“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” — Carl Gustav Jung
Hello! I’m Luke Ryan (he/him) and my work has a particular focus on grief and loss. In treatment with me, we may explore the conflicting feelings that can come with losing someone or something important: sadness, anger, guilt, relief, resentment, numbness, longing, or confusion. We may work through the unanswered questions loss can leave behind, including what was never said, what cannot be repaired, and what still feels unresolved. Grief can also involve the difficult task of figuring out what it means to let go while still preserving what was meaningful, loving, or formative. Together, we can make room for the complexity of your loss rather than forcing it into a simple story.
I also work with anxiety and depression in a way that looks beyond symptoms alone. With anxiety, we may explore what certain situations seem to threaten, what you feel responsible for preventing, and what fears or expectations make it difficult to feel settled. With depression, we may look at what has become muted, withdrawn, or turned inward, as well as the emotions that may be harder to access directly, such as anger, disappointment, shame, or grief. If substance use is part of what brings you to therapy, we can work to understand not only the behavior itself, but what it has helped you manage, avoid, express, or survive.
I work with adolescents and adults who are trying to better understand their emotions, relationships, and mental health. I have a particular interest in working with grief, anxiety, depression, substance use, and relationship patterns that can leave people feeling stuck or disconnected from themselves and others. My hope is to make therapy feel accessible and collaborative while also helping us speak specifically about what you are carrying.
I want to keep jargon to a minimum, but I also think it is important to explain my background and view of therapy. I have a Master’s in Psychology from New York University and am currently a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Adelphi University, where my research focuses on the therapeutic relationship and moments of rupture and repair in therapy. My approach tends to be psychodynamic, which means I am interested in how your past and present speak to one another. I want to understand the relationships, beliefs, losses, and experiences that have shaped the way you feel, cope, and relate to others today.
In practice, this means we may pay attention to patterns that repeat across relationships, roles you have learned to take on, emotions that feel difficult to express, and parts of yourself you may have learned to hide or protect. I am also interested in learning about your previous experiences with therapy, including what has helped, what has not helped, and what may have felt misunderstood. Whether therapy is something you are brand-new to or has been part of your life for a long time, we can work together in a way that is thoughtful, respectful, and responsive to your pace.
Having worked with underprivileged adolescents and adults recovering from addiction, I bring a nonjudgmental understanding of the many ways people cope with difficult circumstances. I hope to help you reduce painful emotions, better understand the patterns that keep you feeling stuck, and develop a more honest and flexible relationship with yourself and the people in your life.
What People Are Saying
“It felt like we really rolled up our sleeves and delved into my thoughts, beliefs, fears together. It was a truly collaborative experience.”
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We provide online therapy for New York residents. We accept many commercial plans, including NYCE PPO. We do not accept Medicaid or Medicare. Some plans may be out-of-network and/or have high deductibles and may cost $160 per session.
