Joy Sasson-Gelman(She/Her/Hers)

Dr. Joy Sasson-Gelman supports people in situations that take them to the edge of their abilities or comfort zones, such as life transitions, work changes, new or changing relationships, loss, illness, disability, caregiving, or aging. Rather than trying to eliminate clients’ uncomfortable feelings or thoughts, she treats them as signposts toward what is most important to them.

Dr. Sasson-Gelman has focused her career on helping people through life’s challenges and transitions. Her psychology PhD from the University of Wisconsin and her APA-accredited predoctoral fellowship and integrative postdoctoral fellowship lead her to appreciate the connection between change and loss. Change takes many forms, such as moving, starting a new job or relationship, or aging (oneself or parents). Life changes represent opportunities to complete unfinished work and get closer to what matters. Experienced working with trauma, disability and illness, she understands the healthcare professional’s need to balance relationships and career, the stress of loss connected to caregiving, and the tension of being both a caregiver and a care recipient. She has worked with high-functioning C-suite executives, new parents, graduate students; people living with HIV, cancer, amputation, and COPD; and individuals with other forms of change and transition.

Dr. Sasson-Gelman has advanced training in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Her approach builds on strengths, replaces avoidance strategies with setting and achieving real-world goals, and explores new meanings for thoughts, feelings, and experiences. She has taught graduate courses at San Francisco State University and Hunter College and supervised doctoral-level psychology students at the Wright Institute in Berkeley and in inpatient and outpatient settings for the New York State Office of Mental Health. She works well with clients’ primary care physicians and psychiatrists.

Dr. Sasson-Gelman is a licensed psychologist in Florida offering virtual sessions via Zoom.