Dr. Tema Watstein

I am a clinical psychologist working with professionals, emerging adults, and couples. In treatment I strive for flexibility and spaciousness in the relational process.

My clinical focus is to help patients transform unformulated experience and distress into a more integrated narrative, facilitating confidence, authenticity and readiness for new relationships.

While psychodynamic in orientation, I view my practice as integrative. Looking at patterns present in affect, behavior, and cognition, as well as through interpersonal experience, I endeavor to meet each patient where they are.

I have extensive experience in couples and group therapy, particularly with non-monogamous and queer-identified populations. My clinical approach is informed by Emotion Focused Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Mindfulness. At the same time, developmental history and early attachment patterns remain fundamental to my understanding of people. I view it as an immense privilege, coupled with high responsibility, to be entrusted with someone’s vulnerability. I believe in the utility of a strong working alliance, and strive to make the patient feel both understood and empowered throughout the evolution of treatment.

I earned my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at CUNY City College. I also hold a Masters in Violin Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where I subsequently served as a therapist in residence. I was formerly a violinist in the NYC-based quartet, ETHEL. My musical background and capacity for self-observation continue to inform my practice as a therapist. It is my experience that therapy provides a valuable stage, one on which the patient and I can imagine a different repertoire of human experience together.