About Psychotherapy
with Dr. Michael Damian
I offer psychodynamic therapy which treats problems at their root and builds the foundation for lifelong well-being. My clinical knowledge is joined with laser-sharp perception into people's personality styles and what they need for their growth. I have a high rate of success helping people find relief, understand themselves and live a more empowered life.
ABOUT MY PRACTICE
Dr. Michael Damian
Clinical psychologist treating a broad range of life and relationship issues
Specializing in:
Anxiety, Depression, Relationships, Men, Couples, Self-Actualization, Existential + Spiritual Issues, Personality Type
In Network with:
Aetna, Horizon Blue Cross, Oscar Health, Oxford, United
Office Visits
Video Sessions
Welcome to my practice
My passion is helping people solve problems and transform their lives in the process. My approach is warm, engaging, and incisive.
I have broad experience assessing complex issues and helping people get through a crisis. Most of my patients experience big improvements and breakthroughs in their well-being.
I've helped many people to profoundly transform their lives and I'll be honored to help you too.
My approach to therapy
I practice traditional, psychodynamic therapy which has been shown to create stable, lifelong improvements in emotional well-being, relational health and life satisfaction. I offer a powerful combination of deep listening, intuitive reflections and pragmatic guidance.
I want to help you outgrow old patterns by deepening your self-knowledge and find a broader vision for your life. I work from a visionary, broad-minded and spiritually enriching vision of psychology.
What you can expect from our first session
In the first session, there's usually a big increase in the sense of hope and validation. My clients often say they're relieved that I don't just agree with them -- I provide incisive and thoughtful feedback.
At the beginning of our work together, my first aim will be to accurately assess what is going on and help you start feeling better. As our work continues, I will facilitate deeper self-awareness, psychological maturity and a broader, more spiritual approach to one's sense of self and meaning in Life.
My patients find that I'm able to quickly understand their feelings and explain the core of the issue in a fresh, new way. Long term, clients experience much more enrichment of their inner life, self-knowledge and empowerment to express their authentic self in life and relationships.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
- Hellen Keller
About Dr. Michael Damian
Clinical Psychologist - NJ License #6612
Being a psychologist is a calling for me. I enjoy listening, connecting the not-so-obvious dots, and supporting people's growth. It's a field that includes philosophical, scientific and spiritual inquiry in its scope, with the aim of understanding the human condition and uplifting people's lives.
I think most of our lives are fairly ordinary, and yet also hold extraordinary moments, great love and unexplored depths. In my work, I enjoy the relationship between the practical, ordinary aspects of life and the deeper aspects of the soul and unconscious.
It is very poignant for me to witness patients make breakthroughs and discover who they are and how much richer and more exciting life can be. These are the sessions when people's lives are quietly and profoundly changed through the process of self-awareness.
I regard it as the noblest task of psychotherapy in our times to untiringly serve the personal growth of the individual.
- C.G. Jung
I work from a positive psychology of self-actualization that I have lived, breathed and proven to myself to be true and helpful. I came to psychology with an interest in humanistic, depth psychology, inspired by famous psychologists like Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow and Viktor Frankl.
They saw that we have the potential for higher consciousness and meaning -- and that we only find true healing by pursuing these. My belief is that human beings are more than their past conditioning -- that we are indeed spiritual beings who find wholeness by embracing a life of personal growth, service and connection.
Training
A Connecticut native, I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1997 with a BA in Political Science summa cum laude. My university years included studying in Amsterdam and interning in a foreign policy thinktank in Washington DC.
My doctoral training was broad and rigorous. It included learning to diagnose, assess and treat the full range of mental health issues - at all ages. I practice classical, psychodynamic therapy, which I consider the gold standard. This approach emphasizes looking at the patient's overall life-stage development, traumas, family history, cultural background, lifestyle factors and their personality style and level of functioning. An understanding of personality disorders, personality types, and also the development of self-awareness and personal spirituality is vital to my work.
I am grateful to have had great mentors and supervisors who taught me the heart and soul, as well as the art and science of psychotherapy. These include Dr. Stewart Kiritz, Dr. Charlotte Whitaker Lewis, and Dr. John McLaughlin.
Why didn't my past therapy work for me?
Many people are just not getting genuine, high quality psychotherapy. Patients tell me their therapist talked with them like a friend, or they were given CBT techniques which did not heal their emotional issues.
This is different from in-depth, psychodynamic therapy with a clinical psychologist. As a psychologist I am trained to facilitate your growth and healing at a deeper level.
Is therapy just telling my story?
No - we will do far more than that. I often hear that,"My former therapist let me talk and talk, but nothing changed." Therapy should feel engaging and productive.
Effective therapy provides deep listening as well as an action-oriented approach. Half of healing comes from feeling things through and finding insight. The other half comes from doing things differently - now.
The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.
- Carl Jung
We have an inner life and an outer life. The inner life is mainly concerned with developing awareness, love and wisdom. These qualities integrate the psyche, improve our relationships and allow our most authentic self to express its gifts in the world.
Whether you are a more introverted or extraverted person, in your 20s or 60s, I am here to help you unlock the treasure of your true self so that you can live your best life.
The main way I do this is by listening. When you are deeply listened to, you will learn to really hear yourself, to know what is true for you and what to do about it. This is true empowerment.
If you're ready to be heard, please get in touch today.