Anxiety and depression therapists and psychiatrists in Springfield, MA

Welcome. My goal is to provide support, guidance, and encouragement in helping you to recognize what you already know about yourself...you willingness to try. In this world, with so many changes and stressors, it can be a good starting point.

My focus is in anxiety, life transitions, grief, and depression.

I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who runs a private practice called Next Play Therapy. I work with adolescents, young adults, adults, and athletes. My background includes both school-based counseling and outpatient therapy, where I’ve helped clients manage anxiety, stress, depression, self-esteem challenges, and life transitions. I also have experience coaching high school athletics, which has shaped my passion for helping athletes build confidence and mental resilience. My goal is to create a supportive space where clients feel comfortable, understood, and empowered to move forward.

I am caring person who uses a open and compassionate approach in helping you to better understand your own needs. I use a skill building style that will build your relationships with others and provide you with interpersonal effectiveness to use in all of your important connections.

JULY openings! I believe good mental health is the key to happiness and balance in life. Seeking help can be one of the hardest parts, and finding a “good fit” can be even more challenging! I’ve been practicing for 15 years, but in the last decade, have shifted my main focus to adults and couples that are working to improve their mental health and communication.

Hello, I’m Adedayo, a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over 10 years of healthcare experience including experienced across medical-surgical, skilled nursing, inpatient psychiatric care, and addiction medicine settings. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Boston and my Master’s degree in Psychiatric Mental Health from South College in Tennessee.

I specialize in treating adults ages 18–65 experiencing anxiety, depression, mood disorders, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, bipolar disorder, substance use concerns, and other chronic mental health conditions. I have a strong passion for supporting individuals navigating life transitions, trauma, and emotional overwhelm. My approach integrates comprehensive psychiatric assessment, personalized medication management, and brief therapeutic interventions to provide holistic, evidence-based care.

I believe mental health treatment should feel collaborative, respectful, and empowering. My goal is to create a safe, stigma-free space where you feel heard and supported. I value shared decision-making, open communication, and individualized care plans that reflect your unique needs and strengths.

Above all, I am committed to helping you build resilience, restore balance, and move toward a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

I've been in practice for thirty years, working with clients of all ages. I have Master's Degrees in Counseling and Religious Studies, with concentrations in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, DBT, EMDR and Expressive Therapies.

Rooted in my graduate training at the University of Rhode Island, I developed expertise in both general clinical and health psychology. I developed a programmatic line of research in health promotion (adoption and maintenance of multiple health behaviors including exercise, smoking cessation and nutritious eating) with a particular focus on exercise motivation as a gateway to adopting other health behaviors.

During my internship and postdoctoral training at VA Connecticut and VA Boston, respectively, my research evolved towards integrating health behavior change (e.g., exercise adoption and maintenance) with veterans suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain and PTSD. As I learned more about the biopsychosocial model of these medically and psychiatrically complex disorders, my ultimate goal became to help veterans better manage their pain and PTSD symptoms, utilizing health behavior change as a complementary component of their overall treatment program. With this approach, the ultimate goal was to help them improve their overall quality of life and well-being, long-term.

My patient oriented research experience, over the past thirteen years, directly informed my approach to my clinical work with individual patients. In fact, I worked for Newton-Wellesley Eating Disorders and Behavioral Medicine for the past fifteen years. As part of this work, I focused on helping individuals suffering from the full continuum of eating disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder) to sustain their recovery long-term and achieve "recovery maintenance" through establishment and achievement of additional life goals and to move beyond their "eating disorder" identity to a "whole person" identity to create a more meaningful life post-recovery. Additionally, as part of this practice, I treated patients suffering from anxiety, PTSD, chronic musculoskeletal pain and depression as well as veterans from the community.

I'm a board certified psychiatrist. I received my medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University and trained in psychiatry at the BIDMC Harvard Psychiatry Residency Training Program. I also completed a one-year fellowship in psychodynamic psychotherapy at Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.

I practice general adult psychiatry and specialize in women's mental health and reproductive psychiatry, young adult mental health, and LGBT+ mental health.