Group Therapy

Leaders: Lily Schwartz, PhD and Lauren Hoffman, PsyD
Location: Virtual
Age Range: 14-17
Meeting Time: Mondays 6-7:30pm, 1x (90 minutes) per week for 10-12 weeks
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans, otherwise $185/session
Other Notes: Actively recruiting, outside therapist or psychiatrist required
Description: Groups address anxiety in social situations (e.g., making new friends, participating in class), avoidance, and fear of being negatively evaluated by others.

Leader: Anne Marie Albano, PhD, ABPP
Location: Virtual
Meeting Time: TBA
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee and NYP Employee Insurance Plans, otherwise $185/session
Other Notes: Actively Recruiting
Description: This program is presented in a 5-session, one time per week, virtual group learning approach to practice skills and increase self-efficacy in parenting anxious young adults in anxiety provoking and developmentally challenging situations (e.g., job/college interviews, dating, assertiveness).

Leader: Erin Engle, PsyD
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Tuesdays 5:45-7:00pm
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Open group, internal therapist or psychiatrist required
Description: Everyone needs to find a way to cope with stress and related mood changes in their life. This group will teach you techniques and strategies designed to help you maximize your strengths, manage emotions, improve relationships, and live mindfully. As part of the Coping Skills Group, you will learn to: reduce the physical symptoms of stress, change unhelpful self-talk, identify and regulate emotions, set boundaries in relationships and nurture healthy ones, improve self-care and self-esteem, and utilize and practice mindfulness to break the cycle of worry.

Leader: Anne Marie, PhD, ABPP
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: Parents of young adults who are 18-28
Meeting Times: 1x (90 minutes) per week for 5-6 weeks
Insurance/Cost: $175/session
Other Notes: Open group
Description: A component of our Launching Emerging Adults Program (LEAP) at CUCARD is a brief psycho-educational and skills group for parents of emerging adults with anxiety disorders. This group is ideal for parents of young adults who have been experiencing distress or "failure to launch" and meet the demands of emerging adulthood due to anxiety.

Leaders: Anne Marie, PhD, ABPP, Blake Zakarin, PhD and Lauren Hoffman, PsyD
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: 18-28
Meeting Times: 1x per week (90 minutes) for 10-12 weeks, OR winter break and summer break intensive groups (5x week for 2 weeks).
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $175/session
Other Notes: Open group, outside therapist or psychiatrist required
Description: As a part of our Launching Emerging Adults Program (LEAP), CUCARD midtown offers groups for young adults ages 18-28 who are experiencing distress or interference in functioning due to social anxiety. Groups are presented in an exposure-based approach to reduce anxiety and increase self-efficacy in managing anxiety-provoking and developmentally challenging situations (e.g., job/college interviews, dating, assertiveness).  

Leaders: Anne Marie, PhD, ABPP, Blake Zakarin, PhD, and Lauren Hoffman, PsyD
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: 18-28, preparing to go (or go back to) college
Meeting Times: Meets in summer, 5x per week (90 minutes) for 2 weeks
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $175/session
Other Notes: Open group
Description: Groups are part of our Launching Emerging Adults Program (LEAP). The main aim of the group is to assist emerging adults with gaining knowledge and skills to aid the transition to college and to foster independence in meeting one’s needs and responsibilities.

Leaders: Anne Marie, PhD, ABPP, Blake Zakarin, PhD and Lauren Hoffman, PsyD
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: 18-28
Meeting Times: 3x or 5x per week for 1, 2, or 3 weeks
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $175/session
Other Notes: Open group, outside therapist or psychiatrist required
Description: Groups are offered as a part of our Launching Emerging Adults Program (LEAP) and are for emerging adults (ages 18-28) who are having difficulty managing the transition into adulthood. The main aim of the group is to assist young adults with gaining independence and mastering daily tasks.

Leaders: Sarah Frankel, PhD, Blake Zakarin, PhD, and Anne Marie, PhD, ABPP
Location: 3 Columbus Circle
Age Range: 28+
Meeting Times: 1x per week (90 minutes) for 10-12 weeks
Insurance/Cost: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $175/session
Other notes: Open group, outside therapist or psychiatrist required
Description: Groups are for adults who experience anxiety in social situations. Groups focus on building coping skills, cognitive reframing to challenge anxious thoughts, and exposure exercises in session and in-vivo to reduce anxiety in social situations.

Leader: Julia Vakhrusheva, PhD
Location: 710 W. 168th Street
Age Range: 18-28
Meeting Time: Thursdays 5:00-6:00pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Open group, outside therapist or psychiatrist recommended
Description: If you’re struggling with mood and anxiety, regulating emotions, building relationships, or developing a plan for the future, this skill-focused group may be for you. The group will focus on teaching skills, providing support, and exploring strategies for: emotion regulation, stress management, managing unhelpful thoughts, exploring personal values and identity, and building confidence.

