Depression can make it hard to reach out for help, and waiting weeks for an appointment only makes it harder. At The Midtown Practice, our team of experienced therapists and prescribers specializes in depression treatment and is ready to meet with you now. Whether you’re feeling persistently low, disconnected, or just not yourself, or you are more substantially depressed and having a hard time coping, in both cases, we can help.
Jump to a provider
- Esmé Stern, LMSW: Good fit for young adults and creatives navigating depression
- Cliff Sobel, MHC-LP: Good fit for anyone experiencing depression associated with career-related stress and professional transition
- Chrissie Brewer, PMHNP-BC: Good fit for children, adolescents, and young adults seeking psychotherapy
- Azat Oganesian, LCSW: Good fit for adults managing anger, trauma, or relationship stress alongside depression
- Karen Franklin, LCSW: Good fit for adults across the lifespan experiencing depression associated with life changes and transitions
- Holly Alderman, LCSW: Good fit for individuals as well as couples and families impacted by depression
- Sana Khan, PMHNP-BC: Good fit for adults seeking expert medication management for mood disorders, including bipolar disorder
If you’re unsure which provider is right for you or your loved one, contact us so we can thoughtfully match you.
Meet our Midtown therapists for depression
Esmé Stern, LMSW
Good fit for young adults and creatives navigating depression
My background in media and journalism gives me an unusually clear window into the pressures facing young adults in creative and public-facing fields: questions of identity, performance anxiety, and the feeling that they’re “behind” in life. I bring this understanding into the therapy room, along with a blend of techniques like CBT, mindfulness, and somatic approaches. My goal is to help clients feel seen and get to the root of their depression, not just manage symptoms.
- Credentials: Licensed Master Social Worker #127703
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anxiety, life transitions, relationship issues, identity development
Cliff Sobel, MHC-LP
Good fit for anyone experiencing depression associated with career-related stress and professional transition
I came to mental health after decades leading an e-learning company and founding several entrepreneurial startups, so I have a deep lived understanding of the pressures of professional life. This gives me a distinct vantage point when working with clients whose depression is associated with career uncertainty, burnout, identity shifts, or the disorientation that often accompanies major professional change. I blend psychodynamic, existential, and cognitive-behavioral approaches to help everyone from entry-level professionals to CEOs find real relief from depression.
- Credentials: Mental Health Counselor – Limited Permit
- Specialty Areas: Depression, career stress, professionals
Chrissie Brewer, PMHNP-BC
Good fit for children, adolescents, and young adults seeking psychotherapy
As a board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner specializing in helping young people, I take a holistic approach to psychiatry. I see medication as a valuable tool, and I also emphasize several other aspects of well-being, including sleep, nutrition, family dynamics, and peer relationships. I pride myself on being accessible to my patients and their families around the clock, and I believe in truly personalized, compassionate care.
- Credentials: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, ANCC Board-Certified
- Specialty Areas: Depression, children and adolescents, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, psychosis, school refusal/truancy, personality disorders
Azat Oganesian, LCSW
Good fit for adults managing anger, trauma, or relationship stress alongside depression
Depression rarely exists in isolation. I work with adults whose depression co-occurs with other difficulties, like anger management challenges, relationship issues, or past trauma. My focus is first on creating a genuine, trusting therapeutic relationship before using evidence-based tools to help you understand and shift the emotional patterns driving your depression. I’m also fluent in Russian, which allows me to offer a rare combination of cultural competency and clinical expertise for Russian-speaking clients experiencing depression.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #087559
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anger management, anxiety, stress, trauma
Karen Franklin, LCSW
Good fit for adults across the lifespan experiencing depression associated with life changes and transitions
Life transitions, such as a divorce, a move, a career shift, or the loss of a role that once defined you, are among the most common (and overlooked) triggers for depression. With over two decades of clinical experience, I specialize in helping adults at every stage of life understand how these changes are shaping their mood, their sense of self, and their relationships. My approach is both direct and insight-oriented, blending psychodynamic depth with practical tools from DBT and CBT, so clients leave with both a better understanding of themselves and strategies to sustain real, lasting change.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #100938
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anxiety, grief, life transitions, relationship difficulties, trauma, multicultural issues
Holly Alderman, LCSW
Good fit for individuals as well as couples and families impacted by depression
While depression deeply impacts the individual, it also has profound effects on their relationships and their loved ones. I provide individual, couples, and family therapy, so my approach both addresses the internal experience of depression and the relational sphere it disrupts.
