Simona Ostrow

Simona Ostrow is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York who focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, career concerns, and coping with life changes. She also supports people dealing with caregiver stress, chronic illness or pain, loneliness, social anxiety, workplace challenges, and women's issues. Her approach centers on practical steps clients can use between sessions.

She believes people know their stories best and brings that respect into each session. Simona combines clear, skill-based work with space to talk through what feels hard. Sessions often include learning new ways to notice thoughts, manage strong emotions, and solve everyday problems.

Simona uses methods drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). That means she helps people test unhelpful thinking patterns, build coping skills, and tolerate difficult feelings without getting overwhelmed. These approaches are useful for mood disorders, stress, and trouble managing intense emotions.

Her style is warm and straightforward. She offers practical tools and small experiments to try between meetings. Simona also pays attention to life goals like career direction, communication at work, and rebuilding self-respect after setbacks.

With about 20 years of experience, Simona balances skill teaching and supportive listening. She checks messages several times per day Monday through Thursday and asks for patience if replies take a bit longer. To start, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions based on availability.

How CBT and DBT inform online care

Simona draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to guide online work. CBT focuses on spotting and testing unhelpful thoughts and trying small behavior changes to reduce stress and low mood. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and workplace stress. DBT emphasizes building skills to tolerate strong emotions, improve interpersonal effectiveness, and manage distress without reacting in ways people later regret. It can be helpful for mood instability, intense reactions, and ongoing stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Simona will work with each person to figure out which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaboration shapes whether CBT skill practice, DBT emotion-regulation tools, or a mix of both best serves the work ahead.

If you prefer online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow sessions during short breaks from work. It also lets people try out coping tools in everyday settings and bring real-life situations into the conversation for focused practice.