Derek Bakay, LMHC

Derek Bakay is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) practicing in New York. He draws on 15 years of clinical experience to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. He aims to provide a respectful, down-to-earth space for people to talk through challenges and build on their strengths.

He favors a person-centered style that puts the client's perspective first. That means conversations focus on what matters to the individual and on practical steps they can try between sessions. He also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help identify unhelpful thinking patterns. Solution-focused work helps keep sessions goal-oriented and action-based.

Derek has worked across a range of clinical settings and has experience with caregiver stress, chronic illness and disability adjustment, parenting strain, and midlife concerns. He also supports people dealing with relationship and intimacy-related issues, communication problems, jealousy, and challenges around commitment and life purpose.

In sessions he aims to be warm, interactive, and thorough, treating people with sensitivity and respect. He avoids stigmatizing labels and looks for each person’s strengths to guide the work. The conversation and plan are tailored to the client’s specific needs and goals.

People who choose him often want practical tools and clear next steps. Derek encourages collaboration so goals evolve as progress is made. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule according to therapist availability.

How his approaches translate to online work

Derek uses client-centered work and cognitive behavioral techniques to guide sessions. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening, understanding the person's experience, and building on their strengths to move forward. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps identify patterns of thinking and behavior that cause distress and teaches practical skills to change them.

He also draws on solution-focused methods that keep conversations goal-oriented and brief, with small steps to try between sessions. Together these approaches are aimed at creating a collaborative plan where the client’s goals steer the work. The therapist and client review progress and adjust methods as needed to find the best fit.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. In general, online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins when needed, and offering flexible scheduling around work or caregiving obligations. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises, homework, and skill practice for remote work so therapy remains practical and focused even when done at a distance.