Therapy and Consultations

We’re here to help when things get difficult. 

Do you or a loved one need support to address what is troubling you? We provide a warm and trusting space to work on those challenges. We specialize in addressing issues related to adoption, attachment, grief & loss and relationship conflict in children and adults.

We understand the importance connection and safety have on healing.

Who We Help

We are able to offer a wide variety of therapy services in diverse modalities to help meet your or your family’s unique needs. Our services our available to individuals, couples, and families, and we serve people of all ages, from children and adolescents through adulthood. We are able to meet in-person as well as through virtual sessions.  

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Individual

Our one-on-one counseling sessions provide a safe and confidential space for individuals to explore their thoughts, feelings, and challenges. Our therapists are skilled in addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and identity exploration.

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Couples Therapy

For couples facing relationship challenges, our therapists offer guidance to enhance communication, intimacy, and understanding. We work collaboratively with you to improve the overall quality of your partnership.

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Family Therapy

We believe in the power of family connections. Our family therapy sessions focus on improving communication, resolving conflicts, and strengthening relationships within your family unit.

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Child & Adolescent

Our child therapists utilize play therapy and other child-centered approaches to help children express themselves, develop coping skills, and build self-esteem. Parents are always involved along the way.

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In-Person & Online

Spence-Chapin offers virtual and in-person therapy to residents of New York and New Jersey. Clients are able to switch between In-Person and Online sessions with their therapist whenever they choose.

Adoption-Competent Therapy

Spence-Chapin therapists are also adoption-competent and experienced in helping individuals, couples, and families navigate adoption-related issues. Adoption-competent therapy is available to every and any person within the adoption constellation. 

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Adopted Persons

 

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Birth Parents & Families

 

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Adoptive Parents & Families

 

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Open Adoption Support for Adopted Persons and Birth & Adoptive Parents

What is Therapy?

If you feel anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed by your current situation? Are you having challenges with relationships or want to improve your family’s interactions? Therapy can help you. At Spence-Chapin, we provide a non-judgmental space for individuals, couples, children, and families to feel heard and supported. We tailor our approach to meet your needs, providing a blend of behavioral and relational therapy to best support you and affect positive change.

Seeking out therapy is not always easy. The search for finding a therapist can be hard. Putting aside the time and financial resources for therapy can also be a challenge. At Spence-Chapin, our therapists know that many people may have reason, both from the outside world and from inside themselves, that make them hesitant to take that first step to meet with a therapist. That’s why we have put together a Welcome Letter for our clients to provide them with an idea of what to expect when starting therapy for the first time or returning after a break. We want all of our clients to know that awaits you in therapy is the space to seek out understanding and healing, at a pace that feels right, and with a competent counselor to guide you through.

What are Consultations?

Consultations are short-term and flexible support. They can offer you guidance and individual support when facing a particular challenge such as navigating open adoption, search and reunion, and more. Any issues or experience in adoption can be explored in a consultation. Consultations are available for prospective adoptive parents just starting their adoption journey or for adoptive parents, adult adoptees, and birth parents that would like to explore a specific topic. We provide a safe space for you to talk to a professional in the adoption field who can help guide you to the answers you are looking to resolve.

Our therapists specialize in many areas

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Adoption

As adoption experts, we provide specialized therapy services tailored to the needs of adoptive families, adoptees, and birth parents. Our expertise includes identity formation, openness in adoption, and navigating adoption-related challenges.

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Grief and Loss

Our therapists offer compassionate support to individuals and families as they navigate the complex emotions associated with loss.

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Behavioral Issues

Our therapists work with children and adolescents to address behavioral challenges, offering strategies and interventions to promote positive behavior and healthy development.

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PTSD

If you’re dealing with the effects of trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, our therapists provide evidence-based therapies to alleviate symptoms and promote healing.

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Anxiety & Depression

We offer guidance and tools to help individuals manage and overcome feelings of anxiety and depression, promoting mental well-being.

