Whole Person Therapy in New York
A non-judgmental approach that considers all of you: mind, body and relationships. In person in Union Square and across New York by tele-health.
You are not alone.
I believe everyone who sits with me deserves a space to bring whatever they need to bring, free of judgment and free of shame. No topic is taboo. No topic is off-limits. There is nothing you could say in this room that would be met with anything but acceptance and understanding, whatever you have done, or not done, wanted, or not wanted.
Because we do not heal what we will not say out loud. You do not need a diagnosis, the perfect words, or a clean version of the story to begin. You can bring the real thing, the whole thing, even the part you have never told anyone. You are not alone in it, and you do not have to carry it alone anymore.
HOW I WORK
I draw on approaches with real evidence behind them, and I match them to what is actually in your way. No single method is the point. You are.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure
For the thoughts and behaviors that keep a problem running, including exposure-based work when avoidance is part of it.
Acceptance and commitment therapy
For making room for hard feelings while you keep moving toward what matters to you
Dialectical behavior therapy skills
For steadying strong emotions and getting through the moments that overwhelm you.
Psychodynamic work
For the patterns that run deeper than the moment, the ones that repeat until they are understood.
I give you direct, honest support and honest feedback, and I will tell you the truth as I see it. The goal is for you to leave not needing me. We do the work together in the room, and we make sure it holds up in your life, not just in here.
MY METHOD
I believe in a whole person approach to therapy. You are one connected person, not a stack of separate problems. Your body, your mind, and your relationships are always talking to each other, so we pay attention to all three. None of them comes first. They come together:
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What you are struggling with often lives partly in the body. If your sleep is wrecked, caffeine is running the show, or something physical is feeding how you feel, talk alone will not fix it. I am not a physician, and I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. I make sure you have had a recent physical, and I work alongside your doctor and other trusted practitioners, so the body is part of the picture, not an afterthought.
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New behaviors are not created through new insights. They are created through new experiences. We aim to identify your patterns outside of the therapy space and how you can create new, empowering patterns that will lead to more positive experiences in your day-to-day life aligned with who you are and where you want to go as a human.
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The quality of your life tracks the quality of your relationships. We do the work so you can show up the way you want to, at home, in love, at work and at play.
HOW IT WORKS - Starting is simple, and purposeful.
01.
A free 15-minute video consult. I hear a little about what is bringing you in, you get to hear how I work and ask me anything you need to.
02.
One first session. We spend a full session together and see how it feels.
03.
If it feels right, we move forward with weekly sessions.
USING INSURANCE
You may be able to use your health insurance to help pay for therapy.
The steps below show you what your plan covers, in about a minute.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR BENEFITS
1. Open the benefits checker: calculator.meetnirvana.com
2. Enter your insurance information.
3. When it asks for your provider, enter the name Samuel Guzzardi. Sam is the licensed clinician who supervises my work, and your benefits are checked under his name.
4. The checker shows your out-of-network mental health benefits right away.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Whether your plan covers out-of-network therapy.
How much of your yearly deductible you still have to meet.
How much of each session your plan pays back.
How many sessions your plan allows each year.
HOW IT WORKS WITH ME
If your plan has out-of-network benefits, you can use them toward our work together. In simple terms, you pay for your sessions, and your plan pays part of that back to you, based on your coverage. I take care of the paperwork that makes that possible. If insurance is not the right fit, I also see clients on a sliding scale. We go over all of it on the free consult call, so nothing is a surprise.
WHO AM I? HOW DID I GET HERE?
I am drawn to people who have to stay well while they keep showing up, and to people in the middle of a big transition, a divorce, a career change, the ground moving under them. I want you to be able to do the work you came here to do and still have a life around it.
My purpose and my hope are the same; that anyone who comes into contact with me, or with my work, will feel at least a little less alone. Less alone in who they are, what they're feeling, what they're not feeling, what they've done, and what they didn't do.
Coupled with that is the belief that new behaviors are not created through new insights. They are created through new experiences.
Before I trained as a therapist, I lived several different lives. I never planned on such a twisting and turning path, but I'm ever grateful for it.
I served as a United States Navy rescue swimmer. I trained as an actor, with an MFA from Rutgers, where I studied under William Esper in the Meisner technique, and I have worked for years as a portrait photographer, with work in The New York Times and on Comedy Central. I am still an artist. I still act, and I still photograph.
For a decade I worked at the highest level of technology, inside a community of Fortune 70 chief information officers. It put me in the room with founders and senior technology leaders, and it let me watch, up close, what worked and what did not when the pressure was real and someone had to stand up and speak.
I have also spent years in higher education, teaching communication as an adjunct professor at the Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire.
The arts, business, the military, and the classroom: four very different worlds, and the same human questions run underneath all of them.
I am now completing my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University, and I see clients under the clinical supervision of a New York State licensed clinical social worker.
REACH ME
In person in Union Square and by telehealth across New York State.
Send a message and you will hear back within twenty-four hours.
You do not have to keep carrying this alone.
Your Questions, Answered
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Anxiety, stress and burnout, low mood, self-doubt, relationship strain, big transitions like a divorce or a career change, and the ordinary hard stretches that knock people off center. Because I work with the whole person, I also pay attention to sleep, energy, and anything physical that might be feeding how you feel, and I will point you toward the right medical or specialized care when that is what you need.
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Because your body and your mind are not separate. Sleep, blood sugar, hormones, caffeine, and stress all shape how you feel, and talk alone cannot fix a problem that is partly physical. I am not a physician and I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions, but I ask health questions at the start, I make sure you have had a recent physical, and I coordinate with your doctor and other trusted practitioners so the whole picture is covered.
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I match the method to the problem rather than forcing you into one school. Depending on what you need, that can include cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy skills, and psychodynamic work for deeper patterns. Underneath all of it, the relationship between us is what makes the work land.
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Adults and Couples across New York State dealing with the ordinary hard things: anxiety, stress, low mood, relationships, and big transitions. I have a soft spot for people who have to stay well while they keep showing up, on a stage, on set, in the boardroom, or running something they built. You do not need to be in crisis to come, and some people simply prefer to work with a man, which is reason enough.
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Yes. Stage fright, fear of public speaking, audition nerves, pitch and boardroom pressure, and the freeze that shows up right when you need to deliver. We work on it in a way that lasts, and if something physical is part of it, like sleep, caffeine, or blood sugar, we take that seriously too.
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I am a pre-licensed therapist. I am completing my Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University, and I practice under the clinical supervision of a New York State licensed clinical social worker.
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As long as the work takes, and no longer. We always keep some kind of goal in view, even when the goal is simply for you to need me less. I am not trying to keep you forever.
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Yes. In person in Union Square, and by secure telehealth anywhere in New York State