Karen Lewis, LCSW, PsyA

Karen Lewis, LCSW, PsyA Is your anxiety stopping you from what you really want to do? Want to make a change? Allow us to work together!

I strive to establish a safe and comfortable environment that is tailored to your individual needs. Whether you are facing struggles in your career, in a relationship, with loss, depression or anxiety, and the difficulties that come with such transitions and change, I will help you find the solutions and confidence needed to get you back on track. While I am skilled in treating the general clinica

l population, I also specialize in the treatment of parent's of children with special needs, including, but not limited to, parents of children with juvenile diabetes and those with a diagnosis on the autistic spectrum. My goal is to empower you by identifying the issues at hand, focusing on your strengths and the goals you want to achieve. This collaborative process will help facilitate your own unique pathways toward growth and change. In addition to my LCSW, I have completed seven years of psychoanalytic training at the New Jersey Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis. Qualifications

Years in Practice: 9 Years
School: New York University
Year Graduated: 2008

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenlewis.lcsw

07/28/2026

𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱

Does a short reply send your mind into overdrive? A cancelled plan that reads like rejection? Being left out of something minor that stays with you for days?

You might have rejection sensitivity, and it is more common than most people realise.

Rejection sensitivity is the tendency to experience rejection, real or perceived, as unusually intense and distressing. It can look like:
• Scanning for signs you are liked or disliked
• Replaying social interactions looking for where you went wrong
• Pulling away first so you cannot get hurt
• Reacting more strongly than you want to in the moment

Try this when rejection sensitivity flares:
1) Name it: "My nervous system is treating this like a bigger threat than it probably is."
2) Reality check: what is the actual evidence, versus the story I am telling myself?
3) Delay the response. Wait 20 minutes before replying when you feel stung.

Rejection sensitivity is very common in people with anxiety, depression, and trauma histories. It is also workable. Therapy can help you separate real risk from old echoes.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/24/2026

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆: 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱

It is International Self-Care Day. A reminder: rest is not something you earn. It is something you need.

You do not have to burn out to deserve a break. Taking care of yourself makes you more present for everything and everyone you care about.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/22/2026

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

There is an unspoken pressure that summer should be the best time of year. Social media fills with vacations, barbecues, and smiling family photos, and for a lot of people, the gap between that and their actual summer quietly feeds anxiety.

Summer anxiety can look like:
• Dreading plans even when you made them
• Feeling like you are wasting the season
• Comparing your summer to everyone else's highlight reel
• A low, nagging sense that you should be doing more
• Difficulty switching off even when you finally have free time

Why it happens:
Summer comes with cultural expectations: fun, freedom, connection, and productivity all at once. When life does not match that picture, anxiety fills the gap.

What helps:
1) Name the expectation out loud: "I am anxious because I feel like I should be enjoying this more."
2) Shrink the goal. One good hour is a successful summer day.
3) Step back from comparison. Curated posts are not real summers.
4) Talk to someone about what is actually making summer hard.

You are allowed to have a quiet, ordinary summer. That is enough.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/21/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹

You planned a summer that was supposed to feel good. But it is halfway through July and you are still exhausted. What is going on?

Here is what often happens: we swap work pressure for social pressure and call it a break.

Five signs your summer is not actually restoring you:
1) You are filling every weekend with activity so you do not have to sit still
2) You are saying yes to things you do not want to do because "it's summer, I should want this"
3) Sunday evening dread is back
4) You are scrolling at night instead of sleeping
5) You feel guilty for not enjoying it more

One reset that actually works: block one afternoon this week where the only rule is no obligation. No plan. Let boredom arrive. Your nervous system knows what to do with quiet, if you give it the chance.

If rest has stopped working and the exhaustion goes deeper, that is worth real support.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/17/2026

𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼

Grief is not a problem to solve. It is love with nowhere to go.

Giving yourself time and space to feel it is not weakness. It is the most honest thing you can do.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/15/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁

When we think of grief, we think of sadness. But grief lives in the body too, and knowing what to look for can make the experience feel far less frightening.

As a Certified Grief Educator, I want to name what your body may be going through:

• Exhaustion that sleep does not fix
• A heavy feeling in the chest or throat
• Changes in appetite, either eating more or losing interest in food entirely
• Physical aches with no clear medical cause
• A foggy, distant feeling, like you are living at one step removed
• Waves of nausea, especially in the early weeks after a loss

None of these are signs that you are falling apart. They are your nervous system processing something enormous.

A few things that help:
1) Rest without guilt. Your body is doing heavy work.
2) Gentle movement, even a short walk, can help discharge some of what the body is holding.
3) Eat something, even when appetite disappears. Your body still needs fuel to carry this.
4) Tell someone how you are feeling physically, not just emotionally.

If you are grieving and it is showing up in your body, that is grief doing exactly what grief does.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/14/2026

𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿: 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆

Summer can be one of the hardest seasons to grieve. Everyone is posting holidays and barbecues and beach days, and you are just trying to get through the day.

Grief has no off-season. It does not care about the sunshine.

A few things that can help when grief collides with summer:
1) Give yourself permission to opt out. You do not have to attend every gathering.
2) Create one small ritual for the person you are missing. Light a candle. Say their name out loud.
3) Plan ahead for the moments you know will be hard, like a family event with an empty seat.
4) Let at least one person know this is a tender season for you.

As a Certified Grief Educator, I want you to know: there is no timeline on loss. Grief is as individual as the person you are missing. If it feels impossible right now, support can make a difference.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/10/2026

𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵

Seeking help is not a betrayal of your strength. It is proof of it.

The most courageous thing you can do is tell the truth about how you are actually doing, to yourself and to someone you trust.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/08/2026

𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 (𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵)

July is Minority Mental Health Month, and cultural stigma is one of the most significant barriers to getting support. It runs deeper than general stigma because it is wrapped up in identity, belonging, and survival.

It can sound like:
• "We do not air our problems to strangers."
• "This is just life. You get on with it."
• "What will people think?"
• "In our family, family handles family."

These messages are often not malicious. They come from communities that have had to be self-sufficient. But they can leave people suffering quietly when real support is available.

A few things worth knowing:
1) Therapy is confidential. No one in your community will know you are going.
2) You can ask for a therapist who shares your cultural background or has experience working cross-culturally.
3) Wanting help does not disrespect your community. It honors it, by giving yourself the tools to show up fully.

Your struggle is valid no matter where you come from.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

07/07/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 '𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴' 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽 (𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵)

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and one of the most common things I hear from clients is some version of "I should be able to handle this on my own."

For many people, especially those from communities where resilience is a point of pride, seeking help can feel like letting the side down. That is not a personal weakness. It is a pattern passed down, and it can change.

If that inner voice is stopping you, try one small shift this week:
1) Notice when "I should be stronger" shows up. Write it down without judgment.
2) Ask yourself: would I say this to someone I love in the same situation?
3) Reframe it once: "Getting support takes more courage than going it alone."

Therapy is not for people who cannot cope. It is for people who want to cope better. You do not have to earn the right to support.

📍 Licensed in NJ, NY & FL – teletherapy available.
💌 To make an appointment today, email [email protected], call (201) 290-5550 or visit my website (link in the first comment).

Address

77 Marcotte Lane
Teaneck, NJ
07621

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 7pm
Tuesday 7am - 7pm
Wednesday 7am - 7pm
Thursday 7am - 7pm
Friday 7am - 3pm

Telephone

+12012905550

Website

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