If you want a great relationship therapist, experience and training make all the difference. The therapists at Park Avenue Relationship Consultants (PARC) are all seasoned clinicians with over 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples, and families. Each PARC therapist has advanced postgraduate training and certification, providing them with a vital academic background as counselors and psychotherapists. At PARC, you will never be assigned to a junior therapist or supervisee. On the contrary, the PARC Group is composed of some of the best and most experienced relationship therapists in New York City. Read more about each of our therapists and counselors below.
Helping New Yorkers with their relationships since 2005.
Our Team of Expert Therapists
Navila Armon,
LCSW
Navila Armon maintains a private practice in Jericho, New York. She works with couples, families and individuals. As relational issues can be complex, Navila integrates a psychoanalytic and systemic approach which focuses on the dynamics of the couple/family unit, as well as individual histories and patterns of relating. She received her Bachelor’s Degree …
in Psychology from LIU Post University in Brookville, New York. She received her MSW from Adelphi University and completed four years of postgraduate training in Psychoanalysis at the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology. Navila also holds a certificate in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Spanish speaking – habla español.
Gail Grace,
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Gail Grace maintains a full time private psychotherapy and couple therapy practice in Manhasset, Long Island, where she works with couples, individuals and groups in the treatment of relationship issues, anxiety, depression, postpartum depression, eating disorders, grief and women’s health issues. She has presented papers at professional conferences in New York and …
internationally, lecturing on topics such as bereavement, time and the effect of loss on couples. Gail received her certificate in advanced training in adult psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health where she was also faculty. She is currently faculty at the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Program at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University. She was formally an associate editor for the Journal “Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy”.
Juliet Heeg,
LCSW
Juliet Heeg has maintained a private practice in the treatment of couples, families and individuals. Her specialties in couples’ and family work include: cross-cultural issues, life transitions, infidelity, grief, and working with illness in the family. She is certified in advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples through Ackerman’s EFT Program, and she received her advanced training in …
psychotherapy and psychoanalysis at the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Centre (PPSC). Juliet is Chair of PPSC’S ANNEX, a continuing education forum as well as the founder of “Shrinkrap,” a newsletter on mental health issues. Juliet has published on the subjects of happiness, loneliness, and money in Organic Spa Magazine and more recently published articles such as “Mind-Body Cancer Care” for Insiders’ Guide to Spas were she is the Mind-Body editor. Juliet is a member of the International Association of Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. She has presented internationally as well as at several professional venues in New York City.
Cindie Kastenbaum,
LCSW
Cindie Kastenbaum has worked with individuals and couples helping them to address unresolved conflicts and reflect upon their own emotional well-being and relationship decisions. She uses a psychodynamic approach to actively engage with her clients who are experiencing anxiety, depression, and issues of low self-esteem so they can realize their goals. She has been in private practice for many years …
and has post graduate training in couples and family therapy from the Akeman Institute. In addition, she has led Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) groups and trained group leaders at Washington Square Institute since 2003. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and a former board member of the Education Alliance and Columbia Presbyterian Health and Advisory Council.
Susan A. Klett,
Ph.D., Psy.D., LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Dr. Klett approaches her work with couples with a view towards deepening intimacy. She currently teaches Emotional Focused Couples Therapy at an analytic institute in New York City. She also has a strong interest in the impact of siblings on family relationships and often works with adult siblings in conflict. She has received a Humanitarian Award for her work with the victims and families of the World Trade Center …
Disaster and she has presented nationally and internationally on trauma and on the intergenerational transmission of trauma. She was formerly co-director of Washington Square Institute for Mental Health and is currently the Director of Professional Development for the New York State Society of Clinical Social Work. Her publications include “Empathy as Defense in Couple Therapy” in Psychoanalytic Psychology (2008) and “Analysis of The Incest Trauma: Retrieval, Recovery, Renewal” with Arnold Rachman, Ph.D. (2015). She has published various other Journal articles on couple treatment, trauma, eating disorders and the psychotherapeutic process. Dr. Klett is a past president of the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society and is a member of the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies as well as a member of the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work.
Elysa Newman,
LCSW
Elysa Newman has twenty-five years of combined experience working with individuals, couples and families. She maintains a private practice as well as having spent many years on staff at the Washington Square Institute in Greenwich Village. Elysa’s specialties include intimacy issues, anxiety and depression, stress, addiction, mood disorders, and low self-esteem. Using an emotionally focused, integrative approach, Elysa helps couples and individuals address conflict and the contributing factors in their relationships.
Elysa has post graduate training in couples and family therapy from the Ackerman Institute. She has also been trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy where she led groups at Washington Square Institute and currently teaches DBT in her private practice. Elysa received her MSW from Columbia University in the city of New York in 1995. She is currently a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Teletherapist Network (TN).
Gwenn A. Nusbaum,
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Gwenn Nusbaum is a Relational psychotherapist and psychoanalyst providing mental health treatment since 1983, with extensive experience treating trauma-related issues including reactions to stress, transition, and loss. She works with individuals and couples of all sexual orientations, as well as adults in therapy with their families. Having worked since 1990 with women having childhood histories of sexual trauma, Gwenn is also versed in helping people deal with secrets and other forms of relationship betrayals.
