Child, Teen, and Young Adult Psychologist on the Upper West Side
Practical, skills-based therapy for anxiety, perfectionism, OCD, ADHD, and behavioral challenges–built around your goals.
Proudly featured in:
What makes Dr. Castro’s approach different?
Dr. Castro offers goal-driven therapy, not open-ended talk therapy. Kids, teens, young adults, and parents build awareness of their patterns, practical skills to change them, and the confidence to use those skills on their own. Every plan is tailored and uses approaches shown to work in research.
A clear plan from the start.
Before therapy begins, we agree on goals that are meaningful to you and achievable. Many families reach their goals within a school year, and parent-child work like PCIT is often shorter.
Skills, not just insight.
Sessions are active. Kids, teens, and young adults learn and practice concrete strategies, from facing fears head on to riding out intense emotions, and use them between sessions.
Parents as partners.
Parents are part of the work, not just the ride to sessions. I meet with parents at least quarterly to review progress. When the parent-child relationship itself is strained, I work with parents directly, sometimes in parent-only sessions. For younger children, I coach parents live, by video, in their own home, so strategies are tested in your real life, not just in an office.
Tailored, not one-size-fits-all.
I draw from CBT, DBT, IPT-A, PMT, PCIT, and SPACE, and match the approach to age, needs, and goals. Don’t worry about the acronyms–everything is explained in plain language. We choose the modality together, because an approach you don’t believe in won’t work.
New Yorkers are busy. My goal is to help you feel better, faster.
Learn about evidence-based therapy for children, teens, and young adults.
Who does Dr. Castro work with?
Dr. Castro works with children, teens, and young adults, and with the parents who support them. Most families find her for one of two reasons.
For parents
Your child is bright and capable, but anxiety, perfectionism, big emotions, or attention struggles are getting in the way at school, at home, or with friends. You want a specialist who gives you a plan and teaches you how to help.
For teens and young adults
You hold yourself to high standards. Lately, worry, procrastination, or pressure to perform is costing you more than it should. You want practical tools, not just someone to listen (though that’s important, too).
Why are you looking for a child and adolescent psychologist on the Upper West Side?
Dr. Castro treats a range of concerns common in kids, teens, and young adults. You don’t need to know which category or diagnosis fits. See if any of these sound familiar.
Mood
Self-isolation and decreased socializing
Low motivation
Crying spells
Irritability
What ages does Dr. Castro work with?
Dr. Castro works with children, teens, and young adults. With younger children, she uses play-based techniques and works closely with parents. With teens and young adults, the work becomes more independent and focused on their own goals.
How does therapy with Dr. Castro work?
Therapy with Dr. Castro starts with a free 20-minute call and moves to a tailored treatment plan within the first few sessions.
- Free consultation. A 20-minute video call to talk through your concerns and see if we’re a good fit.
- Intake evaluation. Two to three sessions to understand history and current symptoms, ending with a preliminary diagnosis and recommendations for a treatment approach.
- Shared treatment plan. We agree on goals and the approach most likely to reach them.
- Weekly therapy. Active, skills-based sessions. Many families reach their goals within a school year, and parent-child work like PCIT is often shorter.
What happens during a free consultation?
During your free 20-minute video consultation, we’ll discuss your concerns about yourself or your child and answer your questions. Together, we’ll decide whether my approach fits your goals. There’s no obligation beyond that.
About Dr. Castro
I’m Dr. Ashley Castro, a licensed child and adolescent psychologist in NYC, specializing in evidence-based therapy for children, teens, and young adults.
I earned my PhD in Clinical Child Psychology from DePaul University and completed my predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. I then served as a staff psychologist there, providing therapy and assessment in an integrated pediatric primary care setting, and taught Columbia medical students about ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. I’m a certified PCIT therapist.
Evidence-Based Therapy on the Upper West Side for Kids, Teens, and Young Adults
I offer cognitive behavioral therapy and other evidence-based approaches, matched to your concerns and goals.
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy helps children, teens, and young adults build the skills to manage anxiety, emotions, and behavior. I integrate techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and interpersonal psychotherapy for adolescents (IPT-A), depending on a needs, symptoms, and age.
Before therapy starts, we set goals that are meaningful and achievable. For every patient, the work includes building self-confidence and awareness of behavioral and emotional patterns.
Parent-Child Therapy
Parent-child therapy gives parents the tools to help their child, practiced in real time. The parent-child relationship is uniquely powerful for fostering a child’s emotional development.
This work happens by video, with live coaching of parents and their child at home. The format build parent confidence quickly, and because it happens in your home, the techniques work in real life, not just in an office.
I offer Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to address tantrums, noncompliance, oppositionality, and ADHD symptoms, and offer PCIT-CALM for anxiety in young children.
Parent Coaching
Parent coaching helps caregivers feel confident and effective when their child is struggling.
For tantrums, disobedience, and attention-seeking behaviors, I provide behavior management training (also called parent management training), which teaches strategies that reduce these behaviors.
Parent coaching also works for child anxiety. For younger children especially, changing how parents respond to anxiety can be enough to reduce it. For this work, I use SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) developed by Dr. Lebowitz at Yale.
Clinical Psychology Blog Posts
-
10 Warning Signs of Anxiety in Children to Look out for
Worries, nervousness, and fears are all normal parts of childhood and adolescence. But sometimes young people experience anxiety more frequently or intensely than is typical. Unfortunately, kids and parents don’t always recognize when anxiety is rising to clinically concerning levels. When anxiety sneaks into your child’s life undetected, it has the potential to become persistent […]
-
ADHD in Children: 4 Ways to Help Your Child Thrive
Parents, if you’re reading this, you likely have a child diagnosed or suspected of having ADHD. You may be here because you’ve noticed your child’s struggle to sit still, stay focused, or both, and you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. If your child is among the 7 million children in the U.S. who have ADHD, please know […]
Does Dr. Castro offer in-person and online therapy on the Upper West Side?
Yes. As a child, teen, and young adult psychologist serving Upper West Side families, Dr. Castro offers in-person therapy at her office and online throughout New York. The office is convenient to the 1, 2, 3, B, and C trains.
To get started, request a free 20-minute video consultation.