About David
David Ackerman is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship friction, and life transitions. He brings 22 years of experience and a calm, direct manner to sessions. He is based in New York and conducts sessions in English, including with international clients.
He works one person at a time to build a practical plan for coping and change. Conversations focus on what is happening now and on small steps that reduce distress.
Background and approach
David listens closely and helps people try different ways of handling problems until something fits. His background blends several therapy traditions. He draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people notice painful thoughts without getting stuck in them.
He uses client-centered and emotionally-focused ideas to strengthen how people relate to themselves and others. Narrative techniques help people rethink unhelpful stories they tell about themselves. David has worked with a wide range of concerns, from addiction and bipolar mood challenges to grief, trauma, and compassion fatigue.
He also supports people dealing with parenting strain, body image, chronic illness, and job or career stress. He aims to keep sessions clear, practical, and focused on steps a person can try between meetings. People meet him for straight talk and steady support when problems feel confusing or overwhelming.
He collaborates on goals and adjusts the plan as life changes. The result is a therapy process shaped around each person's needs and pace.
How David blends approaches for online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without letting those experiences control actions; it is useful for anxiety, stress, and getting unstuck during life changes. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting so people feel understood and can explore what matters to them; it is helpful for self-esteem, relationship concerns, and grief. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) centers on identifying and expressing emotions in ways that improve important relationships and intimacy issues.Finding the right mix of approaches is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to identify goals, try methods that match those goals, and adjust the plan based on what helps. That means sessions can shift their focus over time as needs change and progress is made.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when visual cues matter. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for brief updates, coaching prompts, or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into work, travel, or busy family routines while keeping the work focused on real-life changes.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- 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
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English
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