Michael Serpico

Sometimes individuals are brought to therapy not on their own volition, but because they've been prompted to do so. Perhaps they lack awareness and insight into their own problems. I help individuals gain awareness and develop insight, and teach how their problems not only affect themselves, but others as well. Personality disorders are of particular interest to me, given I learned to overcome some of my own narcissistic tendencies in therapy.

We sometimes "catch" our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents trauma and/or hurts. Although they are not taught to us, I believe we certainly can inherit them. It is up to us whether or not we want to perpetuate the trauma or unhealthy patterns, or strive to reverse those patterns, and create lasting meaningful change which we can adopt, as well as pass on to future generations.

As an individual who has had several addictions and learned to overcome them, I feel I am qualified to treat such afflictions. Experience is certainly a good indicator for positive prognostic outcomes. No amount of training, education, or certifications is comparable to having had the affliction and overcome it. And as someone who lost a sibling to an overdose, this area of focus is particularly salient to me.

As a proponent of interpersonal theory, and a disciple of Harry Stack Sullivan's work, I use Sullivan's approach of treating individuals with respect, empathy, kindness, and compassion (not only the people I work with).

I am a relationally psychoanalytic oriented psychotherapist. I combine tenets of drive theory, ego psychology, object relations, and self-psychology to provide support and feedback to the people I work with, in an effort to help them navigate personal life challenges.