About David
David Ackerman is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in New York with 22 years of experience. He focuses on helping people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, and major life changes. He also supports people managing bipolar disorder, parenting concerns, and issues around intimacy and self-esteem.
David uses straightforward, conversational therapy. Sessions tend to be interactive and focused on practical steps people can use between meetings.
How David works
He listens for patterns in behavior and feeling, and then helps people test small changes that fit their life. His work draws on several therapy styles. Client-centered work keeps the person's goals central, while Acceptance and Commitment techniques help people accept difficult emotions and move toward valued actions.
Emotionally-Focused ideas help people notice and talk about attachment needs and hurt without getting stuck in blame. David also brings narrative and motivational interviewing elements to sessions. Narrative work looks at the stories people tell themselves and offers ways to reframe unhelpful narratives.
Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change, especially around addiction or stubborn habits. Over two decades in practice, he has experience with chronic health issues, trauma and abuse, eating and sleeping problems, career stress, compassion fatigue, and complex personality and attachment concerns. He aims to build a collaborative relationship and develop clear, usable coping strategies tailored to each person.
David lists 8 ways of working on the entry:
What David works with
The areas below are the ones David selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 22 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches for Online Change and Connection
David often integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Client-Centered Therapy in online work. ACT helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting ruled by them, then choose actions that reflect their values. This can be useful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening closely and following the person's goals, which helps people feel heard and clearer about next steps.He also draws on Emotionally-Focused Therapy ideas to help people name and move through strong emotions that block connection and wellbeing. Those techniques are helpful when relationship patterns, attachment needs, or intimacy concerns are central. Finding the right fit is part of the process; the therapist collaborates with each person to decide which approaches to try based on their goals and what feels helpful in session.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and nonverbal cues, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports brief check-ins, and text-based messaging lets people send updates between appointments. These options make it easier to maintain regular work on goals while fitting therapy into a busy life.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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