Intersubjective Therapists in Amherst, NY

I am a specialized trauma- & attachment-oriented group therapist committed to helping adults heal, grow and cultivate more fulfilling relationships and lives. In my groups, healing happens in the context of a safe therapeutic community of fellow travelers who can relate, help each other feel less alone, and support one another in making the changes needed to get more out of life. I also use a liberation psychology lens to help group members explore the intersection of cultural and identify factors and mental health and feel more confident and empowered in their lives. Group therapy can help you find deeper meaning and connection through the practice of authenticity: "letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are" (Brené Brown). By helping you bring your full authentic self into connection, Group can help you transcend loneliness to find more fulfilling relationships. Group can help you lean into your life with more courage, compassion and vulnerability. Group can support your unique journey as you find your way home to where you belong, and to the relationships that sustain you.

I am a dedicated, perceptive and highly competent clinician with 33 years postgraduate experience who will work empathically and interactively with you to provide a Relational analytic experience which will effect profound growth and change in your relationships with yourself and with others.

I take a warm, direct, and collaborative approach to therapy. My work is rooted in both somatic and psychodynamic traditions, and I draw from Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to support clients in understanding how their experiences live in the body as well as the mind. I integrate body-based tools, nervous system awareness, and a focus on patterns in relationships to help clients make meaningful, lasting change. My style is active and engaged, and I aim to create a space where you can explore what's going on with honesty, curiosity, and support.

I believe in the transformative power of psychotherapy. The therapy I practice is grounded in contemporary psychoanalysis, an approach that’s curious about your inner world and attuned to unconscious patterns that shape how you think, feel, and relate to other people. This kind of therapy not only reduces symptoms; it helps you understand yourself on a deeper level, creating lasting change in how you experience yourself and how you show up in your relationships.

Something in you knows that what you're carrying runs deeper than the presenting problem. Many of the people I work with are thoughtful, capable, and outwardly composed-yet internally they live with anxiety, depression, chronic tension or pain, relentless self-criticism, or a sense that something essential is blocked, muted, or just out of reach. These struggles may surface in mood, in the body, in behavior, or in relationships-including sexuality and intimacy-but they are rarely contained to any one area. They tend to reflect deeper emotional and relational patterns formed early in life, often before language, that continue to shape how a person approaches closeness, vulnerability, agency, pleasure, and self-expression. My work centers on how early experience shapes the capacity for self-regulation, desire, connection, and meaning throughout life-and particularly on how people come to know what they need and want, how they learn to express or inhibit those impulses, and what happens when these capacities become conflicted, constricted, or difficult to sustain. I integrate psychoanalytic hypnotherapy, somatic awareness, and clinical sexology within a reflective, depth-oriented process. Hypnosis functions as a central clinical tool-creating conditions for deeper internal contact with emotional, bodily, and unconscious experience that can be difficult to reach through conversation alone. The aim is not only relief from symptoms, but the development of a more coherent and compassionate relationship with one's inner life: sensations, emotions, impulses, and desires. This work is oriented toward lasting psychological change-and toward greater freedom in how one relates to oneself, one's body, and one's capacity for connection, authenticity, and vitality. It is best suited to those ready to move beyond symptom management toward something more fundamental.

Amherst is a suburban town of Buffalo and home to the North Campus of the University at Buffalo, one of the largest universities in the State University of New York system, bringing a substantial student population and the mental health demands that come with a large public research university. The town's generally affluent suburban character contrasts with the significant challenges faced by neighboring Buffalo, and many residents access mental health services in the broader Buffalo metro area alongside local providers. UB's counseling services are a primary resource for students, and a private therapy sector serves Amherst's established families and professional residents. Common therapy concerns include student mental health, academic and identity development stress at a large research university, anxiety, family and relationship issues, and the transitional challenges of navigating life in a prosperous suburb adjacent to a struggling urban center.

Gender ID

	75%	Female
	25%	Male

Session Type

	62%	In Person and Online
	38%	Online Only

Top Specialties

100%	Depression
88%	Codependency
88%	Trauma and PTSD
75%	Anxiety or Fears
75%	Social Anxiety
63%	LGBTQ+ Issues
63%	Loss or Grief

Ages Served

100%	Adult
88%	Senior
75%	Young Adult
50%	Teen
13%	Children

Client Focus

100%	Women
75%	LGBTQ+
75%	Men
63%	Black / African American
50%	Asian

Intersubjective therapists in Amherst, NY

Dr. Erica Gardner-Schuster

Mona Lee Yousef

Greta Klaber

Sam Naimi

Dr. Stéphanie Gamache, PhD

Intersubjective Therapy therapists in Amherst, NY Statistics

Average years in practice

Average cost per session

Accept insurance

Offer sliding scale