.png)
Tara Winter, LCAT, RDT
-
Play Therapy
-
Expressive Arts Therapy
-
Psychotherapy
-
children.teens.adults
TARA WINTER THERAPY
specialties
I offer a compassionate, supportive space where you can feel heard, understood, and valued. Life comes with ups and downs, and I’m here to help you navigate them with kindness and empathy.
For Children
WHO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD DEEPLY
Some children feel everything deeply. They may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, highly perceptive, or neurodivergent—and may be doing well at school while struggling more beneath the surface.
You may notice:
-
Big emotions, meltdowns, or difficulty calming down
-
Anxiety, worry, perfectionism, or overthinking
-
Shutting down or having trouble expressing what they need
-
Holding it together at school and falling apart at home
-
Difficulty with transitions, change, or social situations
I provide child therapy and play therapy that incorporates creativity, movement, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
Together, we can help your child understand their experiences, build emotional regulation skills, and feel more confident in who they are.
FOR TEENS
WITH RICH INNER WORLDS
You may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, intense, or someone who thinks and feels deeply. You may be figuring out who you are, where you belong, or how you want to move through the world.
Sometimes, all of that can feel like a lot.
You may be dealing with:
-
Anxiety, overthinking or obsessive thoughts
-
Perfectionism or pressure to get things “right”
-
Feeling overwhelmed or emotionally exhausted
-
School, performance, or family pressure
-
Friendship, relationship, or social challenges
-
Questions about identity, belonging, or where you fit
I provide therapy for teens using conversation, creativity, art, mindfulness, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
For women
who have done enough
I work with women, who despite all their hard work, still struggle with anxiety, feeling like they don't fit in and feel like they haven't done enough.
You may notice:
-
Overthinking, perfectionism, or persistent self-doubt
-
Feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or disconnected from yourself
-
Struggling with intrusive thoughts or familiar patterns
-
Navigating parenting, changing relationships, or major life transitions
-
Feeling creatively or emotionally blocked, or longing for a deeper sense of meaning
-
Together, we can explore what lies beneath the surface, understand the patterns that keep you stuck, and reconnect with what feels meaningful and distinctly your own.
specialties
I offer a compassionate, supportive space where you can feel heard, understood, and valued. Life comes with ups and downs, and I’m here to help you navigate them with kindness and empathy.
For Children
WHO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD DEEPLY
Some children feel everything deeply. They may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, highly perceptive, or neurodivergent—and may be doing well at school while struggling more beneath the surface.
You may notice:
-
Big emotions, meltdowns, or difficulty calming down
-
Anxiety, worry, perfectionism, or overthinking
-
Shutting down or having trouble expressing what they need
-
Holding it together at school and falling apart at home
-
Difficulty with transitions, change, or social situations
I provide child therapy and play therapy that incorporates creativity, movement, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
Together, we can help your child understand their experiences, build emotional regulation skills, and feel more confident in who they are.
FOR TEENS
WITH RICH INNER WORLDS
You may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, intense, or someone who thinks and feels deeply. You may be figuring out who you are, where you belong, or how you want to move through the world.
Sometimes, all of that can feel like a lot.
You may be dealing with:
-
Anxiety, overthinking or obsessive thoughts
-
Perfectionism or pressure to get things “right”
-
Feeling overwhelmed or emotionally exhausted
-
School, performance, or family pressure
-
Friendship, relationship, or social challenges
-
Questions about identity, belonging, or where you fit
I provide therapy for teens using conversation, creativity, art, mindfulness, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
For women
who have done enough
I work with women, who despite all their hard work, still struggle with anxiety, feeling like they don't fit in and feel like they haven't done enough.
You may notice:
-
Overthinking, perfectionism, or persistent self-doubt
-
Feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or disconnected from yourself
-
Struggling with intrusive thoughts or familiar patterns
-
Navigating parenting, changing relationships, or major life transitions
-
Feeling creatively or emotionally blocked, or longing for a deeper sense of meaning
-
Together, we can explore what lies beneath the surface, understand the patterns that keep you stuck, and reconnect with what feels meaningful and distinctly your own.
specialties
I offer a compassionate, supportive space where you can feel heard, understood, and valued. Life comes with ups and downs, and I’m here to help you navigate them with kindness and empathy.
For Children
WHO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD DEEPLY
Some children feel everything deeply. They may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, highly perceptive, or neurodivergent—and may be doing well at school while struggling more beneath the surface.
You may notice:
-
Big emotions, meltdowns, or difficulty calming down
-
Anxiety, worry, perfectionism, or overthinking
-
Shutting down or having trouble expressing what they need
-
Holding it together at school and falling apart at home
-
Difficulty with transitions, change, or social situations
I provide child therapy and play therapy that incorporates creativity, movement, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
Together, we can help your child understand their experiences, build emotional regulation skills, and feel more confident in who they are.