I have training in a wide range of therapeutic modalities, including CBT, ACT, DBT, and EFT, which I blend to create a customized treatment path for each client and relationship I work with. My goal is to create a genuinely collaborative space where clients don’t just learn to manage their depression, but develop a richer, more connected sense of themselves and their relationships.
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #088473, post-graduate training at the Ackerman Institute for the Family
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anxiety, relationships, parenting, life transitions,
Sana Khan, PMHNP-BC
Good fit for adults seeking expert medication management for mood disorders, including bipolar disorder
As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with experience across some of New York’s most demanding clinical environments, including one of the city’s busiest psychiatric emergency rooms, I bring a depth of diagnostic and pharmacological expertise to depression treatment that is rare in outpatient private practice.
My focus is on building individualized medication plans that are precisely tailored to each patient, moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to find the strategy that truly fits who you are and what you’re facing. Plus, I have a specialty in treating bipolar disorder in addition to depression, so I can provide care no matter how your mood disorder presents.
- Credentials: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Board-Certified
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, PTSD
What sets our practice apart from other NYC depression therapy providers
- Integrated care under one roof: Our therapists and prescribers collaborate directly, so your treatment is coordinated and consistent—a significant advantage over navigating multiple providers separately.
- Medication as an optional tool: When medication is part of your treatment plan, we use it thoughtfully: sometimes as “training wheels” that give you the stability to do meaningful therapeutic work, with a clear path to tapering when the time is right.
- Flexible meeting formats and scheduling: Our clinicians offer both virtual and in-person sessions so that your treatment fits your life. We also have scheduling options that accommodate early mornings, evenings, and more.
- A team with rare depth and breadth: Our clinicians are trained across multiple evidence-based modalities to ensure that you get customized treatment from the start.
- Personalized matching with a diverse team: Our clinical coordinator takes time to understand your specific needs, then connects you with a clinician whose expertise, style, and availability are aligned with what you’re looking for.
- We treat adolescents and adults: We treat clients from adolescence through later life, including limited availability for couples and families.
Our process
1. Connect
Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation with our highly trained Clinical Coordinator, Alli Malamut, by either:
- Call or text us at: 332-262-7077
- Email us at: info@midtownpractice.com
- Or complete the form below
2. Get matched
In order to find you an ideal fitting clinician or therapist, our Clinical Coordinator will want to learn more about you. Specifically, it would be helpful to hear about your concerns, personal preferences, and any relevant logistical matters (for example, in-person or video sessions? best time or day to meet?)
3. Check the fit
Connect with the clinician or therapist you are matched with to ask questions, share history, and make sure you feel comfortable about moving forward. If so, book your first session. If it does not feel right, circle back with us.
Schedule time to meet with your new clinician or therapist and work towards living a more fulfilling life! Over the years, we’ve found our thoughtful matching process is the surest way to find you an ideal clinician or therapist and achieve the best outcome for you.
FAQs about depression treatment
We all feel sad or irritable from time to time. Feelings of sadness are normal and may be an indicator of a problem or issue that requires your attention. Listening to your feelings can help you discover the underlying issue, if one exists. These feelings usually pass after a few hours, days or weeks, or with the remedy of the underlying issue. However, Major Depression (clinical depression) is different. Major Depression is a common illness and ranges from minor to severe. Major Depression causes feelings of persistent sadness that affects how we experience our lives. Depression can cause severe symptoms that interfere with all aspects of our lives including how we think, feel, and behave. Sometimes a person may have only one episode of depression during their lives, and others may have more than one. Fortunately, depression is treatable.
Major depression is persistent sadness and loss of interest that affects how we think, feel, and act and can lead to feelings of emptiness and feelings that life is not worth living. When symptoms last more than two weeks and include a pervasive and persistent low mood accompanied by low self-esteem and a loss of interest or pleasure in life and normal activities, plus other symptoms, you may be depressed.
