Running a business—especially in an international hub like New York—means high stakes, long hours, and immense pressure. At The Midtown Practice, our specialized team of NYC therapists understands the unique challenges that entrepreneurs face and provides expert, discreet support tailored to your needs and goals. Whether you’re struggling with chronic stress, isolation as a leader, relationship challenges, or mental health struggles, we are here to help.
Who we work with
We work with entrepreneurs and business owners across industries, stages of growth, and personal circumstances. Whether you’re scaling a venture-backed startup, running a small business, or balancing a creative practice with a demanding personal life, our clinicians have the expertise—and in many cases the lived business experience—to support you.
- First-time founders navigating early-stage uncertainty
- CEOs and senior executives carrying leadership pressure
- Solopreneurs and freelancers managing isolation and burnout
- Attorneys, finance professionals, and consultants in entrepreneurial roles
- Creative entrepreneurs working in the arts, media, and tech
- Co-founders and married business partners
- Founders preparing for major transitions, exits, or pivots
No matter where you are on your journey, we’ll match you with a clinician suited to your goals, stage of life, and preferred way of working.
Meet our NYC therapists for business owners
Jared Sossin, MHC-LP, NCC
As the co-founder of a neurofeedback bioware startup and a mental health consultant for an AI company, I know firsthand the relentless pace and emotional weight of building a business from the ground up. I use techniques like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, and meditation to help entrepreneurs manage stress, screen-time burnout, and the identity shifts that can come with leadership. My background blends evidence-based clinical work with a decade of meditation practice, giving you tools that work in both your professional and personal lives.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Mental Health Counselor – Limited Permit
- Specialty Areas: Career challenges, anxiety, depression, OCD, mindfulness, couples therapy
Karen Franklin, LCSW
With more than two decades in clinical practice (including mental health leadership roles), I bring an insider’s perspective on the pressures of running an organization. Entrepreneurs often face isolating decisions, and I offer a confidential space to examine the deeper patterns shaping your work and personal life. My approach blends psychodynamic insight with practical CBT and DBT skills, helping you navigate stress, leadership challenges, and the relational toll of building a business.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #100938
- Specialty Areas: Depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions, grief
Cliff Sobel, MHC-LP
Before becoming a therapist, I spent decades as the CEO of an e-learning company and launched several entrepreneurial start-ups, so I bring a deep lived understanding of the joys and challenges of leadership. I work with founders, CEOs, and creatives navigating career transitions, performance anxiety, and the emotional weight of decision-making. My approach is eclectic, drawing from psychodynamic, existential, and cognitive-behavioral approaches to help business owners examine their own patterns and find meaning. I also offer executive coaching alongside traditional therapy when that fits.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Mental Health Counselor – Limited Permit
- Specialty Areas: Executive coaching, entrepreneurship and career challenges, work-life balance, gray divorce, dating and relationships, anxiety, depression
Shira Lee Silver, LCSW-R
I work primarily with adults in their 20s and 30s, many of whom are navigating early-career growth, founder ambitions, and the relationship strain that comes with intense work demands. Using values-driven Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, I help entrepreneurs clarify what truly matters to them and build a richer life alongside their professional goals. My style is warm and collaborative, offering founders a rare space to explore the self-doubt and burnout that often go unspoken and explore new ways to show up.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #084692
- Specialty Areas: Young adults, career challenges, anxiety, panic, relationship issues, grief and bereavement, depression, relationship issues, family conflict
Holly Alderman, LCSW
Building a business often means navigating constant change: new partnerships, new pressures, new versions of yourself. I help entrepreneurs move through these transitions using a blend of ACT, CBT, DBT, and Emotionally Focused Therapy, with particular attention to the patterns shaping both your professional and personal connections. My expertise is particularly well-suited to entrepreneurs exploring questions of identity, navigating parenthood, or experiencing challenges in their relationships.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #088473, post-graduate training at the Ackerman Institute for the Family
- Specialty Areas: Couples and family therapy, life transitions, parenting, anxiety, depression
Danielle Esposito, LCSW
Drawing from nearly two decades of clinical experience, I help entrepreneurs work through anxiety, self-esteem challenges, and the relational stress that often accompanies high-stakes careers. Many of my clients are managing career pressures alongside major personal milestones, like starting a family, and I integrate psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches to help you process the emotions around these changes while also learning practical ways to cope that you can use in all realms of your life. I’m particularly passionate about supporting Single Mothers by Choice who are also business owners.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #082757
- Specialty Areas: Trauma, anxiety, depression, relationships, self-esteem, parenting and family-building
Jane Ray, LMHC-D
I specialize in trauma and have particular expertise working with artists, performers, and others in creative fields, including founders building businesses around their craft. I’m trained in trauma-focused methods like EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and other evidence-based modalities, and I blend these to help entrepreneurs process the high-stakes moments they face now, the patterns that shape their creative process, and past events that can quietly shape how they show up as business owners. As a 3rd Degree Black Belt, award-winning competitor, and performing arts professional, I deeply understand discipline, resilience, and the mental demands of putting your passion out into the world.