She is published in the area of trauma, loss, and recovery, as well as presented and taught widely on these and related subjects. She is senior faculty of the Postgraduate Institute Group Therapy Program and maintains affiliation with several training institutes including the National Association of Poetry Therapy. A published poet who has been mentored by renowned authors, Gwenn is also versed in working with writers and artists around writing blocks, fear of rejection and anxieties around publication. An Amherst Writers and Artists workshop leader, she has led workshops for vets using an affirmative approach to writing and reading one’s work. Gwenn has earned Honorary Mention, a Pushcart Nomination, and Gradiva nomination for her poetry which appears in several print and on-line poetry journals. “Woman in the Ward” appears in “Writing on the Moon: Stories and Poetry from the Creative Unconscious by Psychoanalysts and Others.”
Tucker Ranson,
LCSW
Tucker Ranson has maintained a private practice for twenty-five years, working with couples and individuals. Tucker is a graduate of Bellevue’s ongoing seminar in Family Therapy, as well as a graduate of NYU School of Social Work’s Seminar on Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Abusers. He received his psychoanalytic and psychotherapy training at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health and at…
…the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. A former president of the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society, he is currently a supervisor for the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance and is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Tucker is a former professional photographer whose work was included in “The Best of Life” magazine. He has retired as Director of a Treatment Program for seriously and persistently mentally ill substance abuse patients at Bellevue Hospital Center, Department of Psychiatry.
Susan Reifer,
LCSW
Susan’s works with couples focuses on communication skills, pre-marital preparation, and infidelity. Eating disorders and depression have also been the focus of her practice. Susan is a graduate of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health with certification in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. She received training in Family therapy at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.
Susan has maintained a private practice on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, working with individuals, couples, and families, for 27 years. Actively involved in the education of other mental health professionals, she has taught at Yeshiva University, the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work and the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. Susan has appeared on television, speaking on the topic of exercise and bulimia.
David Wyner,
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
David Wyner has been in private practice for over 30 years, specializing in couples’ counseling and individual psychotherapy. He spent 15 years as Director of the Riverdale Associates for Psychotherapy, where he taught and supervised other therapists.David was also affiliated with the Montefiore Medical Center where for over 25 years he provided clinical services to patients, and consultations and evaluations …
for the hospital. He has presented clinical and theoretical papers at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, where he also taught classes in psychotherapy. In addition he has presented papers at National and International meetings on such diverse subjects as world literature, music, specialized clinical problems and Theories of Play. In addition to his extensive background in different psychotherapeutic techniques, he also draws on his diverse teaching experience at The Julliard School of Music and The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Isaac Youcha
LCSW
Isaac Youcha was Director of Couple and Group Therapy at the Rockland County Mental Health Clinic for many years. He received “Teacher of the Year” award as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Alfred Einstein College of Medicine and was also Director of Group and Family Therapy Training at the Tremont Crisis Psychiatric Residency Training Program. Isaac was senior faculty at many psychotherapy and psychoanalytic training institutes in New York …
City including the Blanton Peale Institute for Religion and Health and the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. He presented many scientific papers at conferences nationally and internationally and had many of his papers published in professional journals and books. He is also a past president of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Association.
The Founding Therapists and Directors of Park Avenue Relationship Consultants
Barbara G. Feld
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Barbara Feld is an Associate Clinical Professor and Head of Residency Training and Supervision in Couple and Family Therapy at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. A Board Certified Diplomate, Barbara has maintained a full-time private practice for over 30 years where she has been helping individuals, couples, groups, and families better their relationships. She is a graduate of the Object Relations Theory and Therapy Program at the Washington …
School of Psychiatry and the Bronx State Family Studies Program. She is known for her writing about couple therapy, couples group therapy, her editing of 3 Journals on the topic, and for the many workshops and presentations she has given on these topics across the US. She has received the “Alonso Award for Excellence in Writing” from the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the “Lou Linn Award for Excellence in Teaching” from Mt. Sinai Dept. of Psychiatry. Barbara is an active member of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, where she served on the Board of Directors for many years and as Secretary for 2 terms. She has also served on numerous committees of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and was previously chair of the Family and Group Therapy committees of the New York City Society for Clinical Social Work of which she remains a member. She is also a member of the American Family Therapy Academy and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Barbara has also been on the editorial board of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society’s journal “Group” for many years.
In Memoriam:
Jerome Leff
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Jerome Leff was the Director of the Southampton Service of Park Avenue Relationship Consultants. A Board Certified Diplomate with many years of experience, he initially received his post graduate training and certification from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, in the treatment of families and couples, individual psychotherapy and psychoanalysis and group psychotherapy. Mr. Leff served for 30 years as the Associate Director of the Postgraduate Center Group and Family Therapy Program, the leading facility of its kind in the United States.
As a senior supervisor and faculty member, he trained and supervised junior therapists in individual, group and couples treatment. A member of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Association and the American Group Psychotherapy Association, he was a frequent presenter at National conferences. He achieved a distinguished academic and clinical career with offices in Southampton and Manhattan.
In Memoriam:
Harriet B. Pappenheim
LCSW, Board Certified Diplomate
Harriet Pappenheim was a well-known couple, family and individual therapist who was in private practice for many years, with an additional specialty in family business relationship counseling. She was featured on national radio and in national newspaper articles and appeared on such TV shows as Good Morning America and The Today Show. Her book Bringing Home the Bacon: Making Marriage Work When She Makes More Money (Harper Collins), …