Monica Sicilia, Ph.D.

People often come to therapy curious, confused, frustrated, in pain—eager for something new and, perhaps, fearing the unknown. They come on their own or because a parent, partner, employer, or school leads them towards it. Whatever brings you to therapy or the search for a therapist, it brings you closer to feeling and thinking deeply about your experiences together with someone who can sit alongside you and help make sense of things with you. The individuals and families I've worked with, as well as my own personal experiences, have shown me that people find a way to communicate their experiences courageously and persistently. I believe that meeting those communications with curiosity and empathy can help restore emotional balance when it’s lost and that this process can open up new experiences and new understandings of the struggles that often bring people to therapy. My training is rooted in psychoanalytic theory and I approach therapy primarily from this perspective—with an understanding that our early experiences influence us in ways we know and some we don’t, that some things are scary and hard to know, that we can begin to know these things and have more freedom when we feel safe enough and can depend on others. I keep this in mind and listen closely as I work with patients and families to define and make progress toward their goals. Contact me we can talk about what brings you, your child, or your family to therapy and how I can help.