DBT therapy and skills groups for people with intense emotions
Individual sessions and groups for young adults who struggle to manage their intense emotions and build healthy relationships. That can include people with borderline personality disorder, traits of it, or no label at all.
“Shira skillfully balances encouraging you to accept yourself as you are, while also giving you the tools to get closer to your most meaningful life.”
— Former Client
Individual therapy
Most of our clients come to us feeling frustrated, stuck, and misunderstood. Their emotions run high, and they can’t seem to stop the same patterns from happening again and again.
We work on two things at once: what’s underneath those patterns, and skills you can actually reach for in the moment you need them.
We tailor our sessions to you, meeting you with empathy and validation, while still holding you accountable so growth is possible.
Sessions are 45 minutes, weekly to start, and can be held in-person in Hewlett, NY on Long Island, in Northern NJ, or virtually in NY, NJ, FL, and VT.
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DBT is one of several tools we use, and you may have tried it before without much changing. We hear that from a lot of our clients.
What they’ve shared is they were taken through the DBT worksheets, whether or not those skills fit their situation, and without necessarily connecting those skills to what was happening in their actual lives.
We teach DBT skills quite a bit differently. We take each skill apart and rebuild it around the situation you actually need it for, in language that makes sense to you.
And if a skill doesn’t fit your life, we leave it out altogether.
Groups
We run groups for teens and young adults throughout the year, in cycles of 12 weeks or more.
Skills groups
We build DBT skills in a structured way, and you leave with something concrete you can apply to your life.
Support groups
These are less structured, and more about being in a room with people who understand what you’re going through.
For therapists and schools
In addition to individual and group therapy, I work with therapists and schools to support their needs.
Clinical supervision and consultation for social workers
I supervise social workers as they work toward licensure. Supervision happens weekly. I also consult with clinicians who want another set of eyes on a difficult case.
School & guidance counselor consultation
Before I went into private practice, I was the director of guidance for a middle and high school, and I’ve kept one foot in schools ever since. Sometimes that means helping build a guidance department that doesn’t exist yet, consulting on specific cases, or guiding newer counselors.
FAQs
Questions you may have before you schedule a consultation
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We can see you in person in Hewlett, NY on Long Island or in Northern NJ, or virtually in New York, New Jersey, Florida, or Vermont.
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Not at all, and plenty of our clients don’t have one and wouldn’t fit the criteria. Our work is not about the diagnosis as much as it is about helping young adults navigate the challenges of intense emotions that happen faster than they can think.
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Because how the skills are taught matters more than most people may think. We take an individualized approach to teaching DBT skills and only teach what’s relevant to you. Sometimes, that means not bringing DBT into our sessions at all. It all depends on you and your situation.
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CBT looks at the thoughts running underneath a reaction and works on questioning and addressing them. DBT adds concrete skills for getting through the moment itself, like riding out a wave of anger without acting on it, or having a hard conversation without it going sideways. We use both (along with other tools) depending on each client’s needs.
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That’s a very common reason people reach out, and it’s a better starting point than it feels like. Being able to see that something is happening is real information. It just isn’t the same thing as being able to stop it, and that’s what we’d work on together.
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Clients generally start with weekly sessions to build momentum. Some clients benefit from two sessions a week to start. As things settle and improve in your life, you can often space sessions out as needed.
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Individual sessions with Shira Somerstein, LCSW are $275 for 45 minutes.
Individual sessions with Emma Glick, LSW are $200 for 45 minutes
We do offer a limited number of sliding scale spots based on financial need. If cost is a barrier, let’s talk about what might be possible.
Group therapy rates vary depending on the group, but we do our best to make group work financially accessible and we never want cost to be the reason someone misses out on group support. Reach out if there’s a group you’re interested in, and we’ll find something that works.
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We don’t accept insurance, but we can provide a superbill, which is a detailed receipt you can submit to your insurance company for potential out-of-network reimbursement. We recommend checking with your insurance provider to see what they’ll cover. Payment is due via credit card or debit card at the end of every session.
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The best place to start is by filling out the form on our contact page to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. We’ll get back to you within one business day. The call is a chance for us to chat a bit about your situation and see if our practice might be a good fit for your needs.
Let’s see if this is a fit
Finding the right therapist can be stressful. That’s why we offer a free 15-minute consultation call. If our practice is the right fit, we’d love to help you; if not, we’ll point you to someone who might be.