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Two good roads to different places

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

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Who This Is For

Here is the short, honest answer. CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, tends to focus on the present: spotting unhelpful thoughts and habits and practicing new ones, often with structure and exercises between sessions. Psychodynamic therapy tends to look underneath, at the feelings, patterns, and early relationships that shape how you react today.

Neither is better across the board. They suit different people and different moments in life. I practice psychodynamic therapy alongside Hakomi and somatic work, so that is the perspective I bring to this comparison. I'll do my best to be fair to both.

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Who Each Tends to Suit

What CBT does well
A clear plan, practical tools you can use right away, and a defined focus on one problem.
CBT may suit you if
You want structure and homework, and you would rather work on what to do than on why.
What psychodynamic work does well
Depth, room for feelings you may not have words for yet, and attention to patterns over time.
Psychodynamic may suit you if
You keep repeating the same story in work or love and want to know where it comes from.

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Where My Work Fits

If you tried a skills based therapy and it helped, keep those tools. They are yours. If you are still wondering why the old feelings keep coming back, psychodynamic work speaks to that why. We look at the beliefs you formed early on and how they show up with your partner, your boss, or yourself.

I also bring in the body, which neither approach usually makes central. With Hakomi and somatic work, we notice what happens physically as you talk. That helps understanding become something you feel, not only something you can explain.

More about my approach

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What Sessions Look Like

Ask me anything
On the free 20 minute call, I'm glad to talk about whether my approach or something more structured might suit you better.
See how it feels
55 minute sessions, weekly or every two weeks, in Rhinebeck, Hudson, or by telehealth in New York.
Check in together
We talk openly about whether the work is helping, and adjust as we go.

What Can Shift

The right therapy for you is the one you will actually engage with, alongside someone you trust. If that turns out to be CBT with another therapist, that is a good outcome. If you want to understand yourself from the inside out, and feel the difference, that is the work I do.