Hey there, my name is Mark Fishman. I'm a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) working in California. I have been a practicing psychotherapist for over six years, and believe the process of psychotherapy is a tremendously powerful tool to create change in our lives. My aim as a therapist is to partner with you in building a safe environment for you to discover meaningful insight into your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, reconcile emotional wounds the past, and build on the strengths you already possess.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
A few things:
1) We will discuss and review informed consent, expectations for treatment, your intake, and how change occurs through psychotherapy.
2) We will do our best to figure out if I'm the right therapist for you. For therapy to be successful, in my view, client and therapist must be able to form an honest and robust therapeutic alliance. Of course this does not happen overnight, but in my experience if a sense of mutual positive regard is fostered early on between client and therapist, treatment is significantly more likely to be successful. The last thing I want to do is waste your time and emotional energy, so it is crucial to evaluate early on (and on an ongoing basis) if we are a good fit to work together.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Since joining the field in 2018, the majority of my practice experience has taken place at a community mental health agency in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York. From my years in the Crown Heights community, I have worked with a highly diverse population of clients and treated extremely complex and nuanced cases. Being exposed to so many different types of clients and problems, I have developed a wide array of clinical tools, and understand when and how to use them best with clients.
About Mark Fishman
Appointments
Virtual
My treatment methods
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic theory as my guiding framework in session. I practice from the position we unconsciously work to avoid re-experiencing our most painful past experiences and the distressing feelings stemming from them. Unfortunately, as our psyche tries to protect us, we unwittingly develop patterns of thinking, feeling, behaving, and relating to others which undermine our sense of well-being, disrupt our closest relationships, and become road-blocks towards personal growth and healing. Fortunately, psychodynamic interventions can unknot these patterns, create emotional healing, and empower us to forge new paths towards lives of fulfillment, connection, and individuation.
I have completed training is psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapy from the National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) in New York City, and have received years of both private and group supervision grounded in psychodynamic principles.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Although I primarily work from a psychodynamic lens, in my experience a therapist must possess the ability work eclectically to meet their clients needs. CBT is often particularly helpful in the early stages of therapy, as it provides tangible skills and tools for clients to address their worries. I have received training from NYU's Silver School of Social Work in utilizing CBT to treat mood, obsessive compulsive, and trauma and stressor related disorders. Additionally, both my undergraduate and graduate degree programs included education regarding CBT.
Trauma Informed Care
Having worked in community mental health for five plus years, treating trauma and stressor related disorders was a daily part of my clinical work. My thesis for my MSW program focused on PTSD and trauma informed care. I have also completed training workshops in trauma informed care, and trauma focused CBT.
Psychoeducation
I feel it is imperative that the client understands how change occurs in therapy. Because of this, I incorporate psycho-education regarding a wide range of topics in treatment. I never want a client to feel like they are flying blind, or feeling lost in the therapeutic process.
Narrative
We all have a story we tell ourselves of who we are and why our lives are the way they are. Narrative therapy seeks to empower the client to be able to re-write their self-narrative in a way that is both adaptive and factually accurate. I have found narrative therapy is most effective with individuals struggling with depression and trauma, as well as adolescents.
