About Paul
Paul Pasternak is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based in New York. He has 25 years of experience helping people manage anxiety, depression, stress, and problems with relationships and parenting. He also supports people facing addiction, grief, anger, and life transitions.
Paul takes a client-centered, strength-based approach. He works with each person to identify the change they want and builds a Care Plan around those goals. Sessions focus on practical steps and measurable progress rather than abstract theory.
How Paul works
Motivational Interviewing is one of his preferred methods. That means he helps people find their own reasons for change and build momentum from what matters to them. He also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors.
Paul has worked in many settings over his career, which gives him a broad base of experience to draw on. He pays attention to past trauma and to strengths people already have, adjusting the plan as progress is made. The work is collaborative and paced to each person’s needs.
Starting therapy takes courage, and Paul frames it as a process that combines hope with steady effort. He meets people where they are and supports practical change toward the life they want.
Paul lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Paul works with
The areas below are the ones Paul selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Family conflicts
- Anger management
- Self esteem
Also listed
- 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
Training and background
| Register | LMHC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 25 |
| 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 and online options that fit your life
Paul uses Client-Centered Therapy to focus sessions on what matters most to the person. That approach emphasizes listening, building on strengths, and letting the client guide the goals and pace of change. It can help when someone wants a respectful, collaborative process.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is used to identify unhelpful thoughts and try different actions. CBT provides concrete tools for anxiety, depression, stress, and behavior change so people can see measurable progress.
Motivational Interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change and build motivation step by step. It pairs well with goal-focused plans and can be useful for addiction, behavior change, and ambivalence about next steps.
Deciding which approach to use is a joint process. The therapist will work with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences and will adjust the plan as work progresses. This collaborative process helps keep the focus on what the client wants to achieve.
Online therapy is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls let people have longer, face-to-face conversations. Phone sessions can fit a break at work or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to check in between sessions or when a quick touchpoint helps keep momentum. These options increase flexibility and make it easier to keep therapy consistent around daily 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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