Dr. Kathy Cosgrove

I am a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience in individual therapy with adolescents, teenagers, and adults. I received my undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross, post-baccalaureate from Columbia University, and doctorate from Fordham University. Having served as the Director of Student Support Services and the School Psychologist at the Marymount School of New York for nearly two decades, alongside a private practice, I have seen the landscape of mental health drastically change and have worked diligently to address the needs through individual therapy, parent education, and systemic changes. My experience working within the college counseling centers and the Veterans Health Administration have also informed my work as a clinician.

I believe the therapy process has two steps (which can occur simultaneously). The first step in therapy is to manage the reason you started therapy by developing coping strategies, processing feelings, and addressing ways of thinking that get in the way of being healthy. As the crisis or symptoms become manageable, it is then important to engage in self-exploration of one's life history and patterns of being in the world to ensure long-standing change and self-awareness.

The first session can feel weird, relieving, scary, helpful, and a whole range of other (sometimes conflicting) emotions. Its goal is to start the process of being known and building a relationship, so the session will balance basic questions, initial insights, problem-solving, and the start of connection.