Experience a better life.
Psychotherapist in NY supporting and empowering individuals, couples, and executives / leaders to reach their full potential.
Combine awareness with action, and you can change your life’s direction
Maybe you are managing the necessities of life, but you are often stressed, feeling overwhelmed, or having major doubts about how to feel better and do better.
Or, your life reads well on paper — steady work, good relationships, pleasant weekend plans. But you find your mind running laps — unresolved goals, relationship challenges, and a question about purpose that never quite settles.
Therapy for growth-minded individuals and connection-seeking couples.
In psychotherapy, I work with individuals (including teens aged 14+), couples, and leaders and potential leaders. I help you get clearer on what is going on inside, resolve inner conflict, and bring that awareness into how you live, relate, and make choices.
Individual Therapy
I work with concerns including anxiety and stress, depression, and addiction, as well as finding purpose and clear direction in life, which is the ultimate question that needs to be resolved. I work with people who are struggling as well as those who say, “I’ve got the job, the house, the relationship or marriage, so why do I still feel unsatisfied?” Whether you are an individual coming to find more satisfaction, a parent who is concerned about their teen or adult child, a busy executive or leader, or anyone else (age 14+) seeking clarity and peace, I am here to work with you and help guide you.
Couples Therapy
Many couples I work with feel good, but notice some areas of disconnection. Others are near the point of breaking off the relationship or marriage. The same issues come up again and again, leading to friction or to arguments, and it’s hard for those caught in the middle to know why, and what to do about it. In couples therapy, we look at what each person brings into the relationship from their past, and how those patterns lead to ineffective or hurtful communication. With awareness and empathy, the couple learns to hear each other and use communication that is simultaneously empathic and clear.
Meet David B. Alexander
A licensed psychotherapist (LP) in New York State, helping folks find their well-being and their Zen.
Greetings.
I’m David B. Alexander, a Licensed Psychotherapist. But that is only part of the story: I’ve spent a lifetime in serious study of Zen, plus practicing and teaching Tai Chi Chuan for decades, while raising two children to their 30s, going through divorce, and then building a life with a wonderful long-term partner. I also worked for many years in the business world as a consultant. In other words, I have gained real-world experience in much of what people come to therapy for.
Something fundamental to my work is a strong belief in the balance of insight and energy — thus the name of my service!
You can only get so far on insight alone. And the energy of action without insight also tends to have you spinning in circles. But when these two elements work together, like a left foot and a right foot, you get movement in life that is effective and beneficial to all concerned.
My work draws from gestalt therapy, existential therapy, Zen, and Nonviolent Communication. What this leads to is listening carefully to you, speaking clearly to you, and eliciting what is important for you and your well-being. We meet where you are, which is where all growth begins, and we go forward from there.
A Practice That Welcomes Every Path
People come to therapy with their own histories and identities, shaped by family, culture, and the experiences that formed them. These influences affect how we relate, how we cope, and how we move through the challenges of life.
I work happily with those of any race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation, and I take care to understand each person within the context of their own story. Recognizing the background you come from is often an important part of understanding what you are carrying, what you need, and what will help you heal and grow.
This is a space where you can show up fully as yourself and be met with care, clarity, and honesty. Whoever you are, and wherever your story began, you are welcome here.
What happens when you decide to take charge of your well-being?
The words here come from clients across New York who’ve shown up, done the work together, and experienced something different on the other side, and also from a few of those who attended his classes.
eBook
Escaping From Freedom
Why do conspiracy stories spread? Why do people cheer for authoritarian leaders? In Escaping From Freedom, I unpack the quiet anxieties that leave societies ripe for division — and outline approaches that can heal divisions and nurture genuine freedom in society.
Connect
Some people come in with one issue. “Why do I keep ending up in the same kind of relationship?” or “How do I find more motivation?” We can start there. Sometimes solving that is enough. Other times, it opens up bigger doors for exploration and growth.
Gain Insight
We ask the questions that don’t usually get asked. What do you really want? What’s keeping you from saying it, doing it, living it? What has lasting value for your well-being? That authentic exploration is both exhilarating and liberating.
Use Your Energy
Insight is only half the equation. With clarity of insight comes a question: now what? We find ways to live based on what you are learning. When it lands, you feel it. You speak differently, and show up differently.
We start where you are. We look at what’s really happening and what you need. And we develop a way forward that’s true to you, to your well-being, and to being a leader in your life.
Presentations, Workshops, and Tai Chi Chuan.
In addition to psychotherapy, I regularly offer webinars and group gatherings online and in person. You might explore meditation basics, learn Nonviolent Communication principles, or practice Tai Chi Chuan (moving meditation as well as a martial art). Feel free to join any of these if you feel motivated or curious.
Inspiring, Informative Talks
In this talk for the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, the topic is Solving the Roots of Conflict: A Nonviolent Approach. It is about making better relationships and a better world.
Interactive Workshops
Workshops, offered since 2019, cover topics of communication and Zen / Buddhism. They are all interactive and experiential, to help experience a better life.
Tai Chi Chuan
Dynamic movement with harmonious awareness brings benefits to both mind and body. I offer my decades of teaching Tai Chi Chuan in Long Island, NY.
You already know something needs to shift to fully enjoy the life you envision.
Let’s talk about what that is and how to get there.