Robert Kelly

When we first meet, I will ask you, “What brings you here?” Through my questions, I will help you identify your major concerns and goals. By the end of the first session, you should have a good gut feeling as to whether or not I am a good fit as your therapist and we should have a good beginning sense of how our work should proceed.

I started at NYU majoring in math but after earning a second major in psychology, I realized that my true calling was in the helping professions. I then got my master’s degree in social work at Columbia University. My first job was at Presbyterian Hospital, helping patients and families cope with illness and loss. I also worked in the psychiatric emergency room with patients in serious mental health crises (often involving suicidality). My next experience was at a family guidance center, working with parents, children, and teenagers in crisis. I started my private practice at that time. I then began work as a school social worker in a middle school and in this position, I was able to work on the frontline of mental health, identifying anxiety, depression, and issues of self-harm in my students and referring them for the help they needed. Now, I am focusing exclusively on my work as a therapist. Doing this work has always been my passion.