Maya Handwerk, LCSW

Maya Handwerk is a licensed clinical social worker with 15 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship and parenting concerns. She works with adults who are facing grief, anger, career shifts, bipolar challenges, and major life transitions. Maya aims to make the first steps toward change feel manageable and practical.

She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client-centered listening, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic ideas. Sessions focus on clear goals and small, doable changes that people can use between meetings. The tone is direct but warm, with attention to each person’s cultural background.

Maya’s background includes clinical and advocacy roles in education, legal, and community settings. She has experience collaborating with psychiatrists when medication or additional assessment is part of care. That experience informs how she coordinates and discusses treatment options with clients.

In the room she emphasizes skills you can practice at home. That can mean learning simple tools to lower anxiety, trying new ways to handle conflict, or noticing long-standing patterns that affect mood and relationships. She adapts approaches to each person’s needs rather than following a single formula.

Maya practices in New York and provides services in English. Her work includes attention to multicultural issues and to people with Caribbean and African American backgrounds. She encourages a step-by-step pace so clients can build confidence over time.

How therapy approaches work online

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person’s experience. The therapist reflects what matters to the client and helps people find their own solutions, which is useful for relationship stress and parenting concerns.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It teaches practical tools such as thought records and behavioral experiments to reduce anxiety, depression, and problem behaviors.

Mindfulness Therapy helps people notice emotions and bodily sensations without judgment. Simple mindfulness practices can reduce reactivity and support coping with grief, anger, and trauma reactions.

Finding the best fit is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try helpful techniques, and adjust the approach based on what works. That teamwork helps shape a plan that fits each person’s needs and preferences.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging, which gives flexibility for different days and schedules. Video works well for deeper conversations, phone can fit a work break or low bandwidth, chat or text can be used for shorter check-ins and skill practice. These options make it easier to keep consistent appointments and practice skills between sessions.