Psychotherapist

Individuals & Couples

Telehealth

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with individuals who experience many of life’s challenges including, but not limited to anxiety, depression, sexual trauma, life transitions, immigration, family conflict, drug/alcohol abuse, LGBTQ+, and gender issues. I also work with couples to improve communication, reduce conflict, and work through life transitions.

We all want to be seen and heard holistically. Sometimes we experience shame, depression, and anxiety due to conflict. I believe it’s important to examine these feelings to strengthen and improve our sense of self. Different parts of us interact with the world through systems of race, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, family, and community environments.

My therapeutic approach is psychoanalytic; together we will explore how the past persists into the present both consciously and unconsciously, and how it may hinder how we function in and think about the world. I strive to create a caring, friendly, curious, and non-judgmental space to facilitate your process to work through the conflict. The use of dream work informs us about the unconscious and can assist in making the work we do richer and more informative. I am a certified EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapist. EMDR uses protocols to help process life’s challenges, particularly trauma and PTSD.

Tanina Restivo, LCSW is a graduate of New York University Silver School of Social Work, trained in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center (PPSC), certified in EMDR Therapy from The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy, Washington , DC, and holds a B.A. in Psychology from Hunter College, NY, NY.