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Where Depth Psychotherapy, Neuroscience, and Twenty Years of Lived Clinical Experience Meet

The Path to This Work

My own journey into alternative healing began following several significant losses, where I turned to yoga as a way to navigate grief. I returned to graduate school while raising two sons alone after a divorce, and went on to graduate with high honors from New York University in Clinical Social Work. I was a PhD candidate until the deaths of my brother and father, and my mother's stroke, which made clear that what mattered most was not a degree but the people in my life. That decision shaped everything that followed. Nearly two decades of private psychotherapy practice in New York City have been built on the understanding that the most important things rarely arrive on schedule, and that the capacity to sit with what is hardest in another person requires having sat with it yourself.

Beyond the office

On a more personal note: I enjoy travel, photography, yoga, biking, gardening, nature, technology, workshops, the beach, and collecting vintage and flea market finds. I travel between New York City and The Berkshires, where I share a practice with my husband, psychologist John Christopher, PhD. I am blessed with two adult sons, a grandson, and two rescue cats named Loki and Luna.

As I continued my path of self-exploration, my spiritual and alternative practices flourished. I discovered transformative modalities such as Buddhism, Meditation, Mindfulness, Kundalini, Tantra, Inner Child Work, Energy Medicine, Chakras, Intuitive Healing, Past Life Regression, and more. These practices opened new doors to healing and self-awareness, and I began to experience the deep, interconnected wisdom of both body and spirit.

I am a Level II Reiki Practitioner, having studied under the guidance of esteemed practitioners Margaret Ann Case and Pamela Miles, and I maintain a daily self-Reiki practice that supports my personal and professional growth. I am deeply passionate about connecting with the Universe and the Divine as a daily practice, recognizing the transformative power that this connection brings to my life and my work.

A Practice Informed by More Than Clinical Training

My style of therapy is rooted in both science and soul—this practice offers grounded and heart-centered care. While I hold a great respect for traditional “talk therapy,” I have found that integrating energy and somatic therapies creates an incredibly powerful pathway to lasting healing and profound transformation. In 2008, I discovered EMDR therapy professionally, sparking a profound realization about the immense impact of the subconscious and unconscious mind on our daily lives. My clinical work is grounded in depth psychotherapy, drawing on object relations, self psychology, and relational and intersubjective traditions, integrated with EMDR, Internal Family Systems, somatic psychotherapy, and nervous system regulation. This is not an eclectic mix of techniques applied interchangeably. It is a coherent framework built over twenty years of serious clinical work, organized around a single conviction: that lasting change requires working at the level where patterns actually form, in the body, the nervous system, the relational field, not only at the level of understanding and insight.

More Yoga and learning to inhabit the body

Alongside this clinical foundation, Kimberly completed Donna Karan's Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program, earning a 500-hour certification in integrative and yoga therapy. She is a Level II Reiki practitioner and maintains a personal contemplative practice that draws on meditation, mindfulness, and somatic awareness. These are not adjuncts to her clinical work. They are the source of a clinical presence that is grounded, embodied, and capable of meeting clients in the dimensions of experience that strictly cognitive approaches do not reach. Healing, in her understanding, is not only the reduction of symptoms. It is the recovery of a self that can be genuinely present to its own life.

The Early Years

Growing up in Greenville, Ohio, my youth was shaped by movement and discipline. Ballet, jazz, and modern dance were my artistic outlets, while gymnastics, track, swimming, and diving pushed me beyond my physical limits. The competition—often at the expense of listening to my body—slowly began to disconnect me from my own needs and sense of body integrity. I was taught to ignore the needs of my body and inner knowing. Over time, the joy of movement was overshadowed by the strain of pushing beyond my limits, leaving me feeling more disconnected from myself, my body, and my true desires. Eventually, this unbalanced dynamic led me to step away from competitive pursuits, realizing that to feel authentic in my life, I needed to honor my body’s wisdom and reclaim my sense of wholeness.

My Interest In Psychology

My journey into the world of mental health began early, shaped by a childhood where love and kindness were tempered by an undercurrent of anxiety and sadness. My father, quiet and reclusive, spent his days running a dime store and inventing board games in our garage—his world of solitary creativity offering him an escape from the emotional landscape around him. My mother, a devout Christian Scientist, spent much of her time in prayer, seeking refuge from sorrow and fear. While her faith provided comfort and solace for her, I eventually realized, through my own psychoanalysis, that it served her psychological needs more than my own.

As I grew older, I became deeply curious about the complexities of human nature, driven by a need to understand the dynamics of my early experiences. This curiosity eventually led me to step beyond the confines of my strange and isolated childhood, sparking a lifelong journey of learning and discovery in psychology. My desire to understand the inner workings of the mind and the forces that shape us has been a constant thread, guiding me toward the work I do today—helping others unravel the intricacies of their own experiences, just as I once did with my own.

Who This Practice Serves

Her practice serves high-functioning professionals, midlife women, creatives, public-facing individuals, and couples — people who are accomplished in the ways the world measures accomplishment and privately navigating something the world doesn't see. Discretion, clinical rigor, and genuine depth are the constants. She works with one client at a time, with full attention, from the first session to the last. There are no associates, no handoffs, no starting over.

I Have Specialized Areas Of Focus That I Am Professionally Dedicated To, Including:

• EMDR and somatic awareness techniques (for just about everything)

• Women’s hormonal, emotional, and mental health (addressing concerns related to perimenopause and menopause)

• High-profile/celebrity clientele

• Relationship and couples counseling (high-conflict divorce, divorcing a narcissist, traditional and non-traditional relationships)

• Therapeutic consultation (coaching, short-term brief therapy, and crisis support).

Types Of Therapy Modalities That I Offer

I excel in interventional therapy, or crisis therapy, which involves providing timely support and pragmatic solutions for patients in crisis. This approach is helpful for those undergoing challenging life transitions or struggling with acute emotional distress. This may include extra or extended sessions to support mental health and well-being. Evidence-based therapy sessions may also include somatic psychotherapy. My holistic perspective recognizes the importance of integrating the mind and body for optimal healing. As such, I incorporate somatic exercises and techniques using a polyvagal lens to help patients process and release trauma held within the body. While I don’t neglect the top-down approach because it’s essential, a bottom-up approach emphasizes the connection between physical sensations and emotional well-being, promoting a comprehensive healing experience.

*Kimberly Christopher, LCSW — New York License #079234 (issued under legal name Kimberly Seelbrede)