Raphael Ben-Yehuda

Psychotherapy, LCSW

Raphael Ben-Yehuda believes that psychotherapy works best when it encourages curiosity and creativity toward oneself and the world. He treats anxiety, depression, and trauma in clients from a diverse range of cultures and with varied identities and values. Raphael completed his MSW at Columbia University and continues to pursue his analytical training at the Mitchell Center.

Specialties

General Mental Health

Relationship Issues

Substance Use/Abuse

Locations

Nomad

Finances

$ $ $ $ $

Sliding Scale

UnitedHealthcare

Oxford Health Plans

Cigna

Humana

Oscar

Accepts Out-of-Network

Cash

“Together, we’ll look at how ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving may be limiting your ability to achieve goals and develop fulfilling relationships.”

What was your path to becoming a therapist?

I began my career as a fine artist and the creative process continues to inform my work today. As a therapist, I believe everyone has the capacity for imagination and creativity—and these innate skills can help bring about change. Prior to my private practice, I was a social worker for five years in a Mount Sinai Hospital initiative to integrate social-emotional well-being and physical health. I have extensive experience working in a clinical setting with clients with histories of trauma and substance misuse. My training and experience allow me to draw from a range of therapeutic modalities to adapt to each individual’s needs.

What should someone know about working with you?

The work I do with my clients is collaborative. Together, we’ll look at how ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving may be limiting your ability to achieve goals and develop fulfilling relationships. We’ll look at how your background and past experiences cause you to relate to others in ways that leave you unhappy. We’ll seek to find new ways of interacting with others that make you feel better about yourself and help you avoid destructive relationships. We’ll explore how factors like race, class, gender, and culture affect interpersonal dynamics. Working collaboratively, I’ll help you generate new views and understanding of mindsets and behaviors that may have seemed fixed or intractable.

How does collaboration with other providers inform your work?

My work is supported by weekly individual supervision, as well as peer supervision. Often, integrating other treatments with talk therapy can improve results—so, through my personal and professional affiliations, I engage a broad network of providers for referrals when a client and I feel it would be beneficial.

What advice would you give to someone who is hesitant to try therapy?

I deeply respect the courage and risk that people who are new to therapy may feel. I encourage prospective clients to meet with a few therapists to find someone they feel safe with, who will be able to deeply listen and be willing to understand them. With a good working relationship, therapy can help create meaningful change.

Have you done any research-based work that you found particularly exciting? How does it inform your practice today?

I am continually developing through supervision, training, and literature. I am excited about how analysis is evolving and now being reinforced by neuroscience and sociology. I’ve seen significant results from the treatment of trauma and addiction through psilocybin-assisted therapy, in conjunction with our talk therapy.

“With a good working relationship, therapy can help create meaningful change.”

Interested in speaking with Raphael?