Children and adolescents often report persistent feelings of sadness, irritability, frustration, negative self-esteem, worthlessness, anger, extreme sensitivity, sleeping too much, self-harm, avoidance of social interactions, peer and academic problems, problems at home, and overeating.
Characteristics include a distinct change in mood characterized by:
- low or depressed mood most of the day, almost every day
- an inability to enjoy life
- loss of interest in the daily activities of life
- loss of energy or increased fatigue
- reduced interest in sexual desire or performance
- physical aches and pains
- feelings of worthlessness
- anxiety, irritability, and restlessness
- persistent sadness
- withdrawing from family and friends
- isolation
- reduced physical activity
- feeling emptiness, hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness
- irritability and restlessness
- changes in sleep patterns including insomnia and sleeping too much
- changes in appetite resulting in weight gain or loss
- difficulty concentrating and making decisions
- inappropriate guilt
- negative thinking and pessimism
- distorted thinking
- suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.
Depression Symptoms and Differences Between the Sexes
Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men, and their symptoms may be different than men with depression. Generally, women report persistent sadness while men may feel angry, irritable, and aggressive, lose interest in work and family, feel fatigue, and have trouble sleeping.
In men, physical symptoms like a racing heartbeat, tight chest, headaches, and stomach problems can signal depression. Men may also be more likely to engage in reckless behavior and drug and alcohol abuse in an attempt to cope with their feelings. Both sexes may think about suicide. Women are more likely to attempt suicide than men, but men are more likely to succeed. Women are more likely to talk about their feelings and seek help than men.
Depression is diagnosed based on your symptoms. There is no blood test to diagnose depression. Your Midtown therapist will evaluate your symptoms based on the well-established criteria for depression and will ask you to answer questions about your thoughts, feelings, and behavior to help with the diagnosis. It is important to provide a complete history of your symptoms, when they started, how bad they are, whether you have a family history of depression or other mental problems, and whether you have been treated for depression or another mental problem before.
Research suggests a mixture of factors including genetics, environmental stress, biological and psychological issues combine to cause depression. Environmental stressors include the loss of a loved one, financial problems, work problems, relationship problems, and major life changes. Biological factors include serious physical illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as thyroid disorders, sleep apnea, and stroke. Chronic pain is strongly associated with severe depression. Depression can make these illnesses worse, and these illnesses can worsen depression as well. Medications for some illnesses can contribute to symptoms.
- Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia) – A low-grade persistent depression that lasts for two years or longer, but symptoms are less severe than in major depression. A person may have many episodes of dysthymia mixed with one or more episodes of major depression.
- Cyclothymic Disorder – Similar to but milder than bipolar disorder, this disorder involves highs and lows.
- Perinatal depression (Postnatal Depression) – Severe depression during pregnancy and after delivery.
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) – More severe than PMS, PMDD symptoms include extreme moodiness, depression or anxiety, sadness, and irritability in the days before menstruation.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – SAD is characterized by depressive symptoms that occur in the seasons when there is less natural light, usually in the fall and winter months, and goes away in the spring and summer.
- Manic depression – This type is one phase of bipolar depression.
- Minor depression – This is like major depression, but symptoms are less severe and don’t last as long.
It can be difficult to ask for help but this is the best way to get relief. You don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need to reach out to people you can trust. Talk with your family, your doctor, or trusted friends who can offer their support and help you find professional assistance so that you receive the right treatment for you. At The Midtown Practice we work with children, adolescents, and adults of all ages who are struggling with psychiatric and psychological problems. We are confident that we can help you constructively work towards personalized solutions based on your goals and needs. We are here for you.
If you have symptoms of depression daily that last more than two weeks you should see a psychologist or psychiatrist for diagnosis. The earlier depression is identified the more quickly you can get the help you need.
Many people do well with therapy alone; others benefit most from a combination of therapy and medication, particularly when depression is significantly impacting daily functioning. You don’t need to have this figured out before reaching out for help. Our team will help you determine which personalized solutions make the most sense for your situation.
Yes, depression therapy is often covered by insurance. The Midtown Practice does not accept insurance directly. However, we provide detailed invoices (known as superbills) that you can submit to your insurance company for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Many clients are reimbursed for a meaningful portion of their session costs this way. We recommend contacting your insurance provider to ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits before your first appointment.
