Brian Lathrop
M. Div., L.P.
CONTACT INFORMATION
31 Washington Sq. W Suite 6C
New York, New York 10011
All services by appointment.
psychotherapy is a unique and personal engagement that aims to give a person the brave option to not just accept life on the terms it seems to have handed them.
For over 20 years, I have worked to assist others to be able to name, focus on and change numerous dilemmas of life.
Among those dilemmas: substance and behavioral addictions, childhood and sexual trauma and/or neglect, compulsivity and impulsivity issues, depression, anxiety, relationship strife, grief/loss, internalized fear of intimacy, sexual dysfunction, and emotional communication for individuals and couples.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PSYCHOTHERAPY
Fundamentally, effective psychotherapy, like life, is not all about problem solving. Psychoanalytic therapy allows for deeper probing and growth with the hoped-for results of real life change -- a basic 'new way' to be in the world.
Since most of life's painful dilemmas arise in relationships and not from misinformation or just bad luck, it is rarely the case that a satisfying resolution can be found through self-help books or weekend retreats. A 'healing' relationship of real substance is necessary to secure one's sense of self so that the painful cycle of damaged and destroyed relationships can be brought to an end.
Much like the option for most urban professionals to join gyms to care for one's body, the option of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy allows one to learn how to care for one's self. Twenty-first century urban life shows no signs of slowing down and little respect or encouragement for the kind of personal growth and achievement that comes from the courageous and hard work of real psychotherapy. The instant and constant communication of our time is only giving rise to a diminishment of the real space and time that is required for a true relationship to develop. Too often leaving so many of us lost in 'arrangements' instead of 'relationships'.
Having had unique training and experience in couples and group therapeutic work, the use of these different modalities allows a client the possibility of using these various tools of treatment to maximize the full range of personal potential for growth.
PSYCHOTHERAPY SERVICES
One's assessment of need for psychotherapy is based on an in-person consultation visit. A 45-minute session allows for assessment of psychotherapeutic need and to see if there is a good fit.
A consult may require more than one session to determine needs. If the need for therapy is determined and there is an agreement to work together, frequency of sessions will be discussed and session times will be determined.
I provide the following services:
- Short Term Psychotherapy
- Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
- Psychoanalysis
- EMDR
- Group Therapy
- Couples Therapy
- Corporate Consultations
- Community Presentations
- Clinical Supervision
(during training and post-training)
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Brian Lathrop's initial training in Pastoral Counseling came as a Divinity student at General Theological Seminary in the early 1980s.
During ten years of parish work, he received and completed training at the Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy.
In 1993, he began full-time private practice as a certified psychoanalyst with the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP) and as a Fellow of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC).
Brian has gone on to receive further training at The Eastern Group Psychotherapy Association to become a Certified Group Psychotherapist. He also has completed an intensive training and certification program at The Masterson Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy with its unique focus on the personality disorders.
Brian also provides, following private consultation, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing). EMDR is a specialized therapeutic approach well suited to working with current and past traumas and their consequences. Clients have expressed great relief after a minimal number of these sessions from their symptoms, phobias, and uncontrollable behaviors. EMDR works well for panic attacks, PTSD, substance abuse, sexual compulsivity, eating disorders, weight issues, sleep issues, and overall, recovery issues.
Brian has also served the broader community with his work at the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health at Trinity Church on Wall Street. Since 1992, he has been a Clinical Supervisor for Identity House, the oldest LGBTQ mental health services community in the USA.
Brian has had long-term faculty involvement with the Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and the Blanton -Peale Training Institutes.
THEORETICAL ORIENTATION
Following graduate school, Brian completed two intensive training programs to provide him and his clients a solid base for clear direction in how he understands and performs his work.
The Westchester Institute, founded as an existential psychoanalytic training institute, provides a grounding in his work toward the practical bias of learning how to be in the 'here and now' instead of being lost in the 'there and then'.
Brian's further training at The Masterson Institute has pushed forward his focus on being 'in the moment' with the goal of maximizing a client's affective capacities given his deeper understanding of personality structure and the uniqueness we each bring to the often painful endeavor of living and learning how to be just who we are.
It is his belief and practice that this work parallels the needs often met in cognitive behavioral therapies with the added benefit of building a relationship intended for the client's use that is safe, appropriate and available for the internal change needed for long-term personal satisfaction.
WORKSHOPS & COURSES
Narcissism and Its Discontents: Treating the Client with Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior Who Presents as Narcissistic
Narcissism has become our cultural psychological norm. Gone are the days of the good ole 'neurotic' character structure and style as normative. This has made it that much more difficult to diagnose Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a meaningful disorder to treat and yet it lies at the heart of much that we now study in our field (trauma, Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior to name two such concerns).
Both didactic and experiential, this workshop will focus on effective analytically-based interventions with this personality type that are essential to dealing with OCSB. The therapists persistence in these interventions are essential to effective change for patients. Instruction in the Masterson technique of intervening will be our clinical focus. Dr. Masterson was noted by the NY Times for this specialty in the 1980s. This workshop will help you understand the value of the Masterson model as it relates to clients with Out-of-Control Sexual Behavior. Additionally, it will help you incorporate this model into how you work.
The Sexuality, Attachment & Trauma Project, New York
April 2018
Getting to the Point: Understanding Character to Communicate More Effectively in All Relationships
For anyone who would like to better understand the person they are communicating with in any situation to more effectively get both of their needs and wants met. I describe the 'character styles' of our age and what they need to both say and hear in order to respond to the requests of one another. Relational patterns are described and case presentations made to help clarify how helpful this information can be in knowing what both to say and not to say to people with distinctive styles of character. We all communicate from within one of these 6 patterns!
Identity House, New York
February 2017
April 2014
May 2012
Activated Psychoanalysis: An Effective Clinical Approach for the Compulsive and Addictive Dilemmas of Our Age
In this workshop, a very explicit and practical approach to using Depth Psychology to address our addictive, compulsive and anxiety-riddled lifestyles was presented and demonstrated.
Workshop at the Westchester Analytic Alumnae Association.
Bedford Hills, NY. April 2011
Use and Abuse: Character Issues, Relationships, and Recovery
Lecture and presentation for The Meadows.
New York, April 2010
Addictive Relationships: Character, Compulsion and Cross Addiction
Lecture and presentation for The Meadows.
New York, October 2008
Acting on Acting Out: A New Clinical Approach
Full day workshop split between theory and clinical practice. National Conference for The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health
Boston, September 2008
Two-hour lecture on theory. National Conference for The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health
Las Vegas, NV, September 2007
Beyond the Addiction Model: Treating the Underlying Character Structure
with Michael Crocker, LCSW
October 2006
National Conference for The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, Chicago.
Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
Faculty Member
1997 - Present
"The Borderline Personality Disorder"
10-week course
"The Narcissistic Personality Disorder"
10-week course
"The Schizoid Personality Disorder"
10-week course
"Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Gender and Sexual Orientation"
10-week course