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LCSW-R

Wendy Kesel, LCSW-R

  • Experience26 years
  • LocationNew York
  • Focus areasStress and Anxiety, Family, and Parenting
  • Therapy approachesInternal Family Systems and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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About Wendy

Wendy Kesel is a New York licensed social worker with 26 years of clinical experience who helps people navigate stress, anxiety, relationship and family challenges.

Background and approach

She uses a collaborative, nonjudgmental stance to create space for clients to explore difficult emotions and practical problems related to parenting, career, grief, trauma, mood concerns and identity issues. Her background includes work with a wide range of life transitions and complex situations such as adoption and foster care, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and co-occurring conditions.

Her practice emphasizes building trustworthy therapeutic relationships where clients can safely voice fears, examine patterns, and try new coping strategies. Wendy draws on evidence-based methods including Internal Family Systems alongside cognitive and acceptance-oriented approaches to tailor work to each person’s needs.

She supports clients in clarifying values, strengthening communication, and developing tools for managing anger, intimacy challenges, ADHD-related difficulties, and other concerns. The goal of her approach is practical, sustainable change delivered with empathy and steady clinical experience.

Approach-Focused Online Therapy with Practical Tools



Internal Family Systems (IFS) views the mind as containing different parts that hold emotions, beliefs, and memories; in therapy this approach helps clients notice and dialogue with those parts to relieve internal conflict and reduce reactivity. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes clarifying personal values and learning skills to accept difficult thoughts while committing to meaningful action, which can be useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy explores patterns in close relationships and helps clients develop more supported ways of relating, which can improve communication and reduce relational stress.

Deciding which approach fits best is a collaborative process. The therapist works with clients to assess goals, preferences, and the presenting challenges, and then integrates methods that make sense for the individual. This flexible, team-based way of working helps tailor sessions to each person’s needs rather than relying on a single technique.

Online therapy offers practical options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different schedules and comfort levels. These formats allow continuity of care during busy periods or when travel and logistics would otherwise interfere, while still enabling skill practice, reflection, and ongoing therapeutic work with a licensed professional.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with a broad range of difficulties including stress, anxiety, relationship and family problems, parenting issues, trauma and abuse, grief, mood disorders such as depression and bipolar, and identity-related concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is collaborative and nonjudgmental, aimed at creating an open environment where thoughts and feelings can be explored and practical coping skills can be developed.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 26 years of professional experience working in the field and has supported clients through a wide range of life transitions and complex situations.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds the credential LCSW-R and is licensed in New York; her license number is NY LCSW-R 061150.
Which languages are available for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English; she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are offered?
Clients may meet through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging according to the available formats.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions are provided via a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on her availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyFamily conflictsParenting issuesCoping with life changesADHD

Also works with

LGBTRelationship issuesTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoaching

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressCo-morbidityCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDependent personalityDisruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)Divorce and separationDomestic violenceEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameImpulsivityInfidelityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMood disordersObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPhobiasPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-harmSelf-loveSocial anxiety and phobiaSomatizationWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingSolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

26+ years

Licensed

New York

Languages

English