Change is Possible
What can I expect when we first meet?
I view it as my responsibility to help you feel safe enough to bring your whole self into the room, just as you are. It is only when you feel free enough to look at and share all the different parts of you that true healing can begin and it’s my job to create a space where you feel both safe and brave enough to do so. Because of this, my main goal when we first meet is to help you feel comfortable with me so we can determine together if this feels like a good fit. Another big part of the first session is gathering information that helps me understand what brings you to therapy, what your goals are, and how you would like to be helped. I gather this information by asking you some questions about your current experiences, stressors, and stuck points, as well as strengths, support systems, and dreams. I also ask questions about your past experiences, as our past often has a profound influence on how we experience the present. I make it clear that you are in charge of the pace of our work—if a question feels too intrusive, you have full permission to pass on answering it. Drawing on my main responsibility of helping you feel comfortable in this space, I bring my own openness, curiosity, warmth, and connectedness into our shared space so we can walk the path of healing, connecting, and creating meaning together.
What was your path to becoming a psychologist?
When I was in high school, I enrolled in both a fencing and a theater class. I became fascinated in the dance that occurs between participants of a fencing bout. The way fencers are silent, but so much is being said: the slight hesitation before launching an attack; withdrawing an arm in preparation for a swing; footwork, careful and calculated, and at times, unsure; an arm held a little too high, inviting an attack. At the same time, I have always loved performing: singing, dancing, and acting my way through Elementary and High School. Aside from the exhilarating feeling I experience when I immerse myself in the life and trials of well-developed characters, I have always appreciated the connection of identifying with others to such an extent that I can understand their emotional experience and their life’s choices in order to play the part in a convincing and compelling way. Both of these experiences instilled an unwavering curiosity in the way people communicate with their body, face, and voice; how other people experience our communication; and how we can share in transcendental emotional experiences of pain and joy by connecting with ourselves and others in moments of authenticity. This curiosity led me to learn about the ways people express themselves and I found myself drawn to the beauty and intimacy of therapy. Throughout my schooling, training, and work as a psychologist, I continue to repeatedly reflect on my time as a fencer and performer and use these experiences as guiding forces in my work.
What do we do during a therapy session?
I view myself as an active participant in therapy--after all, therapy depends on a trusting and genuine relationship between therapist and client, and it takes two to foster that relationship. I can be directive at times, providing you with concrete skills and suggestions for how to help you achieve your goals, navigate the blocks you’re encountering within yourself, and make more intentional choices about how you want to live your life. I also help you reflect on what feelings, thoughts, and reactions come up for you in your interactions with me, to provide in-the-moment opportunities for us to explore and enhance your understanding of yourself. As a participant in our relationship, I also will model the expression of feelings, effective communication, and self-observation. I believe relationship dances are co-created, and I will help you look at the relationship we are creating together in therapy to help you be curious about the ways you show up in other relationships. Together, we will notice patterns that emerge in the way you think, feel, and engage in the world; explore the unspoken “rules” or “truths” you hold about how you and others have to be; face with gentleness, compassion, and honesty all the different parts of yourself; identify your values and dreams; and explore how to infuse your life with intention and meaning to create a life worth living.
What’s your approach to therapy?
Everyone goes through life picking up burdens—whether these are in the form of unspoken rules about ourselves and others, unhelpful thoughts, difficult emotions, challenging experiences, or anything else. My goal in therapy is to help you understand how these burdens affect your reactions so that you can create greater choice and intention behind your way of communicating, and facilitate for yourself more meaningful outcomes. I have experience working with couples and individuals from adolescents to older adults with a wide range of concerns, helping people explore the stories they have about themselves as it relates to their various identities. Through our work together, I intend to help you change your relationship to the narratives you have about yourself by finding, focusing, and fostering your strengths while understanding and transforming the blocks that prevent you from living your richest and most meaningful life. My work combines insight-focused exploration, skills-based tools, and in-the-moment experiential learning about your body, your feelings, and the different urges and voices inside of you, in order to promote tangible changes in your life.
Hi, there!
About Me
My name is Yocheved (Ayden) Ferstenberg. I completed my graduate studies at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology where I earned my Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. In graduate school, I completed a specialized training program in geropsychology with a focus on helping people navigate life transitions, identity changes across the lifespan, grief and loss, caregiving concerns, and other changes that go along with the aging process. I also completed formal training at Montefiore Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital. I continued my training at Memorial Sloan Kettering where I worked on a number of clinical research studies as a treatment provider. Here I gained high quality training in working with individuals with cancer, as well as caregivers of individuals with cancer, and families navigating grief after a loss. Across these programs, I gained excellent training in CBT, DBT, meaning-centered therapy, and ACT, evidence-based treatment approaches that focus on providing tangible skills to help you navigate life more effectively, foster greater meaning, and build for yourself a life of richness and fulfillment.
I rounded out my doctorate training at Jacobi Medical Center where I worked with a diverse range of clients across multiple settings. Specifically, I provided short-term care on the medical units as part of the Consultation-Liaison team, provided crisis intervention and management in the Psychiatric Emergency Room and Adult Inpatient Units, developmental screening evaluations and brief treatment of young children and adolescents in conjunction with medical staff in the Pediatric Neuropsychology department, outpatient care on the Psycho-Oncology unit for individuals with cancer diagnoses, and long-term outpatient treatment for individuals and groups in the Outpatient Department. Here I fine-tuned my graduate training in relational psychodynamic treatment that focuses on how our past experiences shape how we move about the world today, with a specific focus on how relationships with others inform who we are today.
I completed my post-doctoral training in two different private practice settings specializing in couples and sex therapy, and trauma. During this training year, I fine-tuned my approach to integrate insight-building and skills-based approaches to provide a treatment that is uniquely tailed to each individual person I work with.
Outside of private practice, I taught multiple psychology courses at Yeshiva University to undergraduate students, as well as a worked as a Teacher's Assistant for many graduate courses focused on assessment. My doctoral research explored ways of enhancing therapist effectiveness by focusing on the relationship between therapist and client and I strongly emphasize the importance of safety, trust, authenticity, and warmth between myself and my clients.
Now, I am thrilled to bring my experience, warmth, and passion to my clients in a way that integrates evidence-based treatment, understanding of psychotherapy relationship dynamics, teaching, and creativity to provide the highest quality care to you.
I look forward to traveling this path with you.
NY License #: 025996
NJ License #: 35SI00734700
Psypact APIT #: 17479
You are not alone.
Contact me for more information about how I can help.