Leader: Adrienne Mishkin, MD
Location: 710 W. 168th Street
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Tuesdays 12:00-1:00pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Open group
Description: This group is dedicated to helping those whose lives have been disrupted by chronic medical problems or difficulties related to their medical healthcare. Topics include helping friends and loved ones understand your unique medical situation, and considering how medical illness impacts employment and career, relationships and starting families, socializing and enjoyment of daily living. We will offer a space to connect with others who share in coping and adjusting to their medical conditions. Peer support will serve to validate feelings, provide hope, and enhance community. Group techniques will emphasize perspective taking and improvement strategies, while investigating possibilities within your situation.

Leader: Jenna Bass, PhD 
Location: 710 W. 168th Street
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Thursdays 12:00-1:00pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Open group
Description: Building Better Relationships The Relationships Group is an interpersonally focused process group for those who are seeking to change their relationships, develop new relationships, or learn more about how they relate to others. This group offers skills and support to improve coping strategies to negotiate relationships, identify your limits and set boundaries, improve self-care, reduce stress, and much more.

Leader: Kathleen McIntyre, MSW
Location: 710 W. 168th Street
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Wednesdays 11:00am-12:15pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Closed group
Description: The purpose of this group is to provide a collaborative learning space for Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills using a strengths-based and trauma-informed lens. This group offers complete coverage of DBT skills in core mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. Additional content includes skills to improve participants' sense of mastery over flashbacks, triggers, and other experiences of emotion dysregulation that can often lead to ineffective coping behaviors. Experiential grounding skills to decrease dissociation and present-centered techniques to access post-traumatic growth are explored where relevant. Participants are welcome to join the group at any time and no specific diagnosis is required.

Leader: Erin Engle, PsyD
Location: 710 W. 168th Street
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Wednesdays 5:00-6:00pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee and NYPH Employee Insurance Plans Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Other Notes: Closed group
Description: Everyone needs to find a way to cope with stress and related mood changes in their life. This group will teach you techniques and strategies designed to help you maximize your strengths, relax, and live mindfully. As part of the Stress Management Group, you will learn to: reduce the physical symptoms of stress, change unhelpful self-talk, break the cycle of worry, set boundaries, improve self-care and self-esteem, and utilize and practice mindfulness to break the cycle of worry.

Leaders: Kareen Matouk, PhD
Location: Virtual
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 4-5 pm
Insurance/Cost: Aetna, Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $160/session
Description: This adult gender affirming psychotherapy group for transgender and gender nonbinary individuals offers support over the course of participants’ identity development. This may include such goals as exploring gender identity and expression, making informed decisions about gender-affirming medical interventions, maintaining strong relationships with family and friends, and pursuing other life goals. Topics addressed may include coping with minority stress, finding a comfortable gender expression, support from transgender and gender non-binary peers, self-acceptance, sexuality and relationships, and family and community.

Leader: Nicholas Crimarco, PhD
Location: ColumbiaDoctors Tarrytown
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Tuesdays 5:00 – 6:30pm
Cost/Insurance: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $150/session
Other Notes: Open group, outside therapist required
Description: This group is intended for parents of students who are struggling to attend school consistently due to anxiety. The group will review specific strategies to talk with your children about their anxiety and other difficult feelings they are having and provide behavioral strategies to help increase your children’s motivation to attend school.  The group is also meant to provide an environment for parents to support each other in effectively managing their children’s school-related anxiety.

Leader: Allison Winik, PhD
Location: ColumbiaDoctors Tarrytown
Age Range: 18+
Meeting Time: Fridays 11:30 AM-1:00 PM
Cost/Insurance: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $150/session
Other Notes: Open group, outside therapist not required
Description: This group is intended for parents of children ages 8-14 who struggle to comply with directions, act defiantly, or engage in disruptive behavior. The group will focus on identifying behaviors to change, increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing problem behaviors, applying appropriate rewards and consequences for children’s behavior, generalizing progress across home and school settings, and helping parents with stress management and self-care.

Leader: Nicholas Crimarco, PhD
Location: ColumbiaDoctors Tarrytown
Age Range: 18-28
Meeting Time: Fridays 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (Beginning February 1st 2019)
Cost/Insurance: Columbia University Employee Insurance Plan Accepted, otherwise $150/session
Other notes: Open group, outside therapist required
Description: CUCARD Westchester will be providing group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targeting issues pertaining to young adults. The group will consist of 8-10 sessions, and will focus on factors that may be contributing to distress, social anxiety, and difficulties related to young adult transitions. Group sessions are interactive, and include role-play and exposure exercises to improve one’s ability to gain confidence when negotiating social, interpersonal, family, and academic situations. Group will also focus on improving social skills and problem-solving ability, within the framework of decreasing avoidant behaviors and increasing adaptive behaviors. Group will include an emphasis on learning about the nature of anxiety, guidance in challenging self-defeating thoughts, and rehearsal of coping skills to manage anxious thoughts and feelings. Through group CBT, patients will benefit from peer connection and support as they learn about factors associated with anxiety, and build skills to improve daily functioning, independent living skills, and overall quality of life.