To learn more about what inspired me to become a therapist, listen to my interview on the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)’s Alumni Aloud podcast:

Let's connect. Please fill out the Contact Form
or you can reach me directly at

rachel@coooperativebalance.com
347-325-4142

Yet, while working behind a computer to perform that important work, I felt a deep void. The authenticity that I fell in love with during my focus group conversations was sorely missing but fortunately rediscovered when I earned my clinical license in Social Work. Thanks to exceptional clinical appointments at Bellevue Hospital Center's Child Psychiatric Emergency Room, Article 31 Mental Health Clinic Neighborhood Counseling Center, and Brooklyn Counseling & Women’s Services, I learned how to help balance the emotional needs of children, adolescents, adults, couples, and whole families as they struggled to make a myriad of difficult life transitions.

Cooperative Balance extends that clinical work by using growth centered therapy to help people from all walks of life thrive across changing familial, social, cultural, and environmental circumstances. I employ an array of clinical skills and strong evidence based practices to ensure that you overcome adversity in pursuit of known goals and those waiting to be discovered. And I will help you find balance and grow through life transitions by giving you the structure and support you need to reach your full potential.

I started my career in the early 2000s as a child development researcher conducting focus groups with preschoolers. That novel work advised Executives at Sesame Street, Disney, and Nickelodeon on the most appropriate content to develop for their children's television series. Consequently, my earliest career days were spent learning directly from children who, I quickly came to understand, are much smarter than I am! Not only were they honest but they expressed an authenticity that is unmatched and unparalleled. They taught me how to listen without judgements and love without conditions. My fascination with their brilliance led me to earn a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology which awarded me the expertise to next advise organizations including the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York City Department of Education on the best health and wellness policies to implement for their child audiences and adult staff.

dr. rachel manes

Principal & president

- Dr. Rachel Manes

Life isn't linear, and I wasn't always a therapist.