PSYCHIATRY for seekers in NEW YORK CITY

Specialties

 

ADD/ADHD.

ADHD/ADD symptoms are not only distressing, but commonly interfere with personal, academic and professional functions. ADHD/ADD symptoms may manifest early in life and often persist into adulthood and throughout the life cycle.

We understand that those suffering from ADD/ADHD may approach their treatment with different needs.

Some may have been discouraged when younger (or merely neglected) from getting the help they needed, and are trying to make up for lost time by accessing the right treatment resources.

Others patients may have had the opposite problem: their experiences were over-pathologized and over-treated with medications. There are many reasons that patients may be seeking a new approach to their treatment. At Acheron, we are responsive to patients’ unique needs, and welcome all adults who may have symptoms of ADD/ADHD.

  • Acheron offers support for adult ADHD/ADD sufferers with proven effective conventional treatments (i.e., stimulants) as well as integrative approaches for patients who prefer that option.

    Unlike many conventional treatment centers, we also always encourage patients to tune into other meanings of their attentional symptoms. Although certainly not required, our depth-oriented individual and group psychotherapy programs are available for ADD/ADHD patients who want to benefit from self-integration and the fuller development of the personality.

Anxiety.

We believe that symptoms like anxiety are internal messengers encouraging us to integrate our unconscious minds and bring out the best in ourselves and our culture.

Anxiety has many varieties – e.g., bodily/somatic or cognitive; persistent or episodic – and severity levels.

It is a common source of private torment and can restrict many domains of activity and enjoyment. Although anxiety is treatable under skilled care, unfortunately, shame and stigma often prevent people from seeking help. Psychiatric/medical management and psychotherapy are the tools we utilize to relieve suffering.

  • Fortunately, there exist many safe, often effective conventional psychiatric medications that treat anxiety, including medications taken on a daily basis and medications for use “as-needed.”

    For those interested in integrative treatments, there are also many options on offer. Moving beyond symptom management, anxiety symptoms were always historically considered a particularly important thread to trace for insight and self-actualization, and Acheron is proud to renew and extend that tradition so as to optimize wellness.

    • Full-blown panic with psychic terror and physiological disturbance, sometimes occurring out of the blue or without identifiable trigger;

    • Crippling worries that are out of proportion and uncontrollable;

    • Unpleasant bodily sensations, pain, or functional disturbance;

    • Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms like rage, intrusive memories/flashbacks, nightmares, hyperviligance/startle, and avoidance;

    • Phobias, which, in addition to being distressing, can sometimes be restrictive and limiting (e.g., inability to use public transportation).

    • Another not uncommon form of anxiety is obsessive compulsive symptoms – stereotyped, irrational, alienating, and shameful patterns of thought and behavior – sometimes originating in childhood and often persisting into adulthood.

Mood disorders.

Acheron offers relief for mood disorders that can deplete joy, purpose, meaning and pleasure, involve emotional dysregulation and impulsivity, distort thinking, and even harbor an enemy within that can threaten our very lives.

Mood disorders can encompass mild or severe forms of depression or bipolar illness. 

They are a major source of illness and disability throughout the world. Mood disorders typically may affect sleep, appetite and concentration, and give unpleasant and/or self-destructive emotions the upper hand over reason and wellness. 

While mood fluctuations are a normal part of life, it is never normal to experience persistent despair or hopelessness or to have acute or chronic thoughts of suicide, no matter how severe life stresses may become.  In depression, lacerating self-criticism and feelings of inadequacy typically bubble beneath the surface of life and impose severe limits on satisfaction and what seems possible.  

In bipolar disorder, depressive states may alternate with mania, a dangerous clinical state of immoderate expansiveness, bizarre delusional ideas, and impulsive and often self-destructive activity (with regard to health and/or finances), often without any insight into the pathological nature of the condition.  Indeed, with all mood disorders, it can be easy to rationalize away symptoms (e.g., “life isn’t so great anyway;” “these bad feelings are only my just deserts”) and unfortunately prolong suffering. Please do not delay getting help (here or elsewhere), as mood disorders are treatable, and relief – sometimes life-saving – is achievable. 

At Acheron, we welcome all adults who suffer from mood disorders, from those with new symptoms to those who have tried much previous treatment and whose symptoms may be considered “treatment resistant.”     

  • At Acheron, a thorough biopsychosocial evaluation for mood conditions identifies the factors contributing to illness and specific targets for treatment. Often, a combination of medication management and psychotherapy is most effective. As with all conditions, the conventional, integrative, and psychedelic approaches to medication management on offer allow us to both tailor to patient preference and to identify and hone in on specific clinical problems that any one particular lens may miss.

    Individual psychotherapy under expert guidance may be considered the backbone of treatment for mood disorders. Our group psychotherapy programs also greatly enhance our clinical approach to the treatment of mood disorders, leveraging empathy, relatability, and altruism as important clinical tools.

 

Career Challenges.

Adults with challenges related to their jobs and careers may find our treatment programs helpful to get unstuck, see their options more clearly, think and act more rationally in their own (and others’) interest, and feel secure and satisfied with their professional growth and trajectory.

Problems in living are reason enough to seek treatment at Acheron, even if your distressing symptoms do not fit the pattern of a defined clinical disorder.       

