LMFT

Over 26 years of experience in the field of social work and child welfare. I have helped various populations ranging from struggles with stress, trauma, anxiety, substance misuse, and depression, to navigating systems in meeting basic needs. My expertise is working with people from all races, cultures, and ethnicities, as I originate from a diverse background. I enjoy helping people become the best version of themselves, finding that baseline, and rediscovering their assets in being their most satisfied and peaceful state. My aim is to help restore overall mind, body, and spiritual health that incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy, life coaching, and holistic approaches.

Deciding to enter psychotherapy is one of the most compassionate choices you can make for yourself. In fact, it can represent an essential turning point in your life. However, it can also sometimes feel uncomfortable to talk to someone you don't know well. That's why I provide a caring, safe environment where I will listen to you carefully and where we will work together to understand and resolve the issues with which you are struggling--both in terms of how they affect your life now and in terms of how they became issues for you in the first place. I work with adults and adolescents who are struggling with a wide range of concerns, including relationship difficulties, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, loss, low self-esteem, and many more. When you enter my office, we will talk together about what you are having difficulty with and where you are feeling stuck. I strongly believe that therapy should be an interactive process, where we work together as a team. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University and my master's degree in clinical social work from New York University. My theoretical approach is eclectic, but grounded in a psychodynamic approach to therapy, which means that we will work to establish benefits that not only help you right now, but can also stand the test of time. I look forward to hearing from you!

Perspectives Counseling of LI was founded by Abby Leefer, LCSW-R, a seasoned clinician with decades of experience helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life’s challenges. Abby earned her master’s degree from Stony Brook University and has built a practice grounded in compassion, collaboration, and a deep respect for each client’s unique story. At Perspectives Counseling of LI, we believe that no two people experience life in exactly the same way, and therefore, no two people need the same approach to healing. Every therapist in our practice shares Abby’s client-centered philosophy, tailoring treatment to meet each person’s specific needs, goals, and strengths. Our therapists draw from a wide range of evidence-based approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychoanalytic theory, family systems work, and Rogerian-based humanistic therapy. This integrative and flexible approach allows us to meet you where you are, whether you’re seeking support for anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions, or personal growth. We’re deeply committed to creating a safe, welcoming, and nonjudgmental environment where clients feel heard, supported, and empowered to explore their thoughts and emotions. Our goal is to help you gain insight, strengthen self-acceptance, and make meaningful changes in your life, while also finding peace with the things you cannot control. Founded during a time of significant change and uncertainty, Perspectives Counseling of LI was created to make high-quality, accessible, and compassionate mental health care available to more individuals across Long Island and beyond. Abby and her team are dedicated to supporting clients through every stage of life with empathy, professionalism, and hope. If you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, growth, and greater well-being, Perspectives Counseling of LI is here to help.

A Center for Integrative Therapies Achieve Wellness, LLC is a group of integrative, solution focused clinicians supporting clients in the process of positive change. It is our goal to treat each individual with a holistic approach. We are passionate about our services and believe that everyone deserves to live their lives to their fullest potential. We provide individual counseling, couples counseling, family therapy, life coaching, business consulting. At Achieve Wellness, it is our goal to create a safe and supportive environment while providing a collaborative, holistic and integrative approach to treatment. We believe that everyone deserves access to the care they need and is worthy of feeling well. It is our mission that clients feel empowered and inspired to realize that wellness is possible.

Bridging the worlds of psychology and creativity, I provide compassionate and effective psychotherapy for you, utilizing special techniques of mindfulness and imagery developed over 40 years that connect you to your creative, spiritual self. Reducing anxiety and alleviating depression, requires accurate identification of issues, seamlessly integrated with analytic understanding in order to find inner control of the root emotions that cause moods and behaviors. Understanding you fully, I will help you identify the forces creating conflict and help you resolve them, and find peace.  Are you struggling with anxiety, depression? You know something's wrong but don't know what it is...I can help....I have over 40 years experience passionately helping people understand their emotions and thoughts , with tried and true techniques that have been proven successful! I provide Psychotherapy for Adults, Children and Individuals with Special Needs (Trauma, Autism) with a specialty working with children experiencing challenges to their mental health, such as adoption, divorce and grief. My unique approach utilizes both verbal and creative imaging techniques. This combination is particularly effective with both adults and children of all ages struggling with anxiety, depression, self esteem, socialization, focus and concentration. For children and individuals with ASD and any ID I help release pent up frustrations while teaching the language of emotions leading to self control and self regulation. This opens the door to modeling appropriate interpersonal communication skills which can then be utilized in the larger environment of everyday life.

As a therapist, my approach is centered on your inner-world. Who you are on the inside matters much more than the circumstances of your life, and I am passionate about helping people grow to appreciate and be curious about themselves. Most of us have hidden parts of ourselves that we’ve tucked away because of life, but I’m here to help you explore those things and come more fully into yourself. My philosophy and approach to helping people is based on the goal of integration - helping you develop your whole self together. Feelings and thoughts are not enemies, and I am very interested in helping you connect fully and healthfully with both. I believe that therapy is not just about obtaining symptom relief; it is a way to develop and become a better-integrated person with a greater capacity to enjoy your life, work, relationships, and interests. I am a long-haul therapist. We all have experiences in our lives that were difficult, even traumatic, and that hinder us from experiencing what we need to in order to move on to the next stage of development. I am really interested in helping you remember what you need to - to make sense of and make peace with your past - and move forward. Change (both movement and loss) requires us to learn to let go of the way things were and embrace the new. I am committed to travel with you on this sometimes arduous journey.

