About Nancy Freeman-Carroll, Psy.D.


I am a licensed clinical psychologist-psychoanalyst in private practice since 1996 in New York City. I received my doctorate in clinical psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, and my certificate in psychoanalysis from The William Alanson White Institute in 2001, where I am currently a Supervising Psychoanalyst. I hold a master's degree from Columbia University in Art History and my interests in art, creativity, psychology and culture are an integral part of my work.

I have a wide range of experience as a clinician, teacher, and writer, and offer services in several specialized areas, including infant development, parenting, infertility, and creating families with assisted conception. I work with infants, adolescents, adults and couples. I practice relational/interpersonal psychoanalysis, and provide both short and long-term psychotherapy. I am on the faculty of several psychoanalytic institutes in New York City, and provide supervision in psychoanalysis at the White Institute, and to private clients.

Memberships include the The Psychoanalytic Society of The William Alanson White Institute, American Psychoanalytic Association, The International Psychoanalytic Association, American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and Mental Health Professionals Group of the ASRM, New York State Psychological Association, Women's Mental Health Consortium, Right to Know, and RESOLVE.

 
 

Therapeutic Approach


We all have moments in our lives when we need support.  In the midst of a crisis, it can be difficult to think through our reactions to people and events.  There are also times when we feel blocked, dissatisfied with our lives, stuck in repetitive patterns, self-destructive behaviors or bad relationships. Psychotherapy is a very useful tool to in all of these circumstances.   My approach is to support individuals and enable them to evaluate their resources and work towards making change in their lives.  I believe psychotherapy and psychoanalysis can allow us to feel more in control of our lives, with greater awareness of our emotional responses, and flexibility in our behavior.  

My approach is informed by a belief in each individual's capacity to understand themselves--their present and their past--and to use that self-knowledge to construct a stronger, more complex sense of identity and potential. This is accomplished through attention to the relationship I build with each person.  The collaborative dialog we carry on together fosters our curiosity about present and past influences and challenges, and each person's therapeutic goals. These will include symptom reduction (anxiety, depression, self-harm, substance abuse), and resolution of conflicts, life choices, expanding creativity, as well as attending to unresolved trauma, and loss.

 

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy 

Psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy involve regular meetings with a psychoanalytically trained professional with the goal of improved emotional and work-related functioning.  In addition to a doctorate in clinical psychology, I have completed a five-year course of psychoanalytic training.  I am now a supervisor of psychoanalysis (I supervise trainees in psychoanalysis) at the William Alanson White Institute. Indications for this type of work include:

  • A desire for increased self-understanding/self-awareness

  • Feelings of ongoing dissatisfaction with one's work or personal relationships

  • Depression, anxiety states, difficulty sleeping

  • Social anxiety, withdrawal, persistent feelings of aloneness

  • Repeated relationship difficulties

  • Eating disorders, alcohol, and substance abuse

  • Confusion that impacts daily functioning

  • Inability to cope with a crisis, loss, or history of abuse

 

Psychodynamic Couples/Family Therapy 

Couples and Family psychodynamic therapy focuses on relationship patterns that occur within the family system--the system includes all current family members, as well as the history of each adult's earlier family experiences. Family members may unknowingly maintain its unsatisfactory functioning; however, therapy can help forge new behaviors, enabling better communication and emotional responsiveness.  Indications for this type of work include:

  • Frequent conflict within the couple

  • Poor communication between generations in the family, marked by withdrawal, depression, anger, or self-destructive behavior on the part of either parents or children.

  • Conditions of significant strain within the family, for example:  medical or mental illness, separation, divorce, or death within the family.

 

Parent-Infant Psychotherapy

Infant Mental Health is a specialist area of clinical psychological work that examines the earliest emotional and social development of babies, and the subsequent adaptations in the family.  Work is often brief, and involves the entire family whenever possible. Families who may benefit include:

  • Expectant couples anxious about their future role as parents.

  • Parents with babies under one-year of age


 Parents with a child under 1 who are concerned about:

  • Parent-child bonding

  • Persistent eating or sleeping difficulties

  • Separation anxiety

  • Unusually muted or indifferent attitude toward parents

  • Very fussy behavior and/or unresponsive to comforting

  • Development delays or physical illnesses, which place a special emotional burden on parents and siblings 

 

Support Groups

Groups focus on the life of families created with the help of Assisted Reproduction (donor egg, donor sperm, donor embryo, and surrogacy).  Each group is responsive to the specific concerns of members.  A consistent focus is the pros/cons of disclosure to children, family, friends, and wider public.  Individuals who have created families with assisted reproduction are potential members, as are their friends, associates, and families.  Support groups are scheduled periodically; please contact me for further information.