L.M.H.C, Ed.M
ABOUTCONSULTATIONS

Ryan is a therapist and researcher specializing in skills-based therapy for individuals and couples.

Schedule a Consultation

Many people arrive to the first session with a history of mixed experiences in therapy.

Given how difficult the process of finding a therapist can be, I aim to make the initial steps as grounding as possible.

We’ll work together to set the pace, identify treatment targets and prioritize your sense of well-being and autonomy.

I specialize in


• LGBTQIA+ affirming care for all ages

• Couples Therapy
• PTSD, Complex PTSD
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Suicidal Ideation, Self-Harm Behaviors
• Addiction Recovery
• Disordered Eating
• Rigid, Black and White Thinking Patterns
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Executive Functioning
• Life Transitions
. Gender affirming medical, social and legal transition

Ryan is currently accepting new clients virtually and in-person in Brooklyn, NY and NJ.

Schedule a Consultation

Couples Therapy


Relationships can act as environments where we practice new ways of being, and witness each other grow in these efforts. For that reason, relationships can also inspire moments of immense vulnerability and conflict.

How does it work?
Starting in the first session, I will help you:

• Feel less hostility, criticism, and hopelessness
• Have more moments of connection and joy
• Hear each other clearly and communicate non-judgmentally 
• Feel more compassion for yourself and your partner
• Develop short and long-term goals for your relationship
• Create collaborative problem-solving techniques for deeply rooted conflicts and triggers

Between sessions, I give practice assignments to help you use the skills you gained in therapy in your home environment.

Who is it for?
• Romantic couples (monogamous, poly, asexual, SW +)
• Friends, roommates, family members + who hope to reduce miscommunication and increase connection
• Relationships among people with differing power dynamics (i.e., interracial, inter-class +) 

“The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love--whether we call it friendship or family or romance--is the work of mirroring each other's light. Gentle work. Steadfast work. Life-saving work in those moments when shame and sorrow occlude our own light from view, but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another.”

– James Baldwin, Nothing Personal

Depending on your preferences for an open-ended or skills-based approach, I offer a range of therapeutic modalities. 


For those looking for more structure in session, I'm trained in the following methods.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Cognitive Processing Therapy, Written Exposure, DBT Prolonged Exposure

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Mindfulness Self-Compassion

DBT Skills Group


This weekly group is designed for adults 18+ seeking coping strategies to reduce cycles of emotional reactivity and reliance on short-term solutions (avoidance, substance use, self-harm) that can reduce stress immediately, but present long term issues.

We will focus on:

• Mindfulness: Skills to increase joy and decrease shame and self-judgement.

• Distress Tolerance: Skills to help you pause so you can be less reactive, have more choice, and rely less on impulsive, automatic behaviors.

• Interpersonal Effectiveness: Communication skills to help you improve relationships, ask for what you need, say no to what you don’t want, and feel less alone.

• Finding the “Middle Path”- Skills to increase dialectical, “both/and” thinking and decrease the kind of extreme, all-or-nothing thinking that makes us feel hopeless.

New members are admitted during designated entry points about once a month. If you are interested in joining, click here.

About Ryan


Before I became a therapist, I worked on farms and in the service industry on the east coast and in Oakland, CA. I love to cook, especially as a means of connecting with plants seasonally and in new ways. I'm most joyful when I'm playing a game of any kind outside, building Metta through meditation practice, swimming in the ocean or being a beginner at something new.

Education


Psychological Counseling EdM, Advanced Certificate in Sexuality, Women and Gender Psychology - Teachers College, Columbia University (2021)

Bachelor of Arts - Colorado College (2016)

Published Research


1. Bochicchio, L., Herman, R., Tuda, D., & Scheer, J. R. A standard of how we want to see people be treated: Developing LGBTQ+ community guidelines. International Journal of LGBTQ+ YouthStudies (2025). https://doi.org/10.1080/29968992.2025.24783772.2.

2. Herman, R., Cavic, E., Puckett, J.A. et al. Balancing community and research needs in gender measurement decisions. Sex Res Soc Policy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00994-5.3.3.

3. Galiette, A. J., Herman, R., Reeder, K., Scheer, J. R., Stefancic, A., & Bochicchio, L. (2024).“Being here, you could actually be yourself”: Trans and gender expansive youth’s experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ community-based organizations. Psychological Services. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000906.