Does your life seem to be repeating a pattern that, despite how optimistic and certain you feel at the start of a relationship, ends up causing you to feel disappointed, frustrated, and even surprised that, again, things did not turn out as you had hoped? This pattern may be connected to a previous experience that extends back to young adulthood, adolescence, or even childhood. You may have ‘unfinished business’ that is held within your brain and your physical body as an emotional wound. You don’t even have to be conscious of it for the past experience to influence the choices you make in the present. I am a trauma-trained psychotherapist, certified in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), which is an approach that not only treats the symptoms of an emotional wound but enables you to heal it and to put the past experience where it belongs- in the past. The word 'trauma' may sound frightening andor confusing. It actually comes from the Greek term, trauma, and means 'wound.' Therefore, my training helps to treat and heal your emotional wounds. With help from a mental health professional, you can become more conscious of these wounds, and with consciousness comes power- the ability to make healthy choices that serve you in the best way. I don't tell you what you should or should not be doing in your life. I do offer a safe space free of judgement so that you can explore what you truly wantneed and break unhealthy patterns. As a psychotherapist in private practice, I work with you to tailor your treatment to meet your individual goals. Together, we will create new and healthier relationship patterns that bring joy and fulfillment as you move forward on your journey! "The only journey is the one within." - Rainer Maria Rilka

I bring a grounded presence and use a warm and collaborative practice approach. I focus on helping people ease anxiety and depression, navigate difficult relationships, and get clear on what they need to create a firm ground from which to connect with a deeper vision for their lives. Those I've worked with have described me as an attuned and engaged listener and a caring and compassionate guide who will show up for their hardest moments while helping them tap into their sources of creativity, joy, and resilience. My work is healing-centered, with expertise in early childhood trauma (including sexual trauma), family conflict, divorce, and loss. I bring creativity, open-heartedness, and open-mindedness to helping people get unstuck in the areas that matter most to them. Additionally, I have specialized training in Internal Family Systems (IFS). My approach is fundamentally rooted not only in exploring difficult emotions and experiences with compassion and tenderness but also in connecting to your strengths and watering the seeds of what makes you feel alive, connected, nurtured, and whole. Cultivating self-love is at the core of much of the work we will do together. I weave together a practice approach rooted in mindfulness, anti-oppressive, and healing-centered frameworks. I believe deeply in the importance of creating spaces where grounded healing is relatable, empowering, and widely available. As a queer person, I understand complexity and the importance of community and connection. My work is also rooted in a sense of justice and social embeddedness, with an understanding of how individuals operate within complex webs of social forces, which inevitably explores how to engage with white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism, inequity, and other systemic producers of harm. Relatedly, I care about exploring the inter-generational dimensions of both pain and strength. I am deeply committed to those I work with, their paths of healing, and to staying present with them along those paths. I bring a warm, empathic sense of grounded presence and creativity about how to meet each individual person’s needs, hopes, and deepest intentions for their lives. While I know therapy to be a transformative space in which to heal, I’ve also seen how being held in the community, connecting deeply with the earth, and connecting with one’s innate creativity can hold immense transformative power for healing. Throughout my life and career, I’ve drawn on these ideas in my own healing and my work. I’ve also engaged in training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) (a modality designed to address the difficulties associated with single, multiple, and complex trauma experiences) and internal family systems (IFS), a modality that holds us with nuance and complexity and that can be profoundly helpful in working through being stuck, navigating stress in relationships, and healing from past experiences.

I believe therapy is a way toward a fuller, more satisfying life. Together we will journey past the obstacles to greater self-esteem, more satisfying relationships, work and play. I engage actively with you but am guided by your individual needs and wishes. I believe therapy can help you to find ways to expand the strengths you already have and add new skills, experiences and ways of seeing yourself. I work in an eclectic manner and am particularly interested in the unity of body and mind. How we think and feel are intimately connected and I am interested in bringing together the various dichotomies that confound us: thoughts and feelings, past and future, work and creativity, self and other.

I specialize in supporting individuals navigating anxiety, depression, and life transitions, offering a compassionate and personalized approach to therapy. By integrating CBT and psychodynamic therapies, I tailor our sessions to meet your unique needs. I also incorporate motivational interviewing, mindfulness practices, and psychoeducation to enrich our work together. Whether you're dealing with low motivation, self-esteem issues, people-pleasing behaviors, an overactive mind, or communication challenges, I am here to help you find the path that works best for you. In our sessions, we'll work together to identify and transform unhelpful thinking patterns, paving the way for new perspectives and behaviors that break free from destructive cycles. By understanding the roots of these patterns, you'll cultivate self-compassion and achieve lasting change. My goal is to create a warm and safe environment where growth and healing can flourish. I am committed to supporting you every step of the way as you share your story and navigate your challenges. Together, we'll work towards the changes you desire, empowering you to move forward with confidence and clarity.

Blair’s approach focuses on the person, not the “problem,” leveraging a solution-focused, empathic and empowering approach with a focus on achieving sustainable sexual integrity. Sessions can be scheduled directly online including same-day and evening options. Sessions are guided by a curated 14-item curriculum, and include homework to aid further development between sessions. How to Schedule a Session: Appointments are available 6 days per week, including evening sessions. Simply schedule online to book your first session, an initial consult, an in-person intensive or join the Men’s Sexual Integrity Group.