be supporting you in the process.
Marriage counseling
Relationships are hard work; intimate relationships even more so!
You want to improve things, to stop the fighting, miscommunication, distance, and lack of intimacy, but it can oftentimes seem like you are getting stuck in a spiral and are not able to break out of it.
Your relationship can improve with couples therapy
Couples therapy is a time to interrupt the negative patterns of interactions, develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your partner, and build new positive cycles in your relationship.
Through this process, you'll learn new ways to communicate and resolve differences.
marriage counseling can help you learn to
- Communicate more effectively
- Feel more seen, heard, and understood (and do the same for your spouse!)
- Handle conflict in a way which leads to beneficial solutions (and not more distance and resentment)
- Improve your sexual relationship
- Build greater intimacy
- Heal past wounds from your relationship
Emotionally-Focused therapy (EFT)
I primarily use EFT when working with couples because of how impactful and healing the work can be.
EFT has been proven effective through decades of research and practical application, and the benefits usually last long after graduating therapy. Research outcomes according to a meta analysis show that 90% of couples who participate in EFT report improvements in their relationship, and 70-75% move from distress to recovery.
To learn more about EFT, click the link below for an excerpt from a book by the founder of the model, Sue Johnson:
Frequently asked questions
I have a great relationship with my spouse, and would just like to work out something specific. Is couples therapy still for me?
Absolutely! There are times when people come to therapy as a last-ditch effort to save the marriage, but that is not the only time couples therapy is useful.
Couples therapy can be extremely beneficial for couples who have a strong, beautiful relationship, and would like to work through specific areas to make their relationship even better.
In fact, therapy can feel smoother and yield quicker results when you are coming in simply for a tune up.However, regardless of why or when you are coming, I use evidence-based practices which have proven results.
How often should I come to therapy?
The research on the efficacy of therapy has shown that the consistency of once a week sessions creates the framework for the most effective therapy, and allows us to build on each session.
As clients see progress, we often begin to taper down on therapy, doing biweekly or monthly before graduating.
How long will therapy take?
Ah, the million dollar question :)
The amount of time you spend in therapy depends on many factors, including the reasons for coming, how rigid the dynamics in your relationship are (for couples therapy), and what other factors play into the challenges you want to work through.
With that said, my hope is that after 6-10 consistent sessions, you should be starting to develop more clarity and see progress.For discernment counseling, which is 1-5 sessions, therapy is shorter and progress is likewise more condensed.
Where will we meet?
I offer in-person session in Queens, or virtual sessions throughout New York.
What is your fee?
My session fee is $200 for individual sessions, and $225 for couples sessions.Many couples who work with me prefer extended sessions, and find that they make progress quicker when having more time to process and resolve challenging dynamics.
If you would be interested in a longer session, please contact me so we can discuss what will be best for you.
Reach out today!
Call: 917-590-0258
Email: [email protected]
Couples on the brink
Are you or your spouse considering divorce?
Oftentimes in thinking about such a change, one partner is more interested in divorcing, and the other wants to work through the challenges. Discernment counseling is a chance to slow down in a very stressful period, and take a look at your options for your marriage.
If you are trying to save the marriage:
Discernment counseling can help you identify the changes you can make to have the best chance and saving and improving your marriage.
If you are thinking about divorce:
Discernment counseling can help you gain more clarity on what has happened in your relationship until now, and allow you to more fully explore the different options.
What is discernment counseling?
Discernment counseling helps you gain clarity on whether to try to restore your marriage to health, move toward divorce, or take a pause to make a decision later.The goal is for you to gain clarity and confidence about a direction, based on a deeper understanding of your relationship and its possibilities for the future.This is not the time to solve your marital problems, but to slow down and see if they are solvable. You will each be treated with compassion and respect no matter how you are feeling about your marriage at the moment. THERE ARE NO bad guys and good guys!You will come in to discernment sessions as a couple, but the bulk of the work will be in one-to-one conversations, where I will meet with each of you individually.Discernment counseling emphasizes the importance of each of you seeing your own contributions to the problems and the possible solutions. This will be useful in future relationships even if this one ends.
See this video for more information about discernment counseling:
How do we know if discernment counseling is right for us?
Discernment counseling is tailored towards a very specific category of couples, where one partner is interested in working on the relationship, and one partner isn't sure if they want to stay married.
If both partners are fully committed to doing the work, traditional marriage therapy is the way to go.
On the flip side, if one partner is 100% convinced that they want a divorce, discernment counseling is not the right choice. (However, even slight uncertainty can make you a good candidate for this work!)
Discernment counseling is not meant for situations where there is active violence or coercion.
How long is discernment counseling?
Discernment counseling is a very short term therapy lasting 1-5 sessions. The first session is 2 hours, and subsequent sessions are 90 minutes.
During each session, some of the time is spent with both of you together, and some is individual work.
What are your rates?
The first 2 hour session is $400, and the subsequent 90 minute sessions are $325.
Is discernment counseling worth the investment?
Couples who engage in this work, regardless of the outcome, share how worthwhile they found the process to be.
Partners who decide to work on their relationship at the end of the process find that work to be much more effective after going through discernment counseling.
Those who decide to divorce report that discernment counseling gave them much more closure than they would have had otherwise, as well as giving greater clarity on the things they each contributed to the dynamics in this relationship (which helps prevent those patterns from repeating themselves in future relationships).
Individual therapy
Something is causing you to feel stuck
Maybe you are struggling with anxiety, maybe you are having challenges in relationships, maybe you are dealing with changes in your life. One thing is clear: you want things to be different, to show up differently, and you aren't sure how to go about that.
I've helped adults struggling with
- Anxiety or depression
- Transitions (moves, relationship changes, job changes)
- Relationship challenges
- Being emotionally open in relationships
- Ambivalence or uncertainty in relationships
- The impact of past experiences
- Wanting to better understand parts of themselves
You have the wisdom inside of you
Our work together will be about supporting you, based off of your current circumstances and needs. Through our work, I will help you access and cultivate your inner resources.
"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free"
-Michaelangelo