Jennifer Stone, LCSW-R
Therapy for Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Problems, Confidence Building, Body Image, Relationship Challenges, Struggles with Dating and Adjustment and Stress related to Parenthood.
“Change the way you think to change how you feel and what you do.”
Approach
Cognitive behavior therapy is an active type of treatment focused on learning how our thoughts affect our emotions and behavior. I like to think of it as being a “detective of your mind,” where you learn how to examine your thoughts. We typically accept our thoughts to be true, to be fact. What if our thoughts are unhelpful, distorted or dysfunctional? What if they are not true?
For me, what has really stuck is that we do not have to work so hard at changing how we feel because we do not control our feelings! It is an impossible feat because nobody would ever choose depressed or angry; rather, the focus is on experimenting with looking at things differently and changing our behavior. It is this concept that has been life-changing for me and my clients over the years. The ultimate goal is teaching you how to be your own therapist.
about me
I was born and raised on the east coast and like most millennials, I came to believe I can do anything. This left so many choices that it was almost too hard to figure out my strengths or if there was a possible skill that has been left untapped that I was unaware of for all of these years. What "should” I be doing? What was I meant to do? I want to do something that matters.
I always loved talking to people one on one and getting an opportunity to really know someone. I guess my mom was right- always preferred one friend at a time instead of five. My interest in understanding how our perception about things, or rather our story can change how we feel, paved the way for me to pursue a career in talk therapy. This concept of thinking about my thinking drew me to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).
I completed my training at New York University, the Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, the Ellis Institute of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, The Feeling Good Institute with David Burns and the Gottman Institute. Prior to transitioning into private practice, I was the Director of Mental Health at a network of community mental health centers both managing and providing mental health services to adults, adolescents and children. It was in this setting that I started to specialize in working with depression and anxiety and honed my skills in a variety of types of therapeutic models that are evidence-based such as cognitive behavior therapy.
Outside of practicing therapy, I live in Brooklyn, enjoy a good workout class and playing with my puppy, paint as much as I can, and drink too much coffee and not enough water (life goal).