I offer psychotherapy to adults, adolescents, and couples at my office in Philadelphia and virtually for residents across Pennsylvania. The primary aim of my practice is to provide a supportive environment in which to gently question and explore the stories we carry—about who we are, who we feel we should be, and the painful narratives that unfold in the space between our innermost desires and our lived realities. I have found beneath symptoms like anxiety, depression, addiction, and other unresolved pain often lies unprocessed experience longing to be explored. These hidden parts of ourselves, typically quite old in their origins, form the bedrock of our deepest suffering. Our work will involve carefully listening to what arises in the present to tend to what was lost or unmourned in the past. By weaving your history, feelings, thoughts, and desires into new insight, we’ll create a space for healing and possibility to emerge.
My style is warm and grounded in curiosity. I draw from a diverse range of therapeutic interventions, however I am primarily trained in and informed by relational psychoanalysis—a contemporary form of depth therapy that believes we are shaped by, and forever growing within, a web of human connection. Within this framework, the therapy becomes a highly collaborative space where we can examine the patterns, fantasies, and conflicts that animate your life. This type of self-inquiry can be as rigorous as it can be humorous, playful, and profoundly rewarding. While it is not usually brief or immediate, it is also not indefinite. Clients discover that by choosing to meet their pain in therapy, difficulties that were once deeply rooted can soften and fall away. If this sounds like what you may be looking for, I invite you to reach out for a free consultation. I offer a complimentary phone or video call prior to a first appointment to see if we make a good fit.
el sigelman, lsw
Who is a good candidate for this type of therapy?
Psychotherapy can be a valuable resource when confronting challenges like depression, relationship issues, grief, and identity confusion. A relational psychoanalytic approach is especially recommended when these difficulties are persistent, repetitive, or significantly impact one's quality of life.
This might look like a series of unsatisfying relationships, a chronic feeling of not reaching one's potential, or a nagging sense of being unable to "be oneself." Psychoanalytic therapy excels at transforming the more pervasive themes of one's life. It is a process for those who wish to undertake a profound exploration of their inner world to alter the very foundations of their emotional and relational patterns.
This type of therapy is most effective when individuals are open to examining the layers of their past, engaging thoughtfully with their present experience, and exploring the symbolic or imaginative aspects of their interior life. While symptoms or diagnoses may inform our work, your lived experience and individuality will always remain central to the therapeutic process.