LCSW, 15 years of experience
I am an NYU clinically trained therapist specializing in trauma, substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, Family systems therapy and anxiety. I have over 15 years of experience working with clients who experience a broad range of challenges. I have specialized experience working with Veterans, First Responders, and Law Enforcement Officers. Born into a family of first responders and military I have a special understanding of the culture and hesitancy to reach out for help. Please know you will be met with a genuine, non-judgmental approach, my purpose is to help you help yourself, improve your quality of life and tackle any issues you are having - I've got your 6. As a professional, I utilize strength-based and trauma focused approaches. I believe in empowering my clients in developing coping skills and self-awareness to increase self-esteem and confidence to create a positive change. Resiliency and self efficacy is the goal and we all have it within us. Sometimes we just need to find a way to tap into it. Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the courage to walk through the fear. Life is tough, we all have experienced hard things- let me help you figure them out, put the past away and focus on your current life and all that you want it to be. I am a solution based therapist so I will assign homework, the more you put into it the more you will get out it.
In our first session together we will work on building rapport, taking history relevant to your current challenges and discuss what your goals are for therapy. We will work together to figure out what you want your life to look like and be, and how to get there.
As a clinician my strengths are being very genuine, non-judgmental, empathetic, and challenging negative thoughts and perspectives. A client can expect to gain insight, new perspectives, and coping skills to navigate the challenges in life. In addition as a child of A first responder and military veteran I have a higher understanding and empathy for this population and your specific difficulties. As well as working with other first responders, Active duty military on station (base and post), veterans both male and female, addiction clients and couples. I have a greater understanding on how traumatic or negative experiences effect the way we think, interact with the world, and interact with those we love.
I have extensive experience and specialize in treating: PTSD, substance abuse, military and first responders, family therapy, and couples counseling. I am fully trained in all trauma evidenced based therapies, inter-family systems theory, and couples counseling. I believe in assigning homework- as we need the change to occur where your PTSD lives and not just in session. Homework may not be traditional it is often behavioral which will allow you to get better quicker. I also offer MASD tx- which means doing trauma tx 2-3 per week for 4-8 weeks to resolve the issue sooner and get you moving along living the life the life that you want. I do not believe in the concept of "long term talk therapy" as we have found this is not effective. My goal is to get you to a place where you no longer need therapy!
EMDR is an evidenced base therapy that is highly effective at treating trauma and anxiety.
CPT is an evidenced base therapy that is highly effective at treating trauma and anxiety.
I have extensive experience working with couples to improve communication skills, conflict resolution, and increasing intimacy.
I am trained in DBT therapy which is effective helping trauma clients with emotional regulation, interpersonal skills, and self-soothing.
I am trained in Internal Family Systems therapy, and have extensive experience working with families to return relationships to a healthy functioning unit.
9 ratings with written reviews
May 9, 2025
Love Colleen! She's the best couple's therapist we could ask for.
April 30, 2025
Colleen specializes in couples therapy and we had a hard time finding someone to do couples therapy with us so that we can ensure a strong, healthy, loving relationship. We learned so much during our first visit. It was very insightful.
April 25, 2025
I chose her because I felt her background would best help me. She is very kind and loving. She is easy to talk to. I feel heard and understood. She gives me things to do to work on and put in place to feel better. It’s an active therapy that goes on even between sessions. I highly recommend her.