Therapist in Forest Hills, New York Brett Harbach, Therapist

Brett Harbach is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York who has been practicing since 2021. He has an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from CUNY Queens College, a B.A. in Psychology from CUNY Queens College, and a B.A. from Stony Brook University. Brett’s therapeutic style is welcoming, empowering, and collaborative. He provides a therapeutic environment that helps clients to feel safe, comfortable, and understood. Brett finds it important to first gain a clear idea of what the client is looking to gain from therapy and then work together in a way that is effective for the client to achieve their goals. He is bilingual (English and Spanish), which increases his ability to connect with and provide support to individuals.

Brett is comfortable working with individuals, and groups, and has experience providing treatment for clients who have depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma, grief, relationship issues, and bipolar spectrum disorders. Rather than just relying on one orientation style, Brett assesses the needs and preferences of the client and chooses an orientation style or combination of styles that will best serve and support the client. For a client that has depression and a lack of motivation, he may use solution-focused therapy to encourage them to take initiative and create their own solutions. Whereas if a client is having anxiety or substance abuse issues, he would probably use CBT to increase their awareness of stress-inducing thoughts and help them learn to actively challenge those thoughts to work towards changing their behavior.

When working with patients, he would likely use DBT to cultivate mutual understanding, improve distress tolerance, and enhance emotional regulation. In conjunction with these modalities, Brett feels it is essential to use a client-centered approach so that the client feels cared for, appreciated, and safe. Outside of work, Brett is a documentary filmmaker, video editor, poet, chef, and athlete (basketball, volleyball, tennis).