Serving All of New York & New Jersey

Therapist in Training

Lisa Gajda

Serving All of New York & New Jersey

Therapist in Training

Lisa Gajda

Lisa Gajda, Therapist in Training

I’m a somatic and trauma-informed therapist who works with individuals and couples ready to move beyond insight alone and into embodied, lasting change. My approach draws from experiential, attachment-based modalities like AEDP, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR—frameworks that help us safely access the emotional and physiological roots of long-standing patterns. Healing becomes something you experience directly, often creating more traction than insight alone can offer.

Many of my clients are high-achieving, capable, and deeply self-aware. They often arrive knowing why they feel the way they do, but still feeling stuck. They’ve connected the dots, named the wounds, maybe even done a lot of work already—yet the same cycles of overfunctioning, shutdown, anxiety, or disconnection keep resurfacing. Experiential therapy works in the body, in the moment, and within the safety of a regulated relationship—where the nervous system can begin to rewire and something new can actually be felt and integrated. This is the “what to do” in response to, “I know why I am the way I am, but now what?”

Before becoming a therapist, I spent 25 years as a Broadway performer—an intense and beautiful life that taught me the thrill of mastery and the cost of constantly pushing beyond my limits. Achievement was a brilliant early adaptation that helped me survive, but over time, I began to see how it also kept me disconnected from my needs, my emotions, and myself. I now specialize in working with others who’ve used achievement, caretaking, or emotional suppression to stay safe—and who are ready to trade survival for something more alive, more connected, and more sustainable. We keep the excellence, but lose the prison.

I specialize in trauma healing, nervous system regulation, and helping high-achieving individuals move beyond burnout, anxiety, and stuck relational patterns. I also work with couples seeking deeper connection and repair. My practice is rooted in warmth, depth, and experiential methods—and is fiercely affirming of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC clients. I offer supervision and mentorship to therapists, with a focus on relational and somatic approaches to care. Therapy with me is deep, collaborative, and grounded in attuned presence. We move from fear to freedom, from running to returning. Coming home to yourself isn’t easy—but you don’t have to do it alone. We dive together, and that’s where real transformation begins.

When I’m not deep in the work of healing, you can find me walking the streets of Manhattan for actual hours, partying with my husband and two kids, or watching reality TV with the devotion of a scholar. I believe in big feelings, bad TV, gossiping with friends, and the magic of finding yourself right in the middle of real life.

Lisa Gajda, Therapist in Training

I’m a somatic and trauma-informed therapist who works with individuals and couples ready to move beyond insight alone and into embodied, lasting change. My approach draws from experiential, attachment-based modalities like AEDP, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR—frameworks that help us safely access the emotional and physiological roots of long-standing patterns. Healing becomes something you experience directly, often creating more traction than insight alone can offer.

Many of my clients are high-achieving, capable, and deeply self-aware. They often arrive knowing why they feel the way they do, but still feeling stuck. They’ve connected the dots, named the wounds, maybe even done a lot of work already—yet the same cycles of overfunctioning, shutdown, anxiety, or disconnection keep resurfacing. Experiential therapy works in the body, in the moment, and within the safety of a regulated relationship—where the nervous system can begin to rewire and something new can actually be felt and integrated. This is the “what to do” in response to, “I know why I am the way I am, but now what?”

Before becoming a therapist, I spent 25 years as a Broadway performer—an intense and beautiful life that taught me the thrill of mastery and the cost of constantly pushing beyond my limits. Achievement was a brilliant early adaptation that helped me survive, but over time, I began to see how it also kept me disconnected from my needs, my emotions, and myself. I now specialize in working with others who’ve used achievement, caretaking, or emotional suppression to stay safe—and who are ready to trade survival for something more alive, more connected, and more sustainable. We keep the excellence, but lose the prison.

I specialize in trauma healing, nervous system regulation, and helping high-achieving individuals move beyond burnout, anxiety, and stuck relational patterns. I also work with couples seeking deeper connection and repair. My practice is rooted in warmth, depth, and experiential methods—and is fiercely affirming of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC clients. I offer supervision and mentorship to therapists, with a focus on relational and somatic approaches to care. Therapy with me is deep, collaborative, and grounded in attuned presence. We move from fear to freedom, from running to returning. Coming home to yourself isn’t easy—but you don’t have to do it alone. We dive together, and that’s where real transformation begins.

When I’m not deep in the work of healing, you can find me walking the streets of Manhattan for actual hours, partying with my husband and two kids, or watching reality TV with the devotion of a scholar. I believe in big feelings, bad TV, gossiping with friends, and the magic of finding yourself right in the middle of real life.

Relationship Therapy

Couples therapy can help increase understanding, respect, affection, and intimacy between you and your partner(s).

Individual Psychotherapy

Through collaboration and kindness, we will build a way of relating to one another that makes you feel safe enough to be curious and empowered to explore your relationship with yourself and one another.

Life Coaching

We will work with you to assist you to develop skills to establish and maintain better communication in personal, professional, and social relationships.

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* Serving all of NY and NJ via TeleHealth

Relationship Therapy

Couples therapy can help increase understanding, respect, affection, and intimacy between you and your partner(s).

Individual Psychotherapy

Through collaboration and kindness, we will build a way of relating to one another that makes you feel safe enough to be curious and empowered to explore your relationship with yourself and one another.

Life Coaching

We will work with you to assist you to develop skills to establish and maintain better communication in personal, professional, and social relationships.

explore our Therapy Services
Payment
Choose File

* Serving all of NY and NJ via TeleHealth

Marriage & Family Therapist

Marriage & Family Therapist

In Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), the unit of treatment isn’t just the person – even if only a single person is interviewed – it is the set of relationships in which the person is embedded. MFTs take a holistic perspective to health care; they are concerned with the overall, long-term well-being of individuals and their families.

Marriage and Family Therapists are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems and licensed to assess and treat mental and emotional disorders. They do so within the context of all relationship structures including marriage, couples and family systems. Marriage and family therapists treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including: depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems.

After receiving treatment, almost 90% of clients report an improvement in their emotional health, and nearly two-thirds report an improvement in their overall physical health. A majority of clients report an improvement in their functioning at work.

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