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Gavin HamnettMS, LMHC
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Understanding where your patterns began

Psychodynamic therapy for adults in New York who keep meeting the same patterns and want to know why.

Request a free consultation
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Who This Is For

"Why do I keep doing this?" If that question follows you around, psychodynamic therapy may suit you. It is a way of understanding how your past, including the parts you rarely think about, still shapes how you feel and act now.

I use it with adults who notice the same patterns turning up in different places: the same kind of partner, the same clash with a boss, the same slump just when things start going well. They want to understand where it started, not only how to manage it this week.

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What Psychodynamic Work Looks At

  • Repeating patterns

    The relationships, choices, and reactions that keep showing up in new forms.

  • Early relationships

    How the people who raised you shaped what you expect from others now.

  • Feelings you push away

    Anger, need, or sadness that got labeled unsafe a long time ago.

  • What happens between us

    How you relate to me in the room, which can shed light on how you relate everywhere else.

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How I Use Psychodynamic Therapy

Traditional psychodynamic therapy is mostly talk, and talking matters. I pair it with Hakomi and somatic work, so we also pay attention to what your body does as a pattern starts. Insight lands differently when you can feel it, not only explain it.

In practice, you bring what is on your mind and we follow it, looking for links between what is happening now and what happened before. I'm not interested in digging for its own sake. The point is to loosen old patterns so you can live from the Self that was there before they formed.

More about my approach
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What Sessions Look Like

  1. A free consultation

    20 minutes by phone to talk about what you want to understand and whether this approach fits.

  2. Regular sessions

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

  3. Following the thread

    Each week we start from whatever feels alive for you and look for the pattern underneath it.

What Can Shift

Psychodynamic therapy has a reputation for taking years. That isn't what I am after. Clients often begin weekly and move to every other week, and my hope is that people notice real change sooner than they expect. In my experience, that happens most with clients who can bring mindful attention to the work, and everyone moves at their own pace.

If you want to understand your patterns and move past them, a free 20 minute phone consultation is a simple first step.

Rates in Brief

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

Rates
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Questions People Ask

Is this the same as psychoanalysis?

They share roots. What I do is conversational and face to face, weekly or every two weeks, and combined with body based work.

Will we only talk about my childhood?

No. We start with what is happening now. The past comes in when it helps make sense of the present.

How is this different from CBT?

CBT focuses on changing thoughts and behaviors in the present, and it helps many people. Psychodynamic work looks more at where patterns came from. Some people want one, some want the other.

Can we do this by telehealth?

Yes, for adults anywhere in New York State.

Related Pages

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Psychodynamic Therapy vs. CBT

A plain comparison of psychodynamic therapy and CBT, to help you decide which suits you right now.

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When Old Hurts Still Shape You

Therapy for adults in New York whose early experiences still shape how they feel about themselves today.

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Why Do I Keep Ending Up in the Same Relationship?

Individual therapy for adults in New York who keep landing in the same relationship story.

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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