Psychodynamic Therapy for Adults in NJ, PA, FL and TX
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) offering psychodynamic and attachment-informed therapy online to adults in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas. Psychodynamic therapy is the depth orientation that runs through my clinical practice: not one protocol among many but the foundational framework through which I understand how people develop, struggle, and change.
What is psychodynamic therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is a depth-oriented approach rooted in the recognition that a significant portion of mental life operates outside conscious awareness, and that the patterns shaping present-day experience, including emotional responses, relationship dynamics, and self-perception, often trace back to earlier experiences that have not been fully processed. While rooted in psychoanalytic tradition, modern psychodynamic therapy draws on attachment theory developed by John Bowlby, object relations theory, relational psychoanalysis, and self psychology. A 2010 meta-analysis by Jonathan Shedler published in the American Psychologist found psychodynamic therapy produces effect sizes comparable to other evidence-based treatments, with effects that appear to continue growing after treatment ends, a finding not consistently seen in more structured short-term approaches. The distinction from CBT is not that psychodynamic therapy avoids practical outcomes. It is that psychodynamic therapy understands those outcomes as requiring a deeper level of change than symptom management or cognitive restructuring alone can produce. In short, psychodynamic therapy is depth work: it addresses what is driving the patterns, not only the patterns themselves.
What psychodynamic therapy sessions look like
Psychodynamic sessions have a different structure than most therapy. There is no predetermined agenda set by the therapist and no homework assigned at the end. The client largely directs what is explored, and the therapist follows that material closely, noticing patterns across sessions and offering observations that open up rather than close down exploration. In practice, sessions follow what is present: what the client is thinking about, what they are avoiding, what emotions arise and then recede. The therapeutic relationship itself is one of the most clinically potent aspects of psychodynamic work. How a person relates to the therapist, what they expect, fear, or need from that relationship, often directly mirrors the relational patterns organizing their broader life. Sessions move with more open space than most clients expect initially. That space is not absence of direction. It is the condition under which deeper material surfaces. In short, a psychodynamic session asks you to follow what is alive in your experience right now rather than working through a predetermined agenda.
What psychodynamic therapy treats
Psychodynamic therapy is indicated for depression, particularly chronic or recurrent depression; complex trauma and attachment disruption; anxiety rooted in relational or developmental origins; personality-level patterns that other approaches have not shifted; and any presentation where the client senses that current difficulties have deep roots they have not been able to reach. Research supports psychodynamic therapy across a broad range of conditions. Shedler's 2010 meta-analysis found it effective for depression, anxiety, somatic disorders, eating disorders, substance use, and personality disorders. Research also documents a sleeper effect: psychodynamic gains continue accruing after treatment ends, suggesting the learning continues operating after the therapy itself concludes. Psychodynamic therapy is also indicated for adults who have tried shorter-term approaches and found that while those produced relief, they did not address what felt most fundamental. When the surface has been addressed but the source persists unchanged, psychodynamic work is typically the indicated next step. In short, psychodynamic therapy treats conditions that require understanding their origin rather than only managing their symptoms.
Why I use psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic and attachment-informed frameworks are the theoretical foundation through which I understand clinical material, regardless of which specific modalities I am using at any given point. I trained in psychodynamic and relational frameworks through my MSW education at Kean University, and more than ten years in behavioral health has reinforced that unconscious process, relational history, and the therapeutic relationship are almost always clinically relevant regardless of presenting concern. What I find most valuable in psychodynamic work is its capacity to hold complexity without rushing to resolution. Many adults come to therapy having tried approaches organized around clear goals and measurable outcomes. Those are not wrong. But for patterns that have organized a person's life across decades and multiple relationships, a framework that can work at that level of depth is what the clinical situation requires. I integrate psychodynamic thinking with IFS and Somatic Experiencing. IFS often clarifies which parts are running the patterns psychodynamic work identifies. SE helps discharge what psychodynamic exploration brings into awareness. The combination reaches what no single approach alone achieves. In short, psychodynamic therapy is the framework through which I understand what I am working with and what I am working toward.
Fees and insurance
Alchemy Psychotherapy is a private-pay, out-of-network practice. The biopsychosocial assessment is $300. Standard 45-minute sessions are $250. A 30-minute session is $185 when clinically indicated. In limited circumstances, a reduced fee is available based on financial need and current caseload availability. I do not bill insurance directly, but I provide a Superbill on the first of each month for clients with out-of-network mental health benefits. Under the No Surprises Act, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before treatment begins. In short, private-pay therapy removes insurance company involvement from clinical decisions about session frequency, treatment duration, and modality choice.
How to get started
Beginning therapy involves three steps, handled entirely online. First, a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation where we discuss what brings you in and determine fit. Second, intake paperwork through a secure client portal. Third, the biopsychosocial assessment session of 60 to 90 minutes.
If we agree the practice is a good fit during the consultation, you typically begin treatment within one to two weeks. I am currently accepting new clients in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas. You can also learn more about individual online therapy or review the full services page.
Currently accepting new clients for psychodynamic therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Psychodynamic Therapy
What is psychodynamic therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is a depth-oriented approach that works with the unconscious patterns, relational histories, and emotional experiences shaping present-day functioning. Unlike structured short-term approaches, it does not follow a fixed protocol but follows the client's material closely, looking for the deeper origins of current difficulties rather than focusing primarily on symptom reduction or behavioral change.
What is the difference between psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy?
Psychoanalytic therapy refers to more classical, intensive forms of treatment developed from Freudian theory, often involving multiple sessions per week and extensive work with free association and dream content. Psychodynamic therapy is a broader, more contemporary evolution drawing on those foundations while integrating attachment theory, relational frameworks, and object relations, typically conducted once weekly and more practically oriented.
How is psychodynamic therapy different from CBT?
CBT focuses on identifying and changing specific thought patterns and behaviors through a structured, time-limited approach. Psychodynamic therapy works with the unconscious origins and relational histories underlying those patterns. CBT addresses how a person thinks and behaves. Psychodynamic therapy addresses why those patterns developed and what they are protecting against, aiming for deeper and more lasting structural change.
What does a psychodynamic therapy session look like?
Psychodynamic sessions are less structured than most therapy. There is no predetermined agenda and no homework. The client brings what is present, and the therapist follows that material closely, noticing patterns, offering observations, and attending to what arises in the therapeutic relationship itself. The pace is slower and the space greater than in most short-term approaches, with more room for what needs to surface.
Is psychodynamic therapy evidence-based?
Yes. A 2010 meta-analysis by Jonathan Shedler in the American Psychologist found psychodynamic therapy produces effect sizes comparable to other evidence-based treatments including CBT. Research also documents a sleeper effect: gains continue growing after treatment ends, suggesting the learning continues operating after therapy concludes. Multiple subsequent meta-analyses have supported these findings across diverse clinical populations and conditions.
How long does psychodynamic therapy take?
Psychodynamic therapy is typically longer-term than structured short-term approaches. For presentations rooted in early experience or longstanding relational patterns, treatment is often measured in years rather than months. This reflects the depth of change being pursued. Most adults working psychodynamically notice meaningful shifts within months, while deeper structural changes in relational patterns and self-understanding continue developing over the longer term.