- Offers therapy for entrepreneurs ✓
- Credentials: Licensed Mental Health Counselor #011571
- Specialty Areas: Trauma and PTSD, therapy for artists and creative professionals, anxiety, depression, identity
How therapy can help entrepreneurs
Manage stress & prevent burnout
Founders often over-function for years before actually feeling the impact of running on empty. Therapy helps you recognize the early warning signs of burnout, build sustainable recovery habits, and develop strategies for handling pressure without grinding yourself down. We work with you to protect your energy as carefully as you protect your business.
Improve decision-making & clarity
Leadership can be incredibly rewarding. At the same time, the weight of carrying every major decision for your business can take a mental toll. Therapy creates a space to slow down, examine the assumptions driving your choices, and reconnect with your values so your decision-making is guided by what matters most to you—not knee-jerk reactions.
Strengthen relationships & communication
The intensity of entrepreneurship can inadvertently show up in your relationships with partners, co-founders, employees, and family. Therapy helps you understand these dynamics, communicate more clearly under pressure, and protect the connections that sustain you. Stronger relationships, in turn, make you a more effective leader.
Build resilience & emotional flexibility
Setbacks, pivots, and unexpected losses are part of running a business. Therapy helps you develop the psychological flexibility to move through them without getting stuck using evidence-based approaches like ACT, CBT, and mindfulness. You’ll learn to face discomfort, recover faster, and stay connected with your values and sense of self.
Common areas we support entrepreneurs with
- Decision fatigue and second-guessing business moves
- Imposter syndrome that persists even after tangible success
- Strain on romantic relationships from long hours, travel, or financial stress
- Sleep disruption and middle-of-the-night anxiety about the business
- The pressure that comes with being the person everyone else turns to
- Co-founder conflict and tension within high-stakes business partnerships
- Identity shifts after exits, acquisitions, layoffs, or pivots
- Difficulty unplugging from email, phone, and your to-do list
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 therapy for business owners
Yes. Research consistently shows entrepreneurs experience elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout compared to the general population. There’s no one singular cause, but in our experience supporting business owners, we’ve found that the pressure of decision-making, the financial risks, and isolation at the top can all negatively impact well-being. Thankfully, therapy can help, and seeking support is one of the smartest investments you can make in your business and yourself.
Several of our clinicians bring direct business experience, including former CEOs and startup founders. Our approach combines evidence-based therapy with the option of in-house psychopharmacology, so medication and therapy can be coordinated seamlessly. We also offer virtual, in-person, and hybrid scheduling to accommodate demanding calendars and frequent travel.
A clinician who understands the pace, stakes, and emotional texture of entrepreneurship can move faster and go deeper. That shared context lets the work focus on you and reaching your goals, not on educating your therapist about your world.
Your sessions are confidential and protected under standard mental health privacy laws. Because we are an out-of-network practice and do not accept insurance, no diagnosis or treatment information is shared with insurers. We provide invoices that clients can submit independently for out-of-network reimbursement if desired. Discretion matters especially for high-profile clients, and our practice is built around it.
Start working with an NYC entrepreneur therapist today
