Skip to content
Gavin HamnettMS, LMHC
A woman rests her hands on a garden table beside blue hydrangeas.

When the habit stops helping

Therapy for adults in New York caught in checking, scrolling, overworking, or spending that no longer brings relief.

Request a free consultation
A man walks along a sunny village sidewalk beside brick storefronts.

Who This Is For

You pick up your phone to check one thing, and forty minutes later you are still scrolling. You reread the email six times before sending it. You tell yourself one more hour of work, and it is midnight. Each habit takes the edge off for a moment, then asks for more.

Compulsions are something I work with, often alongside anxiety. The people I see aren't weak or short on willpower. Most are capable adults who found something that calmed them down once, and kept reaching for it after it stopped helping.

A woman pauses beside a riverside railing in bright daylight.

Habits People Bring In

  • Checking

    Locks, messages, the bank balance, or the same worry turned over from every angle.

  • Scrolling

    The feed you open without deciding to, and close feeling worse.

  • Overworking

    Staying busy so you don't have to feel what sits underneath the busyness.

  • Spending

    Buying for the lift, then the quiet regret afterward.

A man sits with a laptop beside a bright window overlooking blue water.

How I Work With Compulsions

I don't start by telling you to stop. A compulsion usually makes sense once we understand it. It is doing a job, often soothing a feeling you would rather not have. With Hakomi and somatic work, we slow down the moment just before the urge and notice what is happening in your chest, stomach, or hands right then.

That pause gives you a little space you didn't have before. Psychodynamic work helps us see where the need for that relief began. As the feeling underneath gets some attention, the habit can have less work to do.

More about my approach
A woman rests on a sunny rooftop terrace overlooking the city skyline.

What Sessions Look Like

  1. A free first conversation

    A complimentary 20 minute phone consultation. Describe the habit in your own words, as much or as little as you like.

  2. Sessions that fit

    55 minutes, weekly or every two weeks, in Rhinebeck, Hudson, or by telehealth in New York State.

  3. Real moments

    We look at times the urge showed up this week, with curiosity instead of a lecture.

What Can Shift

What I hope for isn't perfect control. It is more choice. You notice the pull, feel what is under it, and decide for yourself what happens next. That is what it feels like to live from your own Self instead of from the habit.

If a habit has been quietly running your days, a free 20 minute phone consultation is a gentle place to start.

Rates in Brief

Sessions are $160 for 55 minutes. The first step is a complimentary 20 minute phone consultation.

Rates
A woman closes a laptop beside an open doorway to a sunny courtyard.

Questions People Ask

Is this the same as addiction?

They overlap. Some habits involve substances and some don't. I work with both, and the starting point is similar: understanding what the habit is doing for you.

Do I need a diagnosis to come in?

No. If a habit is costing you more than you want it to, that is reason enough to talk.

Will you tell me to give up my phone?

No. We look at your relationship with it, and you decide what you want to change.

Can we work on this by telehealth?

Yes. I offer telehealth to adults anywhere in New York State.

Related Pages

A man sets a bowl of oatmeal and fruit on a sunny kitchen counter.

Addiction and Recovery

Therapy for adults in New York working on drinking, substances, or compulsions, and what sits underneath.

Read more
A man holds a mug beside blue water in bright daylight.

Anxiety and Stress

Therapy for adults in Rhinebeck, Hudson, and across New York who are tired of running on alarm.

Read more
A woman gently stretches her shoulder beside a bright blue waterfront.

Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy in Rhinebeck, Hudson, and by telehealth in New York for stress you feel physically.

Read more
A man holds a mug beside blue water in bright daylight.

Start With a Free Consultation

Send me a short message and I'll set up a free 20 minute phone call.

Request a free consultation (845) 532-8336