Satisfaction in work and love are the keys to human flourishing, Freud proposed. Yet, when we consider our own work lives, questions abound: Does our work truly belong to us, or to the firm that “owns” our time and productivity? Why do so many of us feel like impostors in our jobs and careers? Why is procrastination such a thing? Which leads to another question, how much do any of us really want to work? Isn’t the point, as many believe, to make enough money that we don’t have to work? 

At Acheron, we understand Freud to have meant that work is a mode (or modes) of production and creativity using highly developed and hard-earned skills that is integral to our identity, that is joyful in itself, and that enhances our self-esteem.

The real question is, how do we get from wherever our starting point is, to experiencing that true kind of effectiveness and satisfaction?

  • At Acheron, we evaluate our patients holistically to identify the best approach to treatment. Sometimes, medications targeting mood, anxiety, and attention can make problems in living more tolerable, as well as integrative or psychedelic strategies.

    Struggles in work and career tend to be deeper and more pervasive than may at first be realized. Therefore, individual psychotherapy usually holds the greatest promise for relief, growth, clarity and internal freedom, and can be combined with group psychotherapy treatment for optimization.

    The capacity for work not only in jobs and careers but in our creative pursuits and hobbies, and in our relationships, deepens our engagement with life and brings us self-esteem, emotional security and overall satisfaction.

Sleep pROBLEMs.

Sleep disturbances, which are unfortunately common, can drain joy, increase suffering, and exacerbate other mental health conditions.

We offer medication and psychotherapeutic management tools that optimize sleep hygiene and enhance your body’s natural capacity for sleep (instead of just “zonking” you out, which often leads to even greater fatigue).

Life can often be stressful, and stress is the greatest enemy to refreshing and rejuvenating sleep. Sometimes sleep disturbances, whether difficulty falling asleep; trouble staying asleep; early awakening; shallow, unrestful sleep; or nightmares/night terrors; in addition to intrusion of sleep into wakeful functioning are one of the earliest signals from our mind that we need the help of skilled psychiatric care to address a host of underlying problems.

Sometimes life is otherwise good if it were not for that thorny sleeping issue.

Whichever category applies in your case, Acheron has the treatment resources you need to find relief.

  • We will begin with a thorough biopsychosocial evaluation. Then targeted treatment with medications and/or psychotherapy addresses your specific clinical problem(s) and the sleep disruption in which they have become manifest.

Relationships.

Relationships are a source of joy and meaning, not to mention stimulation and connection when it comes to our romantic relationships. They also can be rife with difficulty and inevitably involve some degree of struggle.

Relationships are almost never easy for any one. They can hold deep, painful history, such as with an abusive or neglectful parent. Feelings of paralyzing insecurity, rejection, and the repetition of self-defeating patterns commonly create suffering and dysfunction. So much can be at stake, whether with a prospective partner, or the spouse or children with whom we are building our lives. At Acheron, we encourage that you not let shame interfere with getting the needed help that is available here.   

As cliche as it is, the most important relationship of all is the relationship with yourself.

Having come to terms with yourself makes you available to form meaningful connections with others. There is no deeper pleasure than that, and it is the lifeblood of personal and professional development. It also empowers you to let go of others who will not or cannot treat you in the way that we all deserve.

  • There is no better forum for understanding and optimizing our relational capacities, including the relationship with self, than individual and group psychotherapy (alone or in combination) in a skilled and caring atmosphere, with or without the assistance of conventional, integrative and/or psychedelic medication management.

LGBTQ+ Concerns.

Acheron is committed to providing LGBTQ+ affirming care to New Yorkers. Identifying as LGBTQ+ can bring unique challenges throughout the lifespan, and we seek to provide a safe place for deeper insight, support, and understanding.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” - Carl Jung

Certain people are special, and especially vulnerable, because their very being presents a challenge to convention.

LGBTQ+ individuals, often facing rejection by family and aspects of culture at large, may face particular stress and challenge to their mental health (as well as opportunities for courage and greatness). 

People who identify as LGBTQ+ may be faced with rejection from within the family of origin itself, a particularly wounding form of rejection that can create negative self-beliefs, or an understandable difficulty with being one’s authentic self.  Even with the support of family, or when seeking out support for issues unrelated to sexuality and gender, identifying as LGBTQ+ puts you at higher risk for discrimination and challenges that cishet populations don’t face. 

Part of Acheron’s ethos and clinical culture is viewing culture itself somewhat suspiciously – as a problem as well as an opportunity.

Conventions are meant to be challenged.

Those whose very being embodies that challenge are a great gift to all of us. We are proud to support your mental health and provide you with optimal care.

For those who are really curious, the truth is queer.

At Acheron, we view queerness as a part of agape, love for all. Queerness makes the world a more loving and better place.

  • At Acheron, we support LGBTQ+ concerns, including:

    • Challenges related to gender, sexuality, and identity;

    • Family/Culture of origin issues (e.g. coming out within an unsupportive family; reconciling negative self-beliefs);

    • Clinical diagnoses such as depression and anxiety;

    • Dating, relationship challenges, consensual non-monogamy, and same-sex partnership and marriage;

    • Living with HIV.