Individual Therapy in NYC
"Find your GROWTH"
Individual therapy is a space to slow down. To look at what's actually happening, not just what you're managing. To have an honest conversation about your life, your patterns, and what you want to be different, with a person who is paying close attention and has no stake in you staying the same.
I'm Gary Dillon, PhD, a licensed psychologist and the founder of Ally Psychological Therapy. I work with adults across New York City who are ready to stop running on autopilot and start understanding themselves more fully.
What Individual Therapy Actually Is
Individual therapy is a regular, structured relationship with a trained clinician. You bring what's happening in your life. We look at it together, often more carefully than you've been able to on your own. Over time, patterns emerge. Understanding deepens. Things that felt stuck begin to move.
It is not advice-giving. It is not venting into a void. It is an active, collaborative process that changes how you relate to yourself and others.
Who Individual Therapy Is For
Individual therapy can be helpful for almost anyone who is ready to examine their life with some honesty. More specifically, it tends to be especially useful for people who:
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Feel anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted in ways that don't fully make sense to them
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Notice patterns in relationships or work that keep repeating despite their efforts
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Are carrying something from the past that still shows up in the present
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Are navigating identity questions, life transitions, or moments where their sense of self feels uncertain
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Are high-achieving and still quietly struggling underneath the success
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Want a non-judgmental space to think through difficult things without having to perform or protect someone else's feelings
What We Might Work On Together
The concerns people bring to individual therapy are wide-ranging. Some of what I support clients with:
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Anxiety and overthinking, including high-functioning anxiety that hides behind productivity (Learn more about trauma therapy)
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Depression and persistent low mood or emotional flatness
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Burnout and chronic stress, particularly in high-demand professional environments
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Relationship difficulties including communication, intimacy, and attachment patterns
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Identity development and self-understanding, including racial, gender, and sexual identity
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Life transitions: career shifts, relationship changes, loss, relocation, becoming a parent
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Grief that has not had space to be processed
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Self-esteem and the gap between external success and internal worth
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Alcohol or substance use and the patterns underneath it
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The specific pressures of being a Black professional, LGBTQ+ adult, or member of a community with high expectations
If what you're dealing with is not listed here, it does not mean it is not appropriate for therapy. Bring what you're carrying.
How I Approach This Work
My approach is integrative and relational. I draw from multiple evidence-based frameworks and adapt them to the person in front of me. What remains consistent is an attention to the relationship between us, to patterns that run beneath the surface, and to how your history continues to shape your present.
I approach this work with warmth and directness. I will not simply validate everything you say if I think there is something more useful to explore. I will also not push you faster than the work calls for. The pace is collaborative.
You can read more about the specific therapeutic frameworks I draw from on my My Approach page.
Culturally Responsive and Affirming Care
This practice is built around working with people who have often been underserved or misunderstood in traditional mental health spaces. BIPOC adults, LGBTQ+ individuals, first-generation professionals, immigrants and children of immigrants, and people navigating identities that rarely appear centered in mainstream mental health narratives.
Culturally responsive therapy means your identity, background, and lived experience are not context that needs to be explained. They are part of how we understand you, and they inform how we work.
Many clients specifically seek culturally attuned care; if you're exploring therapy with a provider who shares your racial identity and can speak directly to your lived experience, explore working with a Black male therapist in NYC.
Those who are queer-identifying can learn about how we may work together by reading the LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy NYC page.
You can also learn more about therapy with a Black therapist in NYC
Frequently Asked Questions
What concerns can individual therapy help with?
Individual therapy can help with anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, relationship difficulties, identity questions, grief, life transitions, self-esteem, and the specific pressures of being a Black professional, LGBTQ+ adult, or member of a community with high expectations. If what you're carrying isn't on that list, bring it anyway. Many concerns don't fit neatly into categories, and therapy doesn't require one.
How is individual therapy different from other kinds of support?
Talking to friends, family, or a mentor can be genuinely useful. Individual therapy is different in a few specific ways. A therapist has no stake in you staying the same. The relationship is structured entirely around your growth rather than the needs of the relationship itself. A therapist is also trained to notice patterns across time, to name things that are hard to name alone, and to stay curious about what's underneath the surface rather than helping you manage what's visible. It's not a better version of talking to someone you trust. It's a different kind of conversation.
How do I know if therapy is right for me?
If something is consistently getting in the way of your relationships, your sense of self, your ability to feel settled, or your capacity to live the life you want, therapy is worth considering. You don't need to be in crisis. Many people begin therapy because they are functioning well and still know something is missing or not working. That recognition is enough.
How long does individual therapy last?
It depends on what you bring and what you're working toward. Some people come with a specific concern and find that several months of consistent work produces meaningful change. Others are interested in deeper exploration and find therapy valuable over years. There is no predetermined endpoint. Goals are revisited regularly so the pace of the work reflects where you actually are, not where a timeline says you should be.
Do you offer online sessions?
Yes. All sessions are conducted via secure video and are available to adults located anywhere in New York State.
How do I get started?
Schedule a free 20-minute consultation. We'll talk about what brings you in and whether working together feels like the right fit. No commitment required.
One Conversation Is Enough to Start
You don't need to arrive with a fully formed sense of what's wrong or what you need. Most people don't. What individual therapy requires is a willingness to look honestly at your life and the patience to let something build over time.
If you're considering therapy and want to see whether this feels like the right fit, the first step is a free 20-minute consultation. We'll talk about what's been present for you, what you're hoping might be different, and whether working together makes sense.
Schedule a Free 20-Minute Consultation
Before reaching out, you may also want to read about My Approach or Trauma Therapy if unresolved past experiences feel relevant to what you're carrying.