INDIVIDUAL THERAPY IN WESTCHESTER AND THE GREATER NEW YORK AREA
Dr. Sameena Groves, Ph.D
When you’re used to optimizing all the things, finding a therapist who speaks your language can be tricky.
You want someone who thinks quickly, but who doesn’t let your fast-talking anxiety run the session.
You want someone who is going to take on your perfectionism and inner critic, but be respectful of your desire to strive in all of your areas of life.
And you’d like therapy to feel accepting and warm, not yet another meeting in your week in which you want to perform well.
Working with me is like being members of the same lab.
Together we will design our investigation, getting to know the way your mind works (spoiler alert: I bet it works a lot like mine!) and understanding how your current actions are (or aren’t) serving you.
We use this information, along with your goals and values, to test out some alternative ways of doing things.
This may look like accepting rather than fighting a painful reality or committing to a courageous act even though your inner critic is throwing a massive tantrum (that’s what they often do when we step out of our comfort zones).
LICENSED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
Sameena Groves, PhD
The work I do with clients is the work I wish I’d had when I was younger.
The product of private schools and an Ivy League education, I know intimately the gratitude that comes with a privileged and unparalleled education.
I also know how moving through such spaces with a fixed, perfectionistic mindset makes true learning impossible; it also prevents deeply authentic relationships by prioritizing looking cool and fitting in over genuinely accepting yourself and belonging.
I’m on a mission to help young people question the “success hypotheses” they’ve taken as truths, and experiment with new ways of living boldly.
The Academic Stuff
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Licensed Clinical Psychologist in New York State and Connecticut
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I received my doctoral degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and completed my clinical internship at Montefiore Medical Center, where I trained in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) with Dr. Alec Miller (one of the co-developers of DBT for adolescents). I was able to continue my DBT and CBT training in a postdoctoral fellowship at the NYU Child Study Center. Since that time, I’ve pursued ongoing training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and enjoy using the best of what these evidence-based approaches offer clients.
Prior to my graduate studies, I graduated from Yale University and completed a post-baccalaureate program in psychology at Columbia University. More recently I have undergone training in motivational interviewing, health coaching and nutritional psychiatry.
Throughout my career I’ve participated in various conferences and workshops to keep my knowledge current and my connections to colleagues strong; I have been part of a peer supervision group for the past 8 years. I geek out listening to podcasts from colleagues, and enjoy reading what experts in my field contribute to our knowledge base each year.
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My training is in evidence-based therapies including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). One of my strengths as a therapist is figuring out how to adapt these gold standard approaches (based on carefully controlled clinical trials) to clients’ real, messy, and three-dimensional lives.
When not therapy-ing…
When I’m not in psychologist mode, I’m often caring for my household which includes my husband, two children, a French Bulldog and some very limp plants, last I checked.
I’m an excellent starter of books and finisher of anything made of dark chocolate.
I love walking briskly on trails, perusing farmers’ markets, listening to podcasts (RIP “Unlocking Us” with Brene Brown), and exploring different parts of the world (next up: Vancouver).
