Dr. Emile T. Berk

Clinical psychologist conducting psychological, neuropsychological, and learning disabilities evaluations for children and adults, licensed in New York & New Jersey

Languages: English 

Education:

• 2015 PhD in Counseling Psychology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
• 2009 MS in Clinical Psychology, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD
• 2006 BA in Psychology & Sociology, University at Buffalo, Amherst, NY

My journey to a career as a psychotherapist started with my own positive experiences in therapy during my youth. I gravitate towards the individualized and genuine exchange between people which therapy can offer. I conceptualize issues that people experience as part of a journey of growth and healing. I love what I do. I use an integrative model of therapy in order to tailor treatment to each person’s needs and personality characteristics.

I believe that we largely understand our world, symptoms, struggles, strengths and beliefs through our relationships with others. One way psychotherapy can promote healthier functioning is to develop our awareness of how we relate to others. Another framework I use examines the language with which we express ourselves. The way we think and speak about our experiences often has a telling and powerful impact on how we view ourselves, our world, and change. As someone who lives within an array of Jewish and American subcultures, I also pay close attention to my patient’s multicultural identities. I encourage discussion of these intersecting identities in session, especially with young people for whom this cultural fabric is forming.

After completing doctoral internship at the Catholic University of America Counseling Center, I concurrently worked with young adults in college counseling as well as children and adolescents referred for issues related to family trauma. Since 2006, I have worked intermittently with people with autism spectrum and other developmental and neurodivergent conditions. This experience included development and facilitation of social skills curriculums, direct 1:1 care in specialized schools, private social skills coaching, and parent support group facilitation. Combined with talk and play therapy, working with this younger population naturally led to my involvement in psychoeducational/neuropsychological testing and evaluation, which I have been performing at TEMA Therapy Center for the past seven years. Through the evaluations, I provide a very comprehensive picture of a person’s intellectual, neuropsychological, and academic functioning, with a special focus on emotional and social development. I am blessed to work with the colleagues and patients from whom I continue to grow as a psychologist and person.