Patricia Smucker
Therapy for individuals, Couples and Families
“Many of us spend our whole lives running from feelings with the mistaken belief that we can not bear the pain. But we have already borne the pain.
What we have not done is feel all we are beyond that pain.”
Kahlil Gibran
What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT is an interactive, didactic form of therapy where you learn how to apply evidence based psychology to change your life. With CBT you can learn how to feel better, become a better problem solver, set and achieve your goals and make your life the way you want it to be
“I understand there is a natural curiosity about the person we trust to heal us and I am happy to answer any questions you may have so that you feel you know me and can trust me.“
Patricia Smucker
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I can one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one lonely person
Into happiness again
I shall not live in vain.
– Emily Dickinson
Patricia Smucker, LCSW
I was drawn to social work because I knew I needed to heal and my own therapeutic journey has been the source of my healing. After graduating, I worked in drug treatment, inpatient psychiatric and an inpatient rehabilitation unit before starting a private practice. The private practice allows me to give the right type of treatment and attention to each individual client.
The goal of therapy is to eliminate the need for therapy in your life!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT teaches us that thoughts and feelings are different. If we don’t know how to identify this difference, then we can’t change our feelings. Every feeling has a reason to be but our thoughts can be rational or irrational. Not all thoughts are created equal! CBT shows us how to identify the thoughts that don’t work for us, understand why we think such thoughts and change our thoughts to rational reality based thinking
Feelings
Feelings are a physiological response to a perception. Feelings are not good or bad, Positive or negative- they are comfortable or uncomfortable. And our uncomfortable feelings are warnings. We need to feel uncomfortable in order to manage our lives. CBT teaches you how to identify, articulate and manage your feelings
Therapy is a relationship between a client and a professional designed to help the client change. It is a healthy relationship like any other- built on trust with a mutual regard for each other. As such, choosing a therapist is more than the type of therapy practiced. Choosing a therapist is an important and serious task. It’s ok to interview several therapists in order to make a good choice.
Don’t be afraid to interview your therapist and ask any questions you believe are relevant. Therapists don’t reveal much about themselves because we are here to help our clients. I understand there is a natural curiosity about the person we trust to heal us and I am happy to answer any questions you may have so that you feel you know me and can trust me.
My Approach & Philosophy
Blog
Coping with Anxiety
I learn as much from my clients as they learn from me, which is why my life is richer and more fulfilling because of the work I do. Recently, a client returned to treatment to focus on an eating disorder. I had already successfully treated her for an anxiety disorder...
Blog on Anxiety
I was about 25 years old when I first learned the term anxiety. Until that time I was not aware such a feeling existed. Fear I knew well. Having grown up in a family where my father was chronically ill and eventually died when I was in 10th grade. The uncertainty of...
Grief vs. Depression
Clients have come to therapy and asked me what the difference is between feeling sad and being depressed. When I hear that question, I often come to find the sadness they are feeling is not so much depression, but a grieving experience. Grief is a process – a series...
Personality Disorders
Personality is the way a person thinks and acts in the world. There are many personality traits. No two people have the same traits in the same way. All personality traits are helpful in the right context, but some people have such limited traits that they do not have...
What to Expect in a CBT Session
In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) the focus is on understanding your internal processes. In traditional therapy the focus was on the past experiences. In CBT a therapist will help you understand how your past experiences and the beliefs and emotions created in...
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and is It Suitable for You?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a unique therapeutic approach. It is evidenced based treatment for people suffering from anxiety, depression, chronic illnesses, relationship problems as well as several other mental health or emotional conditions. In this...
Six Ways to Use Cognitive Restructuring to Change Your Thoughts
Cognitive restructuring is a vital aspect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), that involves identifying and changing false, negative thoughts. It’s important to be able to detect and modify such thought patterns because our thoughts influence our feelings and...
7 Tips That Will Make You Better at Online Dating
There is no magic formula for setting up an online dating profile so that you will meet that special love in your life. But here are some tips that will make you better at online dating. These tips will help you decide how to talk about yourself. They will also help...
Get In Touch
Smuckerpatricia@gmail.com
Address
Offices on Long Island and in Manhattan. Contact me for more information.
Hours
Tue – Fri: 10am – 9pm
Weekends: 10am – 3pm