Yahya Madra

Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, in a family immersed in the arts, I have found my way to psychoanalysis after a two-decade long detour through researching and teaching political economy and history of economic thought in a string of prestigious institutions of higher education (University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Skidmore and Gettysburg Colleges, Boğaziçi University in Istanbul).

In 2016, when life brought me back to this side of Atlantic, to NYC, I have decided to pursue my long-running interest in psychoanalysis and began my training at National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. NPAP is an independent institution established by Theodor Reik for training and supporting lay analysts who are not trained as medical doctors, psychologists or social workers.

New York City is a unique place in the sense that it provides a route for an Economics PhD to become a psychoanalyst. I began working with analysands in 2018 as a part of my training. Since June of 2022, I am practicing as a New York State Licensed Psychoanalyst and a member of NPAP. Currently, I continue to teach as an associate professor of economics at Drew University, Madison NJ.

I offer psychoanalysis in-person (in Manhattan where Broadway meets the Fifth Ave.) or remotely. I work on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

As a psychoanalyst trained in Freudian and Lacanian traditions, my aim is to engage each individual's singular experience.

I work with individuals who are struggling with pursuing their desire, having difficulty with separation anxiety, suffering from depression, and wishing to invent a new way of being that is more in tune with who they are. Enjoyment is something everyone has trouble with, sometimes it's nowhere to be found, sometimes it's too much. At its best, psychoanalysis offers a way to make do with enjoyment.

The talking cure provides an exceptional space for you to say anything that comes to mind, to explore thoughts and emotions that you previously have not been able to voice even to yourself. I provide individual psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, a more intensive form of psychotherapeutic work.

I welcome Turkish speakers and all immigrants who find themselves caught in the in-between. I also welcome scholars and artists who wish to find their own voice by working through their symptoms and inhibitions. In my clinical practice, my aim is to engage each individual’s singular experience.