I completed my five-year training in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, and have been in private practice since 2013. I am Director of Training at The Training Institute for Mental Health, where I develop curriculum, teach, and supervise psychoanalytic candidates and, I am certified in Psychoanalytic Supervision. I am a queer-identified therapist who is sex-positive and affirmative, and I have extensive expertise in issues facing trans, gender non-conforming, and/or LGBQ individuals. For parents of LGBTQ+ children and adolescents, I offer a supportive environment in which to explore the myriad feelings that can arise. I am committed to being an anti-racist clinician.
About Karen H Senecal-Davis, NcPsyA
Patient-Therapist Relationship
I believe that the best predictor of effective therapy is the quality of the patient-therapist relationship. My approach to treatment is empathic and collaborative. I am flexible and responsive to the particular needs and challenges of each individual patient.
My Approach
My approach is psychodynamic and interpersonal. Whether you are entering therapy to answer questions about how you operate in the world or are looking to develop new ways of coping, the therapeutic relationship we create together will bring you closer to yourself and the life you want. In our work together, we uncover and come to understand your unconscious drives and motivations. I will help you to ask questions of yourself – deep and profound questions – that help you to move below the surface. I will help you expand emotional tools and skills, whether you are in a situational crisis or on a longer journey to recover from past trauma.
I'm Here For You
While we engage in this important work, I will strive to help you feel accepted, held, contained, safe, and respected so that you can internalize the insights you gain through therapy and feel capable of reaching your goals in life, empowered to handle the conflict and crisis that will inevitably arise.
I like to engage in therapy in an empathetic, nonjudgmental, intelligent, thoughtful, witty, courageous, curious, and honest way, and to bring out the same qualities in you.