Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis with Adults; Individuals and Couples

Karen Starr, Psy.D. conducts individual psychotherapy and psychoanalysis with adults, as well as couples therapy. She has extensive training in short-term and problem-focused psychotherapy as well as longer-term psychoanalytically informed treatment. As a clinical psychologist, her goal is to help people confronting difficult issues to enhance the quality of their lives. These difficulties often manifest as anxiety, depression, and dissatisfaction in relationships and/or career. Dr. Starr approaches her work with clients collaboratively, through helping them articulate their thoughts and feelings in an environment of trust and safety. She challenges clients to think about their relationship patterns so that they can develop a clearer understanding of their life experiences. She assists them in the process of self-reflection, helping them to gain insight and think critically about themselves, without criticizing, judging, or finding fault.

Dr. Starr is careful to tailor each treatment to the client's needs. In addition to her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, she has 20 years of business experience, and is well versed in issues of career development and career change. Dr. Starr specializes in interview coaching, helping clients reduce their anxiety and present themselves in a professional and articulate manner.

Dr. Starr is an advanced candidate at the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and a recipient of the Ruth Stein Prize.

Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship Consultations

Karen Starr, Psy.D. has extensive experience working with Clinical Psychology doctoral students applying for the pre-doctoral psychology internship. Dr. Starr consults with students to ensure that their internship applications are highly professional, compelling, and competitive. One-on-one consultation services are tailored to the individual. They include site selection, Curriculum Vitae, essay development, case summary development, and interview coaching. Dr. Starr spends time getting to know each student, and helping them to articulate what makes them unique. Dr. Starr provides students with actual interview questions collected from interviews at internship sites over a six-year span. She works with students individually to practice and perfect their interviewing skills in vivo, to ensure that they present themselves in the most professional manner possible. She provides emotional and psychological support throughout the entire process, from beginning to end. Consultations can be conducted over phone and email. Although Dr. Starr is located in the New York Metropolitan area, she has consulted with Clinical Psychology doctoral students around the country. Here are some responses from students who have consulted with Dr. Starr:

"I wanted to extend my sincerest gratitude to you for your guidance throughout the internship process. I MATCHED!! I cannot thank you enough for all of your help with the application and interview process, and for reading/editing all of my essays and application materials. I felt a lot more equipped to handle the internship roller coaster of emotions and hurdles, and I am certain that your guidance made a tremendous difference in the quality of my application and match result. I was very lucky to have you!"

"Thanks for all your help. I have a large number of interview offers, and am confident that I will match. Your assistance definitely played a significant role."

"I matched! Thanks for all of your support throughout this long and crazy process. Despite my considerable anxiety, I was able to sleep at night, knowing that in the morning you would give me calm, professional advice."

"I have a total of 14 interviews! I'm so glad I came in to see you. You are really great!!!"

Dissertation Consultations and Editing

Karen Starr, Psy.D. conducts dissertation consultations with doctoral students in diverse fields in the humanities and the social sciences, such as: Anthropology, Classics, Education, English, History, Music, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work. Dr. Starr meets with doctoral students for one-on-one, in-depth consultations tailored to the individual's needs. She works with doctoral candidates on sharpening their argument, improving their conceptualization and organization, dealing with a difficult or unresponsive dissertation advisor (unfortunately a very common problem), developing work habits and a work schedule that works for them, and addressing all of the myriad psychological issues that often arise when someone is dedicating themselves to working on a long-term project that is meaningful to them and whose completion means moving on to a new phase in life. Some people prefer to meet weekly, some once a month, and some on an as-needed basis when they find themselves facing an obstacle they do not know how to overcome. Meetings are usually 1 hour 15 minutes for the first meeting, and 45 minutes thereafter. Consultations typically consist of 3 to 5 meetings over a span of several months. Dr. Starr will also consult with students by phone and email, and has worked with students from around the country. For students struggling with organization and writing, Dr. Starr provides highly effecient and professional editing of dissertation proposals and manuscripts.