James Leary(He/Him/His)

The world we live in is filled with conditions, from capitalism to climate upheaval, political polarization to consumer culture, that make finding our specific meaning and purpose especially daunting. In therapy, we can build a framework to synthesize what’s happening inside of you with the conditions of the world at large. My patients come to treatment to explore their history in addition to the here-and-now experience in the consulting room. I see therapy as a shared creative process where life experiences that feel messy and disordered can be explored and made sense of so that people can be freed to live the life they want.

Having spent a lifetime as an artist and professor of art, I have developed a comprehensive understanding of how creativity supports, expresses, and confirms human experience. In my work in the consulting room, I believe that creativity is a universal human capacity, one that is synonymous with being truly alive and responding with authenticity and vitality to life’s difficulties and opportunities.

I am a psychotherapist specializing in the psychodynamic and behavioral treatment of eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. My specialties include the treatment of trauma, helping individuals with disabilities navigate mental health, working with adoptees and adoptive families, exploring identity and embodiment with LGBTQ individuals, treating substance and alcohol misuse, and exploring love and intimate relationships. I have a bachelor's degree from Cooper Union (where I taught from 2014 to 2020) and a master’s from Columbia University. I am currently a fellow at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia.