Ryan Stingel

Thank you for making the brave and difficult choice to prioritize your own wellbeing. Everyone struggles at some point throughout their lives. These challenges can often be draining both mentally and emotionally. However, there is strength in accepting a helping hand. I am a licensed professional counselor whose practice was built on a passion for working with children, adolescents, and young adults. I believe the therapeutic relationship serves as an immensely powerful vehicle for change in clients’ lives. I will collaborate and partner with you to develop a treatment approach that will best meet your individual needs.

I obtained my education from Rider University, where I received both Master of Arts and Education Specialist degrees in Counseling Services. My clinical background draws from a well of experience in the role of a school-based mental health and substance use clinician. Over the past 4 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with children aged 5-18 and families from all walks of life. I specialize in working to treat issues including anxiety, depression/low mood, grief/ loss, and substance use. I also incorporate aspects of various treatment modalities in my work with clients, pulling from therapeutic models such as CBT, DBT, Person-Centered, ACT, SFBT, and more.

It would be an honor to play a small part in your journey. Together, we can illuminate the tools for change and ensure that you are equipped with the support you deserve. Feel free to reach out to see if I may be the right fit for you. “Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give situations" -Alfred Adler

I believe that no one therapeutic approach will ever suit every client's needs. Instead I work with each client to determine their individual treatment goals. We will then pair those objectives with evidence-based techniques and principles from one or more appropriately matched treatment models. I often incorporate aspects of both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance/Commitment Therapy — not as buzzwords, but as genuinely useful frameworks for helping clients understand their own minds. CBT helps people recognize the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, while ACT promotes cognitive flexibility: learning to stop fighting difficult emotions and start living alongside them harmoniously. I also utilize Motivational Interviewing, which can be helpful when a client is ambivalent about participating in the therapeutic process. For clients struggling with substance use, grief, or big transitions, I draw on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy to help us identify what's working and what isn't.

The therapist/client dynamic is a collaborative partnership. I believe wholeheartedly that the therapeutic relationship serves as a vehicle for real and sustainable change in a client's life. In the early stages of treatment, I always take time to build rapport with a client. I need to enter into a client's world and sit with them in their struggles in order to fully understand them. The client is the expert in their own life, and as such I express a desire to be taught what it means to be them. We will always respect a client's experiences by taking the time needed to fully unpack them, while also investing our attention toward the establishment of specific and measurable treatment goals to strive for.