Fran Weiss, LCSW-R, BCD, DCSW, CGP, AGPA - Fellow

I have a private practice in Manhattan, New York City (UWS) treating college aged young adults and adults with anxiety, depression, and emotional components of dysregulating eating. Treating relational trauma and trauma are central to my work. When early childhood and adolescent attachment derailments don’t get sorted out, they have a way of showing up in a variety of presentations in adult life: feelings of shame, self criticism , self sabotage, relationship conundrums and problems with self regulation . Gaining a capacity to self regulate in times of emotional conflict is central for everyone. For those who struggle with their relationship with food, moving to overeating to quiet emotional battles, is often the default position which we tackle in therapy.

I hold a dual Faculty appointment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC, as Associate Clinical Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Environmental Medicine & Public Health., and I have been the Senior Psychotherapy Consultant to the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in affiliation with Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan for three decades.

I am a resource specialist for the Center for Sleep Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and have also been a resource specialist for the Joslin Clinic at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, NYC. When appropriate, I work closely with nutritionists, endocrinologist, psychiatrists, and other physicians. I have a forte at developing interdisciplinary treatment teams.

I am on the Board of Directors of the International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) and Chair its Standards Committee. In addition, I am on the editorial boards of both the American Journal of Psychotherapy and Group, The Journal for the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. I am also the book reviewer in eating disorders for the American Journal of Psychotherapy. I’ve been a Crisis Support Consultant for Supportive Solutions, a crisis response service to the business community. I train, teach and run workshops nationally.

I was traditionally trained in psychodynamic talk therapy, and have investigated, studied and adapted many forms of healing. Psychoanalytic thinking, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, and neuroscience research inform my current practice. My work reflects the best thinking and practices referenced from up-to-date research in the medical scientific literature.

Fostering and building resilience are key to therapeutic success. The experiential methods of sensorimotor psychotherapy, contemplative mindfulness and regulatory techniques for anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, dysregulated eating, and body image have this as their primary goal. I have developed two workshops: Weight Matters — The Body Image Transformation Experience (B.I.T.E®) Workshop; SURVIVE AND THRIVE: Skill Building Tools for Stress Reduction and Developing Resilience. Both are proprietary programs of learning and change.

My clients are mostly high-functioning adults determined to get the best out of life and used to working hard for optimum results. I also work with people who have great potential but are still struggling to achieve professional and financial goals. I have found that most who seek therapy with me are intelligent, insightful, and want to take responsibility for their lives. They know when they need help, and that therapy is a process and relationship requiring commitment and honesty on both sides.

I work individually and in groups, where a team effort supports quick results; in both modalities, we dig deep for real answers. I also work with couples. Executives, professionals and academics benefit from an expectation of excellence. Young people starting careers or those stuck in a job too small for them also benefit from my firm belief that most of us have the abilities we need to do better.

My central focus is helping people learn to listen to and decode the meaning of their internal roadblocks and signals—when the past intrudes on the present—and then refocus their energy in a more productive direction, armed with newly-honed skills in listening, methods of attunement with others, and techniques to dampen anxiety.

Support Groups and Workshops Provided By Fran:

“Survive and Thrive” Stress Reduction Workshop

“Survive and Thrive” is a 7-week workshop in which participants focus on developing skills to reduce stress and build resiliency. These skills include mindfulness, grounding, and relaxation techniques.

The workshop, led by Fran Weiss, will meet weekly for 7 consecutive weeks, on Tuesday evenings, from 8:15 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., from March 5 – April 23, 2024.

This workshop is for those who are too anxious, too reactive, can’t calm down, get unreasonably upset, are on heightened alert or on the edge of panic attacks, are post medical or emotional trauma but can’t shake “it” off, or move too quickly to “things that are not good for them.”

This workshop works well as an adjunct to individual psychotherapy.

If you are interested in this workshop or would like further information about the workshop, please fill out the contact form in my website or call my office directly at (212) 362-6019.

For more information about this upcoming workshop, please visit this page of my website: https://franweiss.com/workshopsurvivethrive.html

For information regarding the cost of participation in this group and how to register, please visit this page of my website: franweiss.com/workshopsurvivethrive.html

The Next Step – Moving On From Bulimianorexia

The Next Step is a short-term group, led by Fran Weiss, will meet April 1 – June 24 2024 for 12 consecutive weeks, on Monday evenings from 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. (no meeting Memorial Day). The group is open to college students, young adults and beyond – ages 18 and up.

The group is for those in recovery who want to move on to the “next step” – beginning to live a life where your eating disorder no longer defines you. You will move on to gain a more comfortable relationship with yourself, with others, and with food.

The group will help you grapple with any fear you might have of feeling different, inadequate, or rejected. It will help you overcome any concern that you don’t fit in or that you are not being accepted or valued.

The group maximum is 9 people, so please reserve your spot in advance. Participation in the group is subject to a pre-group 1-hour individual consultation. To save a spot in the group, please fill out the contact form in my website or call me directly at (212) 362-6019.

For more information about this upcoming group, please visit this page of my website: https://franweiss.com/grouppsychotherapy.html#moveon

Weight Matters: B.I.T.E. The Body Image Transformation Experience® Workshop

“Transforming and Integrating My Body My Self” (January 6 - March 10, 2025, Mondays, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, 10 weekly meetings, takes this to a higher level through skill-building. Experiential somatic, movement and regulatory techniques are taught that help you move towards attunement and mastery of your compulsions. You will be taught how to listen to your body, which is constantly changing in response to internal and external cues, and to regulate yourself in your response to the “call of food.” The B.I.T.E.® workshop is offered once a year. Enrollments for Part II are currently being accepted for the winter/spring of 2025. Participation in Part I of the workshop is a prerequisite to participation in Part II.

For those who want continued ongoing work, support, and practice in skills developed in the B.I.T.E.® Workshop, B.I.T.E.® Mentoring Group provides an ongoing focused group experience. This mentoring group works well as a complement to psychotherapy, nutritional counseling, and/or exercise programs.

For information regarding the cost of participation in this group and how to register, please see this page in my website: https://www.franweiss.com/workshopbite.html

Psychotherapy Groups Led by Fran Weiss

Difficult Liaisons:Professional Single, Married, or Divorced Men and Women of All Sexual Orientations

Difficult Liaisons is an ongoing group, led by Fran Weiss that meet on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The group is open to women in their mid-’30s to late-’60s. Make the best out of the companionship and relationships you’ve found, despite your personal history. Gaining insight and getting feedback from others helps one gain the courage to work on transforming interpersonal struggles into something meaningful.

A group of smart, wise and compassionate men and women who find interpersonal relationships challenging. Learn to unravel family of origin issues so that you don’t keep repeating the same past mistakes in the present.

For more information about this group, please visit this page of my website: https://www.franweiss.com/grouppsychotherapy.html#diffliaisons

Realizing My Best Self as a Person and a Professional

Wednesdays, 6:00 - 7:30 pm, new group starting October 2024

A group for professional single, divorced, or married men and women of all sexual orientations. (Ages: mid 20's - 60)

This is a new group for those who see themselves as appearing outwardly competent, but struggle inwardly at times with feelings of incompetency, inadequacy, or being an "imposter"

For more information about this group, please visit this page of my website: https://www.franweiss.com/grouppsychotherapy.html#nygroup