Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction & Relaxation in NYC
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques are evidence-based skills, drawn from mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and related protocols, that teach you to notice a thought without being pulled under by it, with real trial data for anxiety, depression, and rumination. At Integrative Psych in Manhattan, one clinician teaches them and coordinates them with the rest of your care.
- In-person · Manhattan
- Telehealth · New York
Start with an assessment
Short, private check-ins that help you put words to what you're noticing before your first conversation.
Child ADHD
A check on a child's focus, follow-through, and emotional reactions.
Adult ADHD
A check on focus, organization, and follow-through in adults.
Anxiety
A check on worry, tension, and how much they shape your days.
Depression
A check on mood, energy, and interest in everyday life.
Our clinicians are affiliated with
What Is Mindfulness and Relaxation
Mindfulness is the practiced skill of observing your thoughts and bodily sensations as passing events instead of collapsing into them. Relaxation techniques are the body-based half of the same work: breathing, muscle release, and grounding that quiet an over-activated nervous system. Delivered clinically, they draw on structured protocols like mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction, both with strong randomized-trial evidence for anxiety, depression relapse, and rumination.
Acute severe depression, untreated bipolar disorder, or active psychosis need medication management and structured therapy first; mindfulness work layers in once the picture is stable.
The short version
- Mindfulness-based interventions have decades of trial data for anxiety, depression, and the rumination that feeds both.
- This is a taught clinical skill set, breath work, the body scan, and present-moment attention, not a self-directed meditation app.
- For people with recurrent depression, mindfulness-based work is recommended to help prevent the next episode.
- At Integrative Psych, one clinician teaches the practice and coordinates it with your therapy and medication in a single plan.
You're likely a strong fit
This work is a skill set, not a vibe. You're likely a strong fit if several of these sound familiar:
- You've had two or more depressive episodes and want to prevent the next one.
- Your mood has stabilized on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or medication and you want to hold the gains.
- Rumination loops at 2 a.m. and bleeds into the next day.
- Your anxiety lives in your body: tight chest, clenched jaw, shallow breathing.
- You want a teachable practice you can use between sessions, not just talk.
The evidence behind mindfulness-based care
of depression relapse with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with recurrent depression (Kuyken et al., individual-patient-data meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials, JAMA Psychiatry)
that mindfulness meditation programs reduce anxiety and depression (Goyal et al. systematic review and meta-analysis, JAMA Internal Medicine)
preventing depression relapse and managing anxiety symptoms (Kuyken et al., JAMA Psychiatry)
How Mindfulness and Relaxation Works and What to Expect
Mindfulness works by building a small, deliberate gap between a thought and your reaction to it. That gap is where rumination loses its grip and where emotional regulation lives, and it's a skill you train, the same way you'd train any other. Your clinician teaches it through a few core practices:
Diaphragmatic breathing
Slow, low-belly breathing that activates the parasympathetic system and drops arousal within minutes.
Body scan
Attention moves through the body head to toe, noticing sensation without trying to change it. This is the anchor practice of mindfulness-based work.
Noticing thoughts
You learn to watch a thought arrive, name it, and let it pass instead of arguing with it or chasing it.
Progressive muscle relaxation and grounding
Sequential tensing and releasing, plus sensory anchors, to interrupt chronic tension and acute spikes.
The clinical evidence is unusually strong for a practice often lumped in with wellness content. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was built in the late 1990s for a specific problem: people with recurrent depression kept relapsing after medication resolved the acute episode. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, developed at the University of Massachusetts, carries decades of evidence for stress, chronic pain, and anxiety. You learn the practices in session, build a short daily routine, and refine it with your clinician. Sessions run 30 to 90 minutes, and the goal is a practice you run on your own. If chronic stress and burnout are your primary concern, stress management is the better starting frame; mindfulness is also a core skill within DBT when emotion regulation is the target.
Mindfulness and Relaxation at Integrative Psych
Mindfulness work is strongest here because it's coordinated with the rest of your care. One board-certified clinician teaches the practice and manages your therapy and medication in a single plan, so a practice that surfaces a deeper issue and the adjustment that follows are decided by the same person, not handed between two.
That coordination starts before your first session with the Sigmund Assessment, a structured evaluation your clinician reviews beforehand that maps your symptom history, prior treatment responses, and goals, so your clinician arrives already understanding your case. For mindfulness work, it answers one question early: is this the right fit today, or do we stabilize the acute picture first? We then match you on clinical fit and approach, not the next open slot. The practice houses clinicians affiliated with the National Institutes of Health, Columbia University, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, several with advanced training in mindfulness-based approaches, and you can explore the research if you want to look deeper. Care is available in person at our Manhattan office and by telehealth anywhere in New York State.
Clinicians who provide mindfulness-based therapy
Board-certified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. The practice houses clinicians affiliated with NIH, Columbia, and New York-Presbyterian.
What Patients Say
Insurance and Billing
Integrative Psych is an out-of-network practice. You pay at the time of service and receive a monthly superbill to submit to your insurer for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Many PPO plans reimburse a portion, and your insurer is the best source for what your specific plan covers. To check yours, call the number on your card and ask about out-of-network reimbursement for outpatient psychiatric evaluations, follow-up visits, and therapy.
Billing, simply
- Out-of-network; you pay at the time of service.
- Monthly superbill provided for reimbursement.
- Many PPO plans reimburse a portion of out-of-network care.
- Call the number on your card to confirm your benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mindfulness and Relaxation
How is clinical mindfulness different from a meditation app?
A clinician decides whether mindfulness work fits your diagnosis, tailors it to your case, integrates it with your therapy and medication, and tracks your progress over time. An app offers self-directed content with no clinical assessment behind it. One is a tool you use alone; the other is a treatment a clinician delivers and adjusts.
Does mindfulness actually have evidence behind it?
Yes. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy lowered relapse risk for people with recurrent depression across randomized trials, and clinical guidelines recommend it for relapse prevention. Mindfulness-based stress reduction carries decades of evidence for stress, pain, and anxiety. The evidence is strongest for preventing depression relapse and easing anxiety.
Can mindfulness or relaxation replace my medication?
No. This work is complementary, not a substitute. For some people in remission from depression, it can support maintenance alongside an antidepressant, a decision you make with your clinician. For an active episode, bipolar disorder, or psychotic symptoms, medication comes first. Never stop a medication on your own.
What relaxation techniques will I actually learn?
Typically diaphragmatic breathing, the body scan, progressive muscle relaxation, and grounding skills, chosen to fit what's driving your symptoms. Your clinician teaches each one in session, then helps you build a short daily routine you can keep going between visits, so the skill holds when you need it most.
How is this different from stress management?
Mindfulness and relaxation focus on the technique and practice itself, the skills and their evidence base for anxiety, depression, and rumination. Stress management is the broader clinical frame for chronic stress and burnout, including evaluation and treatment options. Many patients use both, and one clinician coordinates them.
Where can I find mindfulness therapy near me in NYC?
Our office is at 80 8th Ave in Manhattan, where we teach mindfulness and relaxation techniques in person. Breath work, the body scan, and noticing thoughts also transfer well to video, so we offer this care by telehealth anywhere in New York State.
Start Here
Mindfulness and relaxation are clinical skills with decades of evidence, taught by clinicians who know what they're for and how to fit them to your case. We'll map what's driving your symptoms and match you with the right clinician. Appointments are in person at our Manhattan office or by telehealth anywhere in New York State.