It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”
Margot was born and raised in New York City in a neighborhood that borders Harlem and Washington Heights. It was here that after losing her father at age 8, Margot entered the world of therapy through grief, trying to understand it and simultaneously move through it with her first therapist. Having been a pudgy kid of color in predominantly white schools, Margot was always drawn to the “other”, those kids and people who somehow didn’t feel they fit in. She learned over time and experience how universal not feeling like you fit in is for many, despite those who present the most immaculate facades to the contrary. It was through this awareness that Margot formed an alliance with “the other” that existed in all of us, and sought to assist people in embracing their differences, and reaping the fruits their “otherness” created in them. All with the goal of appreciating who we are more fully.
Margot is also a recipient of a kidney transplant. Having a chronic medical illness plus undergoing a transplant herself, she has dedicated herself to the community of people and families who are negotiating their way through the healthcare system. She has immersed herself in effectively supporting individuals and families going through these processes, not to mention the myriad issues that can arise personally for people. Depression and anxiety are common and can be overwhelming while transitioning to a new medical state—pre and post transplant— and coping with a chronic medical illness.
Margot’s psychological education began at Temple University in Psychology, and she later moved on to complete her master’s at Bryn Mawr College School of Social Work and Social Research. After working in schools, community health centers, group practices and hospitals, Margot opened her practice in 2000. She works largely from Psychodynamic Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral informed Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Family Systems Therapy. She sees her clients as people, however, working diligently to live their best lives, rather than diagnoses to be pathologized.
If you are looking for someone who will simply listen and be a blank slate, Margot is not the therapist for you. However, if you want to see a therapist who does not check her own humanity at the door, and will respectfully challenge client perceptions while making observations, you have just found one. Margot’s warmth, laugh, and good humor gently paves the way for difficult work to be explored while encouraging clients to confront uncomfortable truths and giving them the tools to address them effectively.