Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapists in Hillcrest, New York NY

My name is Elaine Hernandez-Cordova, but my friends all call me Elena! I am an Omnistic, bi-sexual, Latin-American psychotherapist, life coach and author. For the last 20 years, I have dedicated my life to practicing a holistic approach to lifestyle adjustments for myself, my family and the systems we all reside in. I like to consider all of humanity to be my family, and I try to reflect this in my work. I was born in an impoverished part of Brooklyn, NY where I was adopted by a prominent lawyer and his wife who couldn’t bear children due to an early battle with cancer. This inspired my natural inclination to bond with people, both personally and professionally, and maintain meaningful connections. Seeing how imbalanced our society was, and eager to be the change I wanted to see in the world, I studied for a Master of Social Work from the School of Public Health at the University of Central Florida in 2003. I became increasingly interested in the mind-body connection, and so I became a yoga therapist in 2013 through the Long Island Yoga School. I provide therapeutic services in relation to addiction and post-traumatic stress pro-bono at local hospitals and community centers. My personal experiences and professional expertise in mental health and substance use afford me powerful insight into the healing practices of the dually diagnosed. I am a proud social advocate, and regularly devote time to visit with veterans, inmates, consumers and the underserved. I encourage people to take time to write letters, make phone calls, sign petitions, send emails and donate to causes that matter to the unique values of the individual. Don’t be afraid of being a voice in the community of your choice. If you don’t stand for something then you will fall for anything!  

We are a team of clinicians who are passionate about providing culturally sensitive care. We're committed to assisting you identify your goals and in supporting you on your growth journey. We use a variety of approaches, that are specific to you and your goals to address the challenges that you're facing.  

I work with women & LGBTQIA+ adults and couples who are uncertain about their path forward. My approach is rooted in cultural sensitivity and collaboration, customized to fit your identity and dreams, with a strong emphasis on ensuring your comfort and safety. I draw on a variety of therapeutic techniques to help you process past wounds, improve how you communicate, and clarify your next steps. My ultimate goal is to help you feel safe, confident, and aligned with who you are. We’ll work to foster a healthy relationship with yourself, while building stronger, more authentic connections with others. Healing your self-acceptance doesn’t have to be done alone. Let’s take that step forward together and create a life filled with more meaning and joy. My mission is to help you feel safe, empowered, and at peace in your own skin. Together, we’ll strengthen your relationship with yourself and foster healthier, more fulfilling relationships with others. If self-acceptance feels overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone. Let’s build a life you love and feel vibrant in!  

My goal as a therapist is to create a warm, supportive, genuine and safe environment where you alone or with your significant other feel comfortable sharing with me your negative repetitive pattern that prevents you from from sailing through your relationship more smoothly. I want to help you to reinvent your marriage or long term relationship so that your lives intersect in the same space so I can get the opportunity to teach you how to respect each other's differences and teach you how you can agree to disagree and yet you are still able to say "I love you." I can help you both to come up with a common love language when you are home and happy or not so happy; and I can also teach you another love language that works well publicly. One works well in the bedroom and the other works well in front of strangers. All couples must develop love languages that work well privately and publicly. I want your relationship to maintain the love that brought you together in the first place. You may wonder why your love is not consistent, and you may notice that the respect you once had for one another has dissipated and the personal meaning once attached to your relationship is no longer there.. Most couples in your situation have what I refer to as their own "dance of anger" that happens again and again and again. By this, I mean couples fight about different issues but the way that they fight takes on a repetitive negative pattern and that pattern is their way of expressing anger and/or rage, regardless of the argument at hand. I refer to the way that most couples argue and fight as their "dance of anger". Remember, you can't change your partner and that is why you need professional advice. I can be your "go to person" who can teach you how to effectively communicate when you once again have disagreements that can be a threat to the survival of your relationship. I only accept accept couples who really want to preserve their relationship and can tell me that they are willing to put in the hard work, because married monogamous relationships are difficult to sustain, but by taking your marriage vows seriously, you both signed up for a loving partnership for a lifetime. Taking your vows and dancing at your wedding is just not enough because everyone's life is difficult. Life is more like "a bowl of cherries" and despite the succulent juice from the cherries, you will still have to deal with "the pits." We can't always dance through our problems. Despite making yourselves an expensive wedding or having gone to the court to take your vows,-what all married couples dwell on is trust. Is one person feeling like they don't trust the other or both feel the same way when it comes to trust, then pick up your phone to call Lorna Hayim-Baker at Riverdale Therapy & Counseling Services. I offer a free phone consultation before accepting new couples. I tell the truth when I counsel couples, and therefore, I vet each couple before I agree to meet with them in an "in person session" to avoid sessions where one partner or both can blow up my session because their personality does not mesh well with mine. My heart goes out to everyone who is about to experience "a bad breakup" or "a disastrous divorce.". I go many extra miles for each and every couple who comes into my office. I try to understand their shared stories and having a shared story is a lot easier to problem solve because they are in sync; but more often than not, I have to hear out each partner because they each have different stories to tell. I decipher their own personal stories because, in reality, there are two different versions of the same presenting problem and then their is the third version which is the most realistic story. It is only fair to hear each partner's voice as they often come to session offering their own point of view, but if one pays close attention, it often seems like there are 2-3 different problems; but in reality, there are two different sides about he same problem and sometimes even a third side that the therapist discovers and is being presented by each person. All three stories are different versions of the same problem. All sides are carefully listened to and It takes time to hear each person's interpretation of the same arguments. All stories are aired and I do my best to come up with possible solutions by providing lots of feedback. Couples can disagree with me about possible solutions that are offered. I have become very attuned to my couples because I have been doing this type of therapy for a very long time. I listen carefully to their presenting problems before providing feedback. I am not always right but I am pretty intuitive at this point in my career. Someone must try to understand the couple who came in to preserve their relationship and the hope is that I, as their therapist will remain neutral and unbiased in order to shed light on why the couples are not hearing each other as they each struggle to voice their complaints. More often than not, one or both partners become very defensive and neither one is listening to the other and their fight escalates. That's why they need an unbiased and caring therapist to intervene and help the couple deescalate by having them share the details of the original complaint that turned into a communication breakdown. Couples begin fighting right in front of me & my job is to stop their dispute and call a halt to their bickering so we can examine why their communication pattern broke down in the first place. Both partners are acting out and becoming nasty and defensive. Each partner had the same wish, which was to have their voice heard as he or she expresses their own complaint. I need to point out when their wheels are spinning but they are getting nowhere and they are in fact, stuck. Couples need to stop and listen to each other so I can help them come up with a plan that can get them "unstuck." To be an effective couples' counselor means that at the end of the session, the couple walks out with a sense of having a shared understanding of their problems and with a shared sense of hope because they learned how to tackle the types of ineffective communications that lead to "blow out fights" Hopefully, I will be your therapist who teaches you how to not add fuel to the fire. I want to be part of the solution and teach couples how to stop turning molehills into mountains. I am the therapist who loves watching love as it grows and makes both partners seem so much more mature.  

