Alissa Appel Jelveh

Alissa (she/her) is a Columbia University-trained psychotherapist and post-graduate trained psychoanalyst with over 15 years of experience. Alissa is part of the teaching and supervising faculty in both the Couple Therapy and Psychcoanlysis programs at the Training Institute for Mental Health in Manhattan.

In individual therapy, Alissa works psychoanalytically. This is a collaborative approach that looks at what is happening on the surface and goes deeper with it. One’s history is an important part of therapy, and is understood in relation to the problems one is having in the present. The goals of the treatment are always individual to each patient, though overall, the goal of a more authentic and fulfilling life are near universal to all of Alissa’s therapeutic work.

In couple therapy, Alissa believes that the goal is to think creatively together, so a couple may co-construct a relationship that is satisfying to each person. This approach requires identifying each person’s individual perspective, holding each person’s needs as having equal importance, and locating the shared needs of the couple and family. We do this by trying to have conversations in a new way. When emotions arise, we invite them in and try to enter a deeper understanding of the feelings of each person. At the same time, we try to think together to solve issues that can sometimes feel insurmountable.

Before becoming a psychotherapist, Alissa received an MA in English. Part of the work of therapy is to discover the story one has told about the self, and craft one’s story of life ahead.

Alissa is licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Michigan.