Aleksandra Kapitonova

If you're a woman or mother who feels disconnected from your identity, your body, or the life you thought you'd have, you're in the right place. Maybe you're exhausted in a way that talking alone hasn't touched. Maybe motherhood cracked something open that you're still trying to understand. Maybe therapy helped your mind, but your body never quite caught up. That gap is where I work.

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor with an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from New Jersey City University. I've worked clinically since 2022, in hospital-based outpatient treatment and most recently in a "mommy and me" halfway house program supporting mothers in recovery alongside their children. That's where I began applying somatic work and saw how strongly clients responded. I'm trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, a body-oriented approach that pays attention to your nervous system as well as your thoughts, and certified in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I also bring 200 hours of yoga teacher training and years of body-based awareness practice. Talk therapy remains a core part of our work. Sometimes we'll also notice what happens in your body as you speak, use grounding or breathwork, or track a sensation to help your nervous system settle. You're always in control of how far we go.

I primarily work with women and mothers navigating anxiety and burnout, trauma, postpartum and new-motherhood adjustment, identity shifts, body image, and major life transitions. As a mother of two girls and a Russian immigrant, I know the exhaustion, pressure, and disorientation these seasons can bring. I offer sessions in English and Russian, in person and by telehealth.

I see therapy as a collaborative process where we work with your mind and body together. I integrate evidence-based approaches with body-oriented work, so you leave with practical tools as well as deeper, lasting change.

From Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we look at the thought patterns and beliefs that keep you stuck, and practice new ways of responding. From Motivational Interviewing, which I used extensively in substance use treatment, I bring a nonjudgmental way of exploring mixed feelings about change, so the reasons for change are yours rather than something imposed. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you make room for difficult emotions instead of fighting them, while moving toward what matters to you. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy ties these together by bringing in the nervous system, so insight becomes something you feel and not just something you understand.

We'll begin by getting clear on what brings you in and what you want to change, then set goals together and check in on them regularly. Sessions balance reflection and processing with skills you can use between visits. My style is warm, direct, and curious, and I aim to make therapy a place where you feel understood and also equipped.

Here's what to expect when we meet for the first time:

1. We get to know each other. There's no pressure to tell me everything or to have your story organized. I'll ask what brought you in, what's been weighing on you, and a little about your life, health, and history.

2. We name what you want. I'll ask what you hope to get out of our work and what would tell you it's helping. That might be sleeping better, feeling less on edge, reconnecting with yourself, or simply having a space that's only yours.

3. We set a few clear goals. Together we'll shape goals to guide our work, and we'll revisit and adjust them as things change.

4. You experience the space. I aim to create a calm, unhurried environment where you can bring whatever is true for you. I have a long-standing personal mindfulness practice, and it shapes how I show up: present, steady, and curious rather than judgmental. Whatever you share, including the parts you feel ashamed of or confused by, is welcome here.

5. You decide if we're a good fit. You're free to ask me anything about how I work. By the end of the session, you'll have a sense of what the next few sessions might look like.