About: Ilana Schulder, PsyD (She/Her/Hers)
Approach to helpingCentral to my practice is believing that growth and healing are possible when forged within a safe and meaningful therapeutic relationship. I am eager to learn about your inner world at a pace that feels comfortable for you. I am curious about what makes you who you are – your unique identities, cultures, strengths, and challenges. With a warm, caring, and genuine stance, I will respond to your needs, timelines and goals with an open and flexible approach to promote your sense of agency in treatment.
The purpose and flow of therapy will differ across life stages. For young adults, I offer a grounding environment for addressing loneliness, relationship anxiety, life transitions, and school or career stress. This may involve building deeper insight into the impact of earlier life events on your current difficulties while we introduce coping strategies such as relaxation or mindfulness techniques as you build healthier habits. With children and adolescents, I use play therapy and tailored treatments to improve symptoms that are negatively impacting school or peer relationships. I maintain a spirit of collaboration and teamwork with parents, teachers, and other caregivers as we work together to support children’s development and growth. As an artist, I connect with others by incorporating art, creative strategies, and play into treatment as a way to help my clients express thoughts and feelings. With couples, I offer space for building a stronger and healthier connection through understanding and improving communication patterns. Experience and focusI earned a doctorate in combined Clinical-School Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. I completed an APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, where I received specialized training working with adolescents, emerging adults, and their families with varying levels of need. As part of my graduate education I trained in a range of settings, including hospital, foster care agency, school, and day treatment settings. I have worked with individuals who present with concerns related to anxiety, depression, complex trauma, relationship difficulties, life transitions, stress, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and mood disorders. I approach therapy through an integrative lens, and have received training in Psychodynamic Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Attachment-Based Therapy. I also weave into treatment mindfulness-based approaches and other relational strategies through a trauma-informed lens. I strive to collaboratively adapt treatment as symptoms and circumstances shift.
More about my storyMy background in art influences my work. Even as a kid, art served as a precious method of expression and stress relief. Creating abstract art is a wonderful outlet for mindfulness (you can find a portion of one of my abstract paintings above!) Just creating brushstrokes and exploring colors is a refreshing and fun respite from our busy lives and digital world.
I studied Visual Art and Art History in college and illustrated for my college newspaper. During my art education, I developed technical skills for creating and observing works that can be appreciated at a surface level and explored for the emotional undercurrents and deeper meaning that inspired them. While working with children as an art teacher after graduation, I observed how art also can provide kids with ways to express their emotions and needs nonverbally and connect with others creatively. These experiences catalyzed my desire to become a psychologist. Whenever I can, I use my experience in the art world to enhance my relationship with clients by encouraging them to express themselves through their own creative outlets, instincts, and talents. You never know what gifts you may offer to others – or to yourself – when you take pencil to paper or put your hands on a lump of clay. We can help. Vertical Divider
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