I am a relational and interpersonal therapist, meaning I seek to create a mutual space where we can explore how your relationship with the world affects your relationships with others as well as yourself. I believe you are the expert in your own lived experiences, and that therapy is a collaborative process where we can explore those experiences together. In our sessions, I cultivate a warm, non-judgmental space where you can feel comfortable showing up as you are, with room for discussion and open feedback.  

Psychotherapy (or counseling) is talking with a trained professional about your fears, concerns, behaviors, desires and dreams. My goal is to help you better understand yourself. You may seek treatment with me because you have been given a specific mental health diagnosis. Or you may seek treatment because you would like help dealing with a specific challenge such as job dissatisfaction or difficulty finding a partner. During a psychotherapy session, you will learn more about your behaviors, your thoughts and your feelings. Psychotherapy allows you to understand and take control of your life through new knowledge and coping skills.  

Hello and welcome! I specialize in working with young women (18-30) struggling with self esteem, anxiety, relationships, and family conflict. I also frequently work with transgender, gender non-conforming and nonbinary, and LGBQ+ identified adult individuals. For relional therapy, I see unmarried couples, polycules, and people practicing ENM. Please reach out to schedule a complimentary initial phone consultation so we can chat about what is bringing you to therapy and how we might be able to work together.  

At Resilience Therapy, we believe in the power of a therapeutic partnership grounded in trust, understanding, and a commitment to your well-being. Specializing in anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, perinatal mental health, perfectionism, and OCD management, our goal is to equip you with effective tools for building a more resilient and fulfilling life. Feeling like you're running a mental marathon with no finish line? You're not alone. In our judgment-free zone, your experiences are valid, and your potential is unlimited. Whether you're navigating anxiety, relationships, or seeking personal growth, our team is here to listen and collaborate. Ready to reclaim your story? Let's connect and embark on this journey together.  

Frequently, people who have experienced trauma develop extraordinary survival skills. Often the strategies that were critical for survival when you were a child, thwart the ability to develop satisfying work, family and/or romantic relationships in adulthood. Psychotherapy provides an opportunity to transcend patterns that are holding you back from achieving your goals, and realizing your potential. This often includes addressing family, career, and relationship issues within the treatment as well as recognizing thinking and/or behavior which may be harmful or holding you back. I specialize in the treatment of PTSD, anxiety and depression, and am certified in EMDR(Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), CPT and MI. My practice is influenced by CBT, psychodynamic, Schema, Internal Family Systems and mindfulness-based therapies. We will spend our first sessions exploring important historical information, assessing your needs, and setting goals. You do not have to sit with your pain in silence, alone. I strive to nurture relationships with clients that are compassionate, kind, and non-judgmental, yet safe enough to tolerate direct but gentle confrontation. Together we will determine the approach and pace that will work best for you.  

I have been a therapist for many years and in many settings. In describing my practice to prospective clients, I like them to know that we work in three intersecting and overlapping domains-present, past and process. In the present, we focus on how you are able to care for yourself and for others, cultivate relationships with self and other in ways that are enriching and not depleting. Using the past, we can come to understand how you show up in relationships, as informed by patterns laid out in your family of origin but in the hopes that you can come to understand and then do differently if you want, rather than acting from a place of default and habit. And finally, we can use process therapies such as EMDR and Deep Brain Reorienting, to help you truly process and move past your past experiences and help you to shed the weight of past trauma. I use a pragmatic and interactive style to collaborate with clients to assist them in choosing the therapeutic path that fits best for them. Therapy is about healing and I value using trusted and effective approaches to help you reach your goals in therapy in a timely way that allows you to move on from our relationship into living your life fully and completely. I offer a free, 30-minute initial consult call so we can connect and see how we might be a good fit. Email me to schedule that today!