About Derek
Derek Bakay is a licensed mental health counselor in New York with 15 years of experience. He works with people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, and career or life transitions. He keeps sessions warm and interactive and focuses on each person as an individual.
Derek uses a client-centered stance to build trust and listen to what matters most. He also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people spot and change unhelpful thinking.
Background and approach
Solution-focused methods are part of his work when people want practical steps and short-term goals. He has helped people manage caregiving strain, blended family challenges, chronic illness and disability adjustment, and issues around parenting and fatherhood. He also supports those facing midlife questions, work-related stress, and struggles with self-esteem or life purpose.
Sessions aim to connect practical tools with the person’s own strengths. Derek says the person in therapy is the expert on their life. He avoids labels and treats people with respect and compassion.
Together he and the client shape a plan that fits the client’s needs and goals. Sessions can include focused skill-building, problem-solving conversations, and ongoing coaching for life changes. Derek adapts his style so the work is clear, understandable, and relevant to everyday life.
How client-centered and brief therapies work online
Derek draws on client-centered work to listen and follow what matters most to each person. That approach focuses on understanding the person’s experience and building a respectful therapeutic relationship. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and test different behaviors to reduce anxiety or low mood. Solution-focused therapy supports short-term goal setting and small steps to create change quickly.Choosing the right approach is part of the process. Derek works collaboratively to figure out which methods fit a person’s needs, goals, and preferences. He will check in and adjust the plan as progress is made so the work stays practical and relevant.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video is useful for fuller conversations and visual cues, while phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and messaging are good for quick check-ins, brief coaching, or fitting support into a busy day. These options help people keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, and daily life.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Career difficulties
- Depression
Also works with
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Fatherhood issues
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visually impaired
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English