Hello. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of New York. I completed my degree in 2014. My full license was obtained in 2016. I have been counseling professionally for only a few years, but I feel I have been helping others overcome difficulties in their lives for a lot longer. I am a naturally empathetic listener. One of my best attributes as a counselor is the ability to understand the problem from your perspective. When I listen to my clients, I use everything I know about them to put myself in theirs shoes in order to truly understand how the issue is affecting them.
As a counselor, I do not subscribe to only one or two theoretical approaches, but rather draw from all the methods I have been trained in in order to develop the best approach to your specific situation. If no two people are truly the same, then no two approaches to counseling can be either.
Nobody knows you better than yourself. I am only here to help you along this journey of self discovery and understanding. My background and experience enable me to help guide you through the issues that you want to overcome so that we can get you functioning at your highest potential.
I am very passionate about working with children and adolescents. I believe that childhood and adolescence are where the building blocks of our psychological makeup as adults occur. Many of our maladaptive coping mechanisms and “quirks” originate from our childhood experiences.
Everybody handles stress and anxiety differently. However, it should also be noted that everyone experiences their stress and anxiety differently. During our developmental phases in life we develop coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety and stress. Some coping mechanisms are healthy, others not so much. Although a coping mechanism may seem to tamper our experience of anxiety or stress, it may in fact be aggravating the issue. This is a form of maladaptive mechanisms. Let me help you work on developing a tool bag of healthy coping mechanisms for you to navigate through life without being thrown off or debilitated by experiences that causes you to experience anxiety and/or stress.
Depression can be very debilitating. It can come and go for some, or be ever present for others. Living with depression can feel like you are living with a huge paperweight on top of you, all the time. It’s exhausting. Finding the motivation to do just about anything feels impossible at times. In depression one can easily become his or her own worst enemy. This can send us on the downward spiral of depression, where you may find yourself in a loop of engaging in self defeating behaviors and thoughts, which only propagate your feelings of depression. Talking to a trained therapist about your feelings of depression can be extremely beneficial in better understand the root causes and overcoming this affliction.
I also have a significant amount of experience in helping individuals living with trauma and PTSD. My personal experience has given me a profound understanding of individuals living with handicaps as a result of a traumatic experience.
Finally, a lot of my clinical work was done in the field of addiction treatment. I was trained in the harm reduction approach to treatment for addiction, rather than the more conventional “12 step” approach. I do not believe that they are mutually exclusive however, as both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses.
Additional areas of focus: LGBT, Family conflicts, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties
NY LMHC 007502
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Nicolas Gurley. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
A skilled, empathetic professional who has always taken my issues seriously. Highly recommended if you suffer from any past traumas.
Written on Jul 01, 2021 after therapy with Nicolas for 1 year and 9 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting issues, self esteem, anger management, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue
I’ve seen a number of therapists and nick’s by far the best, I love his combination of science, stats, logics, and just pure experience. His cognitive approach is helpful to a variety of people including myself
Written on Apr 05, 2021 after therapy with Nicolas for 9 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, self esteem, compassion fatigue, and adhd
Great counsellor!
Written on Aug 03, 2020 after therapy with Nicolas for 3 weeks on issues concerning depression, relationship issues, family conflicts, grief, parenting issues, coping with life changes, coaching, and adhd
Nicholas Gurley is a highly talented and excellent counselor.
Written on Mar 25, 2020 after therapy with Nicolas for 10 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, career difficulties, and coaching
Really great therapist! I have been working with Nico for about a year now and I would highly recommend him to others. Apart from being helpful he is also just a hard working person who either takes a lot of pride in his work or really cares about his patients - probably both. I tend to be picky with therapists and I think what set Nico apart from others was the extra research that he did and the worksheets and readings he would send. I think our conversations have evolved from that now, but that's definitely the first thing I think of when describing him or his work. You're in good hands!
Written on Jan 15, 2020 after therapy with Nicolas for 8 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, grief, intimacy-related issues, sleeping disorders, parenting issues, self esteem, coping with life changes, coaching, compassion fatigue, and adhd
He has experience and he is a good match for me. He helps me through my moments where my mood is very low, but provides me with the proper tools to push through them in an empathetic and supportive way. He also helps me see things through a more practical and balanced perspective that validates myself and others in my life.
Written on Nov 26, 2019 after therapy with Nicolas for 7 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, family conflicts, grief, intimacy-related issues, self esteem, anger management, and compassion fatigue