Ayesha Rehman Psychotherapy, LCSW

I have always been fascinated with people and their emotions and how these impact the decisions they make. This led me on my own journey of self-discovery, which made me realize that I wanted to help others in self-discovery as well. After completing my master’s degree at Silberman School of Social Work in New York City, I started my career working at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on an inpatient psychiatric unit. I was able to see many different mental health issues, from severe bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to more mild depression and anxiety. After six years, I felt equipped to diagnose and treat people at an outpatient mental health clinic. While there, I continued to train in psychodynamic treatment and be supervised by more experienced therapists. I continue this supervision on an ongoing basis and continue training in psychoanalysis at the American Psychoanalytic Institute.

I complete an initial psychosocial assessment, which gathers information about my client’s current symptoms and presenting problem and how they have tried to treat it. I will gather information about their past childhood experiences and their health history (both physical and mental). This will help me to better understand the beginnings of their history. I am confident that with consistent sessions and an established therapeutic relationship, my clients will feel symptom relief and whatever life crises brought them to treatment will be much more manageable. I prefer to work with clients who want to learn about themselves and view therapy as a collaborative journey of self-discovery. This takes time, trust, and an openness to self-discovery. My hope is that through self-understanding, the answers that the client seeks in their life will become clear.

My upbringing was multicultural and because of this, I have been able to see many parts of the world and interact with a lot of different people. My understanding of people's differences allows me to be open-minded and sensitive; everyone’s life experience is unique and needs to be understood. I strive to be respectful and genuine in my efforts to help my clients in whatever ways they need. I want them to feel they can be honest about my approach and tell me if I need to readjust without a sense of pride getting in the way.