Areas of Expertise
Reproductive Psychiatry
Many women experience unique concerns related to pregnancy, fertility, breastfeeding, motherhood, and the menstrual cycle. In addition to biological factors like genetics and hormones, each woman’s life story, relationships, and culture can have a profound effect on how she experiences different stages and transitions. Dr. Kaplan specializes in diagnosing and treating distress related to the reproductive lifecycle in women, including depression and anxiety during pregnancy, postpartum depression and anxiety, and grief related to infertility and pregnancy loss. Moreover, Dr. Kaplan is an expert in the use of psychiatric medications during pregnancy, and she enjoys helping women navigate complex decisions about whether and how to use medication while pregnant. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Kaplan has served as a faculty member in NYU’s Women’s Mental Health Fellowship.
Parental Mental Health
Having a child generates intense – and often confusing – emotions. Parenthood forces us to reckon with our understanding of ourselves, with our own experiences of being parented, and with our hopes and fears about our world. Moreover, a child’s wellbeing is profoundly linked to her caregiver’s wellbeing. Dr. Kaplan pays close attention to the bond between child and parent, and she provides guidance in overcoming obstacles to healthy attachment, regular sleep and eating, and family health. In addition to treating parents of all genders within her practice, Dr. Kaplan has lectured nationally about psychotherapy to promote the wellbeing of babies and their caregivers.
Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Although each person has a different threshold for becoming overwhelmed, life can sometimes feel bewildering and crushing for everyone. Dr. Kaplan has extensive experience in diagnosing and treating conditions that impact wellbeing, and she uses psychotherapy, medication, and lifestyle recommendations to help her patients reconnect with a sense of meaning and vitality. She has particular expertise in depression and anxiety disorders, and she works closely with each patient to understand how life history, relationships, biology, and trauma can impact day-to-day experiences. Moreover, Dr. Kaplan is skilled in assessing how attentional difficulties can impact confidence and adjustment in children and young adults, and she frequently treats people in their 20s and 30s who are navigating the challenges of adulthood.
Individual Psychotherapy
Dr. Kaplan focuses primarily on open-ended psychotherapy, which means that a course of therapy can continue for as long as someone needs support. In addition to advanced training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Dr. Kaplan has experience in interpersonal psychotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, parent management training, and emotionally focused therapy for couples.
Approach
Mental health care should nourish your sense of vitality, meaning, and connectedness. From the very first seconds of life, human beings develop within the context of relationships: the people that care for us, the people that we love, and the people that hurt us all interact with our biology to shape who we become and how we experience the world. Because we are profoundly shaped by our relationships, it is also through relationships that we can heal. Dr. Kaplan believes that a warm and trusting relationship is the foundation of transformational psychiatric care.
Dr. Kaplan approaches each client with kindness, curiosity, and sincerity. As a therapist, she focuses on helping patients to recognize the echoes of past experiences in present-day emotions, and she guides patients in developing a fuller, richer sense of themselves and of their relationships with others. Dr. Kaplan’s style is grounded in compassion and playfulness, and she supports her clients in making tangible, day-to-day improvements in their lives in addition to gaining deeper self-understanding.
As a psychopharmacologist, Dr. Kaplan works collaboratively with patients to determine whether medication is right for them. For many people, choosing to take a medication can be difficult, and Dr. Kaplan pays close attention to each patient’s worries and goals. Dr. Kaplan prescribes medication with care and thoughtfulness, and her aim – whether or not medications are used – is for every patient to thrive.
