Dorothy Hayden, LCSW
About me
Human beings suffer. There's no getting around it. It's a fact of life. People suffer from anxiety, depression, relationship/intimacy conflicts, various forms of addictions, low self-esteem, career-related concerns, grieving loss and from the vicissitudes of life transitions.
How can a therapist guide you from a place of discomfort and discontent to a place of relative peace of mind?
I offer a particular kind of relationship (a therapeutic reliance) that enables you to better understand yourself and to gain distance/perspective about your distress as well as leading to insight that translates to change.
I work to help you to see that some of the strategies you've been using to live your life have not really resulted in you getting the things you most value most in life. Therapy is about putting these dysfunctional strategies under a microscope and, together, constructing a new way to "do" your life. The tools you get to implement these new strategies will help you to navigate the inevitable obstacles you'll come across in your day-to-day living towards the achievement of your goals.
The result of a successful period of psychotherapy is that the individual achieves more stability in his/her work and relationship life as well as feeling more satisfaction and contentment about himself and his life.
I am particularly experienced and trained in the area of addictions, both substance abuse and "process" addictions - sex, porn, shopping, gambling. I am published and interviewed by major media about cybersex addiction and am considered to be an expert in "kink friendly" therapy, having been interviewed in a British HBO show about sadomasochism.
Professional experience
Additional areas of focus: Grief, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Coaching, Abandonment, Aging and geriatric issues, Attachment issues, Avoidant personality, BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture, Chronic pain, illness, and disability, Codependency, Communication problems, Control issues, Dependent personality, Dissociation, Divorce and separation, Drug and alcohol addiction, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Forgiveness, Gender dysphoria, Guilt and shame, Impulsivity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Mood disorders, Narcissism, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Personality disorders, Phobias, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Post-traumatic stress, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-love, Sex addiction, Sexual dysfunction, Sexuality, Smoking / vaping cessation, Social anxiety and phobia, Women's issues, Workplace issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Hypnotherapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Psychodynamic Therapy
License information
NY LCSW 075705