About
Caroline Powers
LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR · LMHC · NY #017942
LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR · LPC · CT #10143
I know what it's like to run on empty and call it normal, because I did it for most of my life before I became a therapist.
I cycled through the same pattern without ever naming it: push hard, get the job done, hold everything together, and repeat, until my body forced the issue. Over time, that mental exhaustion became physical. I was constantly sick with no clear medical diagnosis and no easy fix. The actual cause was that I never let myself stop.
It took me a long time to understand that just surviving my life was not the same as really living it. Being functional and being okay are not the same thing. That's the gap I now spend my career helping people close.
How I Got Here
From systems to individuals
I've spent my career helping people navigate complexity and get access to the support they need, first at a systems level, now at an individual one.
After my B.S. in Psychology at Yale, I spent several years in education: first in school operations at an NYC charter school network, later as Chief of Staff at a nonprofit, tuition-free online university, where I managed partnerships, a multimillion-dollar government grant, and relationships with a board that expected results. I was great at it, and I was also proof of the exact pattern I now treat: capable on paper, running on fumes underneath.
I later earned my Master's in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from NYU. Today I work with people navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship and attachment patterns, and major life transitions, with a particular focus on those in and beyond demanding careers and caregiving roles, people who are used to holding things together for everyone but themselves.
How We'll Work Together
I'm not a therapist who nods along while you talk yourself in circles. I'm warm and expressive, and I'll also tell you what I actually see happening, including the parts that may be hard to examine. I will be firmly in your corner while we examine the hard truths, together.
I integrate psychodynamic work (understanding how your history shapes your current patterns) with CBT, DBT, and mindfulness-based tools. You will leave sessions with both insight and something to actually do with it. Early on, we get clear on what brought you in and what keeps repeating. From there, we slow the autopilot down enough to see these patterns, and build something more intentional in its place.
Over time, this can look like more clarity, more choice, and more room to breathe, even in the situations that you used to navigate by default.
