Critical Therapy Institute

10/29/2026

"Katniss isn't poor because she didn't work hard enough. District 12 is poor because the Capitol is built on its exploitation."

Many of us were raised to believe that anyone can make it if they try hard enough. So when life feels impossible, we turn the blame inward: What's wrong with me?

That belief takes a real toll on our mental health. Shame, anxiety and exhaustion often grow out of problems that were never ours alone to solve.

Speaking with Film Shrine about The Hunger Games, our founder Silvia Dutchevici pointed out that young people's anxiety about climate, housing, debt and war is often an accurate reading of the world, not a sign that something is wrong with them. Stories like this one can help us question the system, not just ourselves.

And healing, like change, is rarely done alone. Katniss didn't win alone; the districts rose with her.

The parallels are becoming harder to ignore

10/26/2026

Fewer divorces doesn't always mean happier marriages.

A new study of 83 countries found that banking and currency crises were linked to more divorces. But debt crises, with their long years of austerity, were linked to fewer.

Why? Sometimes people stay because they can't afford to leave.

As our founder Silvia Dutchevici points out, when leaving is unaffordable, staying isn't really a choice. In her work with survivors of domestic
violence, she has seen how financial dependence keeps people in relationships that harm them.

This is what we mean when we say the personal is political. Whether a relationship survives isn't only about love or effort. It's shaped by policies far beyond our kitchen tables: income support, housing, legal aid,
access to counseling.

If you are in an unsafe relationship, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.

Different economic crises shape divorce rates in opposite ways, raising family breakdown after banking and currency shocks while debt crises hold couples together.

10/20/2026

"I'm bad with money and it makes me anxious."

What if instead we said: "I live in an economy that makes security hard to reach, and my body is responding to that."

That reframe, shared by our founder Silvia Dutchevici in a new Scary Mommy article, is at the heart of critical therapy. When we put the problem where it actually belongs, shame loosens its grip and real relief becomes possible.

Money stress isn't a personal failing. It's a reasonable response to a system where housing, childcare, and healthcare have outpaced wages for decades.

Why does one surprise car repair feel like it could take the whole house down? Experts unpack the stress of living with no margin, and how to cope.

10/15/2026

Our founder Silvia Dutchevici, MA, LCSW, spoke with Real Simple about what it really takes to build a close friendship. Research suggests about 200 hours together.

Her advice? Build connection around shared values, like volunteering side by side, because it "builds community, not just a friendship, and that's something we badly need right now."

At CTI, we believe the personal is political. If friendship feels out of reach, it's worth asking not just "what's wrong with me?" but "what in my life leaves no room for 200 hours?" Long work weeks, rising costs, caregiving, and burnout all shape who we have time to love.

Loneliness isn't a personal failure. Connection is something we build together.

It takes about 200 hours to make a close friend as an adult. Experts share tips for building real connection when your schedule is already packed.

10/02/2026

Critical Therapy is accepting new patients.

We're taking on new individuals and couples this fall. We offer more than comfort, adjustment, and accommodation. We believe therapy can and should be transformational, and we bring a power analysis into the room: how race, class, gender, and religion shape a life, how power moves through relationships, and how it shows up between patient and therapist.

Our clinicians bring particular depth to trauma, including racial trauma and the lasting effects of violence; anxiety, depression, shame, and burnout; life transitions and identity; relationship difficulties.

Some of us work virtually, some in person, some both. In-person sessions meet at our Manhattan or Queens office. Fees follow a sliding scale that spans a wide range, with rates set according to income and access to
resources. Those with greater means help sustain access for others, because quality mental health care shouldn't be dictated by the market.

Email [email protected]; or call
646-504-3230 to get started.
You can meet our therapists first at criticaltherapy.org

09/28/2026

Why is money so hard to talk about, even with the people closest to us?

Our founder, psychotherapist Silvia Dutchevici, LCSW, was featured this month in two stories on money and friendship:

📰 TIME: "Money Reveals What Kind of Friend You Are," on how income gaps quietly reshape friendships.

📰 Moneywise: On why it's normal to resent a friend who always pays, and what that feeling is really about

https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/rich-friend-keeps-paying-pricey-090000026.html

In both, Silvia makes the same point: it's never just about the money. Money stands in for worth, power, and control, and in a society that treats poverty as a personal failure rather than a systemic problem, money carries shame on both sides of the gap.

At the Critical Therapy Institute, we believe money belongs in the therapy room. Talking about it openly is part of understanding ourselves and our relationships.

💬 When did you last have an honest conversation about money with a friend?

Being a good friend means being conscious of what your choices cost other people, writes Meehika Barua.

09/22/2026

What happens when the thing that was supposed to fix everything finally arrives?

Our President & Founder, Silvia Dutchevici spoke with Moneywise about the tech workers becoming millionaires overnight — and why sudden wealth so rarely feels the way people expect it to.

When colleagues who worked just as hard don't make it, the gap between what we believe and what we feel becomes deeply unsettling. The myth that anyone does it alone is just that: a myth.

Her advice is simple, and very hard to follow — sit with it. Purchases, investments, even generous commitments can come from guilt, shame, or the need to prove something rather than from your actual values.

And learn how to talk about it. Money is still one of our last taboos, including among therapists, who often avoid the subject because it stirs up as much in us as in our patients.

Believe it or not, instant wealth has its downsides.

09/16/2026

Ever had a client share something big in the last two minutes of a session?

Our founder Silvia Dutchevici shared her approach with Psychologist Brief: hold the time boundary, with care. Ending on time respects the therapeutic frame and builds trust. A simple "Let's come back to this" lets clients feel heard while the work waits for next session.

New Q&A article featuring expert insights on Psychologist Brief: End Sessions on Time Without Losing Connection in Psychotherapy

09/11/2026

Today marks 25 years since 9/11. New research using AI brain scans found that responders living with chronic PTSD have brains that appear about three years older than their actual age - and the longer they worked at Ground Zero, the stronger that link.

CTI founder and president Silvia Dutchevici spoke with Newsweek about what this means: "Trauma ages us. Survivors stay locked in fight-or-flight, and the brain never fully stands down. But recovery isn't only clinical. Who heals depends heavily on who can afford therapy, stable housing, and time away from work. An aging brain isn't just a private medical fact - it's a record of whose suffering we choose to fund, and for how long."

We can't treat trauma without addressing the conditions that prevent healing.

New AI brain scans reveal 9/11 responders with PTSD are aging faster—25 years on, the toll is still emerging.

09/04/2026

Welcoming the Class of 2026 🎓

A new cohort starts Critical Therapy Institute’s four-year clinical training program this fall — and this year's group is composed entirely of licensed clinical social workers, all seasoned practitioners.

They're here because they believe, as we do, in the transformative power of psychotherapy to change individuals who change the world. What the next four years look like:

• Coursework and clinical supervision, alongside their own personal therapy and practice;
• Small groups meeting twice monthly in the
evenings;
• A curriculum that asks each candidate to examine their own place in society and relationship to power;
• Critical therapy in practice: modern
psychoanalytic work merged with liberation psychology and critical pedagogy;

To the Class of 2026: welcome. We're glad you're here.

-- Applications for the next cohort open in the spring. Questions: [email protected]

-- Looking for a therapist? Critical Therapy is
currently accepting new patients email: [email protected]