Modalities

Neurofeedback

New!

Neurofeedback is a technology that allows the brain to train itself to work better. Based on decades of research, Neurofeedback trains the brain to improve its patterns and communication, which enables the client to better function in their daily lives. Because Neurofeedback is easy to participate in and does not require talking about past experiences, it benefits young children, trauma survivors, and clients who have not seen the progress they hoped for with talk therapy or medication.  At Spence-Chapin, we integrate Neurofeedback with Psychodynamic Therapy to amplify the potential for long-lasting improvement.

The Neurofeedback process involves placing sensors on the scalp to monitor the brain’s electrical activity in real-time. This data is sent to a computer, processed, and returned to the brain as feedback, teaching the brain to regulate itself through games, videos, and other engaging stimuli. In completing this pattern, the brain learns to make positive changes based on its own signals. While activities keep the client’s mind involved, the brain builds long-term flexibility, adaptively improving cognition, emotion regulation, memory, focus, sleep quality, and more. So, rather than ongoing reliance, neurofeedback empowers self-healing neurological regulation. Neurofeedback has shown to be particularly effective in clients who experience developmental trauma, ADHD, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, and more. The American Academy of Pediatrics rates Neurofeedback’s impact on ADHD with a level 1, the “Best Support” rating they give medication. Neurofeedback is safe, non-invasive, and effective for children and adults of all ages.  

Play Therapy

Play therapy offers children a safe, comfortable outlet to process complex thoughts and emotions that may be difficult to express directly. By using games, dolls, drawings, role play, and more to act out challenging experiences, children can indirectly confront past trauma, loss, abuse, and stressors. This gives them psychological distance to process emotions, gain perspective, develop problem-solving abilities, regulate behavior, and rehearse positive alternatives. Therapists observe the child’s performance to understand root causes of troublesome behaviors and design treatment plans. So, while playing, children communicate, heal, and build lifelong healthy coping mechanisms. 

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy (PDT), a common form of Talk Therapy, explores the connection between past experiences and current struggles to provide insight and improve quality of life. By exploring the psychological and emotional forces that shape a person’s mindset, clients can better understand the way they think and act now.  

The PDT process relies heavily on the client-therapist relationship. Guided by the therapist, clients are encouraged to speak openly about memories, fears and dreams. By openly communicating, they may be relieved of their internal symptoms and see improvement in their relationships. This therapy type is ideal for those struggling with internal issues like anxiety, PTSD, and depression. It can help individuals, couples, or families build self-awareness and self-control. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective Talk Therapy treatment that focuses on changing negative thought patterns and teaching coping strategies. Unlike Psychodynamic Therapy, CBT spends less time analyzing the past and more time identifying unrealistic perceptions that contribute to current behaviors.  

Therapists aim to shift unhelpful thinking into clarity and objectivity. Through in-session exercises and at-home practice, clients gain concrete skills for facing fears, managing stress, relaxing, and communicating confidently. CBT is empirically proven to help with many issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more by providing practical mechanisms for self-improvement. With structured support, clients can learn to respond resiliently to difficult situations and improve their quality of life on their own terms. 

Theraplay

At Spence-Chapin, our therapists incorporate elements of Theraplay, a therapy modality that uses guided interactions between parents and their child to address behavioral issues and improve attachment, emotion regulation, and development. Theraplay is particularly effective for children who may have difficult pasts that cause them to act out or have distrust of adults. It is supported by studies indicating that positive relationships early in life build inner security and self-worth. The four key elements focused on are: structure to provide safety, caregiving to comfort, attentive engagement, and challenges that build confidence. Our therapists are guided by these concepts during sessions and aim to foster trust and joy between child and parent. 

In sessions, the therapist leads parent and child through games and nurturing activities that are developmentally tailored to prompt communication and connection. By interweaving psychologically beneficial lessons into play, Theraplay restores healthy relating patterns wherever growth was disrupted. Ongoing attuned interaction cements change through natural reinforcement. 

