Growing up and living in different countries (Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia, England, and the U.S) has broadened my awareness of different mentalities and value , showing me where they intersect and where they remain distinct. These experiences have helped me connect with people from many walks of life and understand how they relate to others and themselves. I stay up to date with new treatments to ensure my work with clients is as effective as possible.
Stepping away from the clinical lens has been just as important to me; beyond the arts, I appreciate the insights that different kinds of work bring to our understanding of the human experience.
Russell Esmail, Ph.D.
Licensed in New York
Ph.D. & M.S. Clinical Psychology (APA Accredited) Palo Alto University, USA.
BSc Psychology (Honors) at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
My therapy approach is personalized to best resonate with you and your process. I use a combination of evidence-based treatment models.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Beck 1960s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) are structured approaches that invites collaborative work to identify and replace unhelpful ways of thinking or behaving. It stresses the importance of examining the relationships between thoughts, emotions and behaviors.
Motivational Interviewing (Miller & Rollnik, 1980s)
Centers on the exploration of your values and priorities such to better understand your own reasons for change. This approach heavily focuses on giving you autonomy over your journey.
Throughout the process, I will often draw on a few key concepts that can help reframe the way we examine the challenges you are facing.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (Linahan, 1980s)
A form of CBT but increased focus on skills training for emotional and thought regulation. The underlying DBT principles also emphasizes accepting change, consolidating extremes and understanding behavior within contexts
Narrative Therapy (White & Epston, 1980s)
This approach works by putting distance between you and your problem. This helps individuals better understand how their issue is impacting particular areas of their life. It seeks to help you to modify your relationship with the problem and empower you rewrite the outcome.
​Dialectics is about how both seemingly opposing notions can be valid at the same time. We can address our own hypocrisies but also accept that we are hypocritical creatures after-all.
The world is far more grey than we often like to admit, and our tendency toward black-and-white thinking is usually more pervasive than we realize. Absolutes can limit our ability to understand ourselves and others—yet clear boundaries also have their time and place. The question, then, is not whether to use them, but when and where.
There are almost always incentives for why we do anything, and there is almost always an associated cost; whether it's now or later, tangible or abstract. Sometimes it is about discovering what the right Tradeoffs are for you.
