meet alissa friedlander, lcsw
Psychodynamic Therapist in NYC, Brooklyn & NY State
Therapy That Turns Understanding Into Change
At the heart of my work is a simple belief: People are remarkably capable of change — and remarkably good at keeping themselves from it. What shifts in this work isn't just your insight into your patterns. It's your sense of agency within them — and that changes how you live.
Alissa Friedlander, LCSW
I'm a licensed clinical social worker with advanced training in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. I received my master's degree from Columbia University and completed post-graduate training at the Training Institute for Mental Health.
I've worked and trained at NewYork-Presbyterian's Columbia University Medical Center and Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, and taught as an adjunct instructor in the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program at Long Island University.
What interests me isn't fixing what's wrong with someone — it's what becomes visible when two people pay close attention together.The patterns that brought you here aren't failures to correct. They're information, usually adaptations that made sense once and outlived their usefulness.
CREDENTIALS:
Certificate in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
200-Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Licensed Clinical Social Worker NY / 089685
My Approach
My practice moves beyond surface-level answers. The complicated, hard-to-name parts of your experience aren't just tolerated - they're the material. I listen to the body alongside the mind. The relationship itself becomes the very ground on which change becomes possible.
THE RELATIONSHIP WE BUILD
Weekly work.
A lasting connection. Space to return.
Many of my clients work with me for years. Others finish a piece of work, take a break, and come back when something new surfaces. We talk regularly about how things are going—whether to meet more or less often, when to pause, when to end. That's part of the work.
My way of working is insight-oriented rather than solution-focused. What changes things is what happens between us—not a method applied to you, but something lived together. When clients return, it isn't out of obligation. It's that this way of working still has something to offer, applied to whatever's newly surfaced.
THE WORK
Understanding Yourself Is One Thing. Changing The Pattern Is Another.
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Psychodynamic therapy is a form of therapy that looks beneath the surface of what’s happening right now—into the patterns, relationships, and experiences that have shaped how you think, feel, and respond over time.
Many people come to this work already self-aware. They can name their tendencies, recognize their triggers, and understand their history. But insight alone hasn’t created the shift they’re looking for.
This is where psychodynamic therapy differs from more solution-focused or skills-based approaches. Rather than offering quick strategies or working only with present-day symptoms, the focus is on understanding the deeper structure of your experience—how patterns were formed, how they continue to operate, and how they show up in real time, including within the therapy relationship itself.
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Most therapy stays at the level of thought—what you can name, analyze, and make sense of.
This work pays attention to something else as well.
Alongside psychodynamic therapy, Clover integrates somatic awareness, drawing from a background in yoga and body-based practices. That means noticing not only what you’re thinking, but what’s happening physically; subtle tension, shifts in breath, a feeling that arises before there are words for it.
Emotional patterns are not just cognitive. They are held in the body, often outside of immediate awareness. By paying attention to these physical experiences, we begin to access information that insight alone can’t reach.
— GETTING STARTED —
How It Works
Reach Out
Fill out the brief contact form. I'll be in touch within 1–2 business days.
We’ll Connect
We’ll schedule a free consultation call to talk through what's bringing you here and whether this feels like the right fit.
Begin the Work
If it feels like a good fit, we'll schedule a time to meet and begin working together.
— THERAPIST NYC, BROOKLYN, & ACROSS NY STATE —
The work begins
with a conversation.
In-person in Brooklyn | Remote across New York State