William Auerbach, Psychologist

I approach my work as a psychologist pragmatically.
People ask to work with me for reasons such as being burdened by depression or anxiety, or having painful obsessive thoughts and compulsions.
Others wish to work out troubling relationships or issues of sexuality. Those with alcohol and drug problems may want to stop or reduce the harm that substance use has on their lives. Still others wish to deal with the complicated and lingering effects of past traumatic events.
Some of my clients are dissatisfied with aspects of their work and career. To solve these problems they want to be coached by a seasoned professional who has deep knowledge of how individuals and organizations change.
The way I work with a client depends on who he or she is. From the beginning, I am interested in your goals, relationships, cultural background and values. I take the time required to develop a genuine rapport so that trust and understanding develops.
As an inquiring person, who has been in private practice for over 20 years, I have studied the major schools of psychotherapy: I work collaborativly to develop an individualized approach, which is the basis for successful change.

Although mindfulness practices have attracted a great deal of public attention in recent years, the meaning of the term is not always clear. Mindfulness has been defined as deliberate attention to an object of experience in the present moment. Mindful attention also involves an attitude which is non-judgmental, curious and open. Contemporary psychological and neuroscience research has repeatedly shown that there is a moderate to strong beneficial effect of mindfulness on emotional well-being (see Grossman, Nieman, Schmidt and Wallach, 2004). This positive effect has been found in diverse groups of people who have mental health problems
as well as non-clinical populations who experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness is often included in psychotherapy because it alleviates anxiety, depression and intense negative emotions. It is vital that a meditation teacher has a strong practice of his own in order to convey the quality and subtlety of mindfulness practices. As a meditation instructor and teacher at the Contemplative Studies Project of New York University Department of Psychology and the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, I incorporate mindfulness and awareness practices into psychotherapy based on my patients' interests and needs.

I received my doctorate in Clinical Psychology at New York University in 1988. The focus of my doctorate was an in-depth study of psychotherapy and mental health troubles.
I studied cognitive behavioral therapy as a graduate student and intern. This allowed me to effectively treat problems such as panic, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder.
When I began my psychotherapy practice, I quickly learned that the range of my patient's emotional troubles was wide and to be effective I had to continually expand my knowledge.
I began my post-doctoral training by studying couples and family therapy with Dr. Jaime Inclan.
At New York Medical College I taught couples and family therapy to mental health professionals in training.
In 2012, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at New York University's Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.
To further expand my tools as a therapist, I have studied contemplative psychology and teach meditation. I have practiced meditation for over 15 years. Meditation is very helpful in treating people with addictions, trauma, volatile moods and emotions, and traumatic events. By stabilizing attention, one’s emotional well-being is enhanced and thinking becomes more adaptive and effective.