Elizabeth Kotkin

Elizabeth Kotkin is an LMFT with 35 years of clinical experience. She practices in New York and focuses on supporting people through anger, grief, depression, anxiety, and major life changes. She uses straightforward talk and practical steps to help people feel steadier and more in control.

She begins by listening closely to each person's story and priorities. Sessions emphasize clear goals and short-term strategies that can reduce intense feelings and improve day-to-day functioning. Elizabeth draws on approaches that help people notice unhelpful patterns, learn new ways to respond, and make decisions that match their values.

Her background includes long experience working with trauma, addiction, and relationship difficulties. She often helps people who struggle with shame, isolation, codependency, or recovery from sexual assault and abuse. She also supports people facing life stage shifts such as midlife change, separation, or caregiving for aging relatives.

Elizabeth blends client-centered work with practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused methods. Motivational interviewing is used to strengthen commitment to change when substance use or other addictive patterns are involved. Trauma-focused approaches guide recovery from post-traumatic stress and abuse.

Sessions are conversational and goal oriented. The focus is on small, concrete steps that fit into everyday life. People who choose her work can expect steady attention to safety, pacing, and strategies that build coping and resilience over time.

How therapeutic approaches guide online work

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to the person. It helps people feel heard and supported while they decide what changes matter most. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors that maintain distress and teaches practical skills to shift them, which can help with anxiety, depression, sleep, and anger.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate to test methods and adjust them based on the client's needs, goals, and preferences. That means starting with what feels manageable and adding skills or trauma-focused tools when the pace is right.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let people work on homework between meetings and use skills in real time in their daily routines.