Damara Israel, LCSW, LISW-CP

Damara Israel is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in New York. She has 12 years of experience helping people facing major life changes, career challenges, and struggles with addiction. Damara focuses on building clearer communication, greater self-understanding, and more stable coping skills. Her work often centers on practical goals. She helps people talk through feelings of shame, isolation, impulsivity, and anger. Sessions aim to identify patterns that get in the way and to try new ways of responding in everyday life. Damara uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing. She blends these approaches to suit each person’s needs rather than applying one fixed method. She also addresses concerns like body image, midlife and career transitions, grief, and compassion fatigue. Damara pays attention to how culture and past experiences shape current choices and reactions. Clients can expect a calm and direct style that balances support with clear steps forward. The focus is on small, doable changes that add up over time. To begin, follow the site’s Start Therapy process to match and schedule a first session.

Approaches that translate to online work

Damara draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing as part of her work. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and trying small behavior changes to test new outcomes; it can help with anxiety, depression, and patterns tied to addiction. Motivational interviewing is a conversational approach that helps people find their own reasons for change and build readiness rather than imposing goals. Finding the right approach is a joint process. Damara will talk with each person about goals and preferences and then adapt methods to fit what they want to achieve. That collaboration helps shape short-term goals and practical strategies clients can use between sessions. Confirm current session options before booking since specific formats are not listed in the biography. Online sessions can make scheduling easier and help therapy fit into a busy life, such as taking a session during a lunch break or avoiding travel time. They also allow for quieter, shorter check-ins when time or bandwidth is limited. Discuss format preferences when scheduling so sessions match daily routines and therapeutic goals.