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) utilizes parent-child and therapist interactions to heal developmental trauma and insecure attachment in children. Through playful, emotionally attuned dialogue, our Spence-Chapin therapists use DDP concepts to explore the child’s past experiences, co-regulate emotions, and co-construct an integrated sense of self. This allows the child to process painful memories, build coping capacities, and form trusting bonds. As compassionate communication replaces fear or rigidity, family bonds will improve. 

In sessions, the therapist first helps parents understand both the impact of parenting a hurt child and their own attachment histories. This fosters empathy amidst challenges. Next, the therapist sensitively engages the child around difficult themes through art, puppets, or conversation. The therapist then relays feelings, interprets behaviors, and facilitates discussions with parents. Spence-Chapin’s DDP-informed therapists will guide the parents through mirrored parenting approaches to best reinforce learning at home. Research shows increases in child security, empathy, and regulation with decreases in anxiety, defiance, and control needs. By integrating past and present experiences into a coherent narrative within strengthening relationships, DDP relieves developmental trauma.  

Adoption CompetenCE

Adoption-competent therapists provide ongoing support to address the complex emotions and identity needs facing adopted children and transracial families. Therapists focus on promoting cultural pride and positive identity development to ease the transition of youth into adoptive homes.

Young, adopted people are often still developing their identities and may need help from their adoptive family to understand and/or stay connected to their racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Tailored post-adoption services rebuild attachment and belonging for youth. For example, connecting with traditions and forging community bonds can sustain the young person as their self-concept shifts.  

Therapists can build trust by creating open dialogue about experiences for youth of color. Professionals practice and encourage cultural humility by recognizing inherent biases, committing to learning about other cultures, and regularly reflecting on and critiquing embedded perceptions. The overall goal is to help children realize their potential free of discrimination or unresolved trauma. 

MEET OUR THERAPISTS

Get to know our team of professionals.  Each of our caring therapists brings years of experience and expertise, and can provide you or your family with the support you need.

Gladys Ramos 1 8x10 low

Gladys Ramos | LMSW

Gladys has worked with adolescents, adults and families.  Her areas of expertise include complex trauma, ADHD, depression and anxiety related disorders.  As a change agent, Gladys understands the complexities of family dynamics and provides a warm, empathetic space for clients to explore new narratives for their lives that lead to positive outcomes. 

Amy

Amy Silverman | LMSW

Amy has been a social worker for 30 years, including 13 years at Spence-Chapin, working with birth parents and boarding families. She brings a strengths-based perspective to her work with clients addressing a variety of concerns including trauma, grief and loss, and parenting.  

Christine Tangel web

Christine Tangel | LCSW

Christine has more than 10 years of experience as a therapist, coach and trainer. She specializes in providing emotional and educational support to all members of the adoption community. She incorporates attachment and trauma-informed approaches with her clients.

WHAT CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US

#SundayShare

Therapy in the news

Our very own Christine Tangel, Director, Pre & Post Adoption Services, has been featured in a recent Huffington Post Article “Adopted And Donor-Conceived Kids Deserve The Truth. They Don’t Always Get It.” Christine discusses the importance of openness on the topic of adoption.

HRC ACAF Seals 2023 For News Article Image

Human Rights Campaign's All Children - All Families Innovator Seal of Recognition

We have received the Human Rights Campaign’s All Children – All Families Innovator Seal of Recognition for our competency working with LGBTQ+ adults and children.

INSURANCE & FEES

We are here to help you and offer affordable professional services. We are on the following insurance panels: Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, and Cigna and assist with out-of-network reimbursements.* We offer limited financial aid.

  • *Our ability to schedule you with a therapist on a certain panel is based on their individual availability; insurance billing is available for therapy services and is not available for consultations which are not considered a clinical service.

Questions?

To learn more email therapy@spence-chapin.org or call 646-539-2167

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