Lena Lu

My name is Lena Lu. I am a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I have 20 years of experience helping my clients with challenging life events; relationships, academic and work performance difficulties, anxiety, depression, anger, stress, grief and loss, self-esteem, parenting, and more.

My approach

I offer a personalized approach to meet your individual needs, using integrative evidence-based treatment modalities, including Psychodynamic Therapy, Cognitive and Dialectic Behavior Therapy (CBT/DBT), Solution Focused Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Our primary focus will be on working together to reduce troubled emotions or behavior by developing deeper insight into the issues at hand. To help you achieve a greater ability for future independent problem-solving, we will identify patterns of maladaptive thoughts and behavior.

My focus

I specialize in working with clients who are struggling with academic, work, or relationship issues or dealing with anxiety, depression, anger, grief, or loss. I also have experience providing therapy for clients (and their families) who have been diagnosed as having learning disabilities, ASD, ADHD/ADD, or emotional disabilities in order to help them develop better self-esteem, communication skills, problem-solving, time management, and team work.

My communication style

I prioritize providing you with a safe and warm space to process your difficult emotions and share your memories. I connect with you with compassion, non-judgmental curiosity, and light humor at times to help ease your anxieties. I am committed to understanding your experience with deep listening, applying my therapeutic training and my own life experience to fully appreciate and understand you, and together I hope to help you find relief and solutions and move forward with new self-knowledge and skills.

My journey to mental healthcare

I began my journey with therapy many years ago as a client. I learned then how beneficial it is during significant life struggles to have someone there to help you process difficult emotions and cultivate helpful perspectives. I received Master's Degrees in both Clinical Social Work (NYU) and Business Administration (RPI). I have journeyed through career changes, including work as a Wall Street banker and an entrepreneur, and ultimately to find my passion in helping others as a therapist. With my diversified background and life experience, I can bring deep compassion to understand your struggles and offer you insightful views and possible solutions. .

My goals for you

We can begin by understanding the topics that bring you to therapy. Your story and struggles are unique to you. We will work together with your own perspectives, and together we can further define and clarify the issues at hand and what you would like to achieve via therapy. Collaterally, we set up individualized treatment goals which work for you.

My first session with you

The first session is for us to build an initial connection and help me get a sense of your difficulty and where we should go from there. I prioritize making you feel comfortable and relaxed during the session. We will talk about how you have been feeling and coping and your symptoms. However, if you feel that you have difficulty answering some questions, that is okay and not uncommon. I hope to build a trusting relationship with you and help you find your inner voice. You can also feel free to ask me questions and let me know what your goals and expectations are from therapy.