Damara Israel, LCSW, LISW-CP

Damara Israel is a licensed clinical social worker based in New York with 12 years of experience. She focuses on helping people manage big life changes, work stress, and emotional struggles. Her approach centers on practical steps that clients can use between sessions to feel steadier day to day.

She often helps people facing addiction, grief, anger, and career transitions. She also supports those dealing with compassion fatigue, isolation, and issues around control or impulsivity. Damara pays close attention to how life roles and work demands shape emotions and choices.

Sessions are collaborative and goal oriented. She uses tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy alongside mindfulness and motivational interviewing techniques. Conversations focus on noticing patterns, testing new behaviors, and building clearer communication with others.

Damara describes her style as compassionate and direct. She offers a calm, nonjudgmental space for people to talk through painful feelings and plan next steps. The emphasis is on small, realistic changes that add up over time.

She brings a trauma-informed and culturally responsive perspective to her work. That means she pays attention to how past experiences and cultural background shape current struggles. People who want practical strategies and steady support often find this approach useful.

CBT and Skills-Based Support Available Online

Damara uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and test out new ways of behaving. CBT is useful for changing patterns that feed anxiety, low mood, or problematic habits.

She also draws from Dialectical Behavior Therapy for building emotion regulation and distress-tolerance skills, and from Mindfulness Therapy to strengthen present-moment awareness and reduce reactivity. DBT tools can help with impulsivity and intense emotions, while mindfulness practices support calmer attention and clearer decision making.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, try techniques together, and adjust methods based on what works. Clients help shape which skills and strategies get emphasized over time.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video is good for deeper conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text messaging work well for shorter check-ins, ongoing coaching, or quick skill reminders between meetings.