It can be a space to become more fully yourself.
FOR TEENS
WITH RICH INNER WORLDS
You may be imaginative, sensitive, creative, intense, or someone who thinks and feels deeply. You may be figuring out who you are, where you belong, or how you want to move through the world.
Sometimes, all of that can feel like a lot.
You may be dealing with:
-
Anxiety, overthinking or obsessive thoughts
-
Perfectionism or pressure to get things “right”
-
Feeling overwhelmed or emotionally exhausted
-
School, performance, or family pressure
-
Friendship, relationship, or social challenges
-
Questions about identity, belonging, or where you fit
I provide therapy for teens using conversation, creativity, art, mindfulness, and nervous-system–informed approaches.
for women
who have done enough
I work with women, who despite all their hard work, still struggle with anxiety, feeling like they don't fit in and feel like they haven't done enough.
You may notice:
-
Overthinking, perfectionism, or persistent self-doubt
-
Feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or disconnected from yourself
-
Struggling with intrusive thoughts or familiar patterns
-
Navigating parenting, changing relationships, or major life transitions
-
Feeling creatively or emotionally blocked, or longing for a deeper sense of meaning
-
Together, we can explore what lies beneath the surface, understand the patterns that keep you stuck, and reconnect with what feels meaningful and distinctly your own.
Hi, I'm tara
I'm glad you're here.
My work as a therapist has taken me through many different worlds: inpatient psychiatric hospitals, community mental health, and work with children and teens who are neurodivergent or have experienced trauma. These experiences taught me early on that people are never simply a diagnosis, a behavior, or a story someone else has told about them.
My interest in psychology actually began onstage. I studied acting at Emerson College, where stepping into different characters sparked my curiosity about their inner worlds: What shaped them? What did they long for? What experiences made them who they were? I became fascinated by the many layers of what makes us human.
That curiosity eventually led me to study the relationship between the body, emotions, and mind through yoga, and later to earn my Master's degree in Drama Therapy from New York University. Since then, my clinical work and training have expanded to include play therapy, nervous-system regulation, depth psychology, and other creative and relational approaches. I am a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Registered Drama Therapist.
While I draw from many different perspectives, I return again and again to the importance of the therapeutic relationship: having a space where you can feel safe enough to be fully yourself.
For a child, that might happen through play, imagination, or movement. For a teenager, it might mean having a place to say something out loud without worrying about how it will sound. For an adult, it might be an opportunity to listen to parts of themselves that have long needed to be heard.
I believe we don't need perfect relationships; we need enough safety, connection, and room for repair. We all lose our way, get overwhelmed, make mistakes, and change. Sometimes we just need someone beside us as we figure out what comes next.
That is the kind of space I hope to create in therapy: warm, thoughtful, creative, and human. A place where you don't have to arrive with the answers, and where we can be curious together about what your experiences might be trying to tell you.
You don't have to know exactly what you need before reaching out. We can start there.
education & credentials
Education
New York University — Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Master’s Degree in Drama Therapy, 2010
Thesis: A Healing Process: Therapeutic Theater in an Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Program
Emerson College
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting
Licenses and Professional Credentials
Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT)
New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
License No. 001602
Registered Drama Therapist (RDT)
North American Drama Therapy Association
Registration No. 507
Art Therapist — State of Connecticut
Department of Public Health
License No. 107
Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT)
Yoga Alliance
The Open Center, New York, NY · Prana Yoga with Jeff Migdow, MD
Advanced Training
Synergetic Play Therapy
Currently completing certification; anticipated certification May 2027
Psychodrama Training
American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP), with Dr. Tian Dayton, NYC
Professional Information
NPI: 1508496878
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
erica
“I began therapy with Tara to work through stumbling blocks in my creative process, sources of stress and anxiety, and obstacles to well-being. With her help, I've developed a clearer understanding of my own thought and behavior patterns, and have achieved greater peace and self-integration. She is imaginative, helpful, flexible, and kind.”
working together
Private Pay Therapy
$250
45-minute individual therapy sessions
My practice is intentionally small, personal, and highly individualized. I work with a limited number of clients so I can offer thoughtful, connected care.
For children and teens, brief 10-minute parent check-ins by phone are available as needed and included as part of ongoing treatment when clinically appropriate. I also offer 45-minute parent sessions when more time is needed to explore concerns, understand patterns, and support your child outside of therapy.
Group & Family Drama Therapy
Creative, experiential therapy for families and groups. Sessions are 60–90 minutes. Please inquire about availability and fees.
Out‑of‑Network Provider
I am an out-of-network provider and do not bill insurance directly. Payment is made at the time of service, and I provide a monthly superbill that you may submit to your insurance company for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
Because insurance plans vary, I recommend contacting your insurance company before beginning therapy to ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits, deductible, reimbursement rate, and any limits on coverage.
.png)
.png)