Paul Pasternak
Calm guidance for family and life changes
- Credentials
- LMHC
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed in
- New York
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Paul
Paul Pasternak is a licensed mental health counselor who focuses on family and parenting concerns among other issues. He practices in New York and brings 25 years of experience to sessions. He helps people who are coping with anxiety, depression, stress, addiction, grief, and relationship problems.
His approach is steady and practical, aimed at helping a person move forward when life feels stuck. He listens first and follows the client’s lead to set goals.
Background and approach
He builds a Care Plan tailored to each person’s situation and adjusts it as progress is made. He uses tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing to address thinking patterns and to boost motivation for change. Sessions with him emphasize strengths and practical steps.
He pays attention to past trauma and how it shapes current problems. Conversations are grounded and direct, focused on real-world changes rather than jargon. Paul’s background includes work across many settings over a long career, which gives him a wide base of experience to draw on.
He guides people through transitions such as career shifts, divorce, or aging-related concerns. The work aims to turn hope and effort into measurable progress. Therapy starts with a short intake to identify goals and create the initial Care Plan.
From there Paul tracks progress and makes adjustments so the work stays relevant to each person’s needs.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Paul uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a supportive space where the person’s own goals guide the work. This approach focuses on listening, reflecting, and helping people identify the changes they want to make.He also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which looks at how thoughts and behaviors interact. CBT helps people find practical ways to reduce anxiety, change unhelpful patterns, and try new ways of coping with stress and depression.
Motivational Interviewing is used when someone needs help finding the drive to change. It focuses on building motivation and resolving mixed feelings about making different choices, which can be helpful for addiction, lifestyle shifts, or parenting changes.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. He will talk with clients about goals and preferences, then recommend methods that fit the person’s situation. The plan can change over time as needs evolve, and decisions are made collaboratively.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for busy lives. These options let people connect from home, fit therapy into a schedule, and use the format that feels most comfortable while continuing the same therapeutic work.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Motivational Interviewing
A way of working through mixed feelings about change without being pushed. The therapist helps you weigh things up and find your own reasons, which often makes a difficult decision feel less stuck.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Family conflicts
- Anger management
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Paul
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point