Shelby Ortega, Ph.D.

Choosing to go to therapy is both a courageous and meaningful step in someone's life. In my experience, some clients enter treatment having a sense of what is troubling them and have made great efforts to resolve these difficulties, and yet these painful feelings persist. And other times, clients are only aware of the hurt they are feeling and are looking for ways to identify it's source and alleviate their discomfort. I have found that the therapeutic relationship can be helpful in both circumstances and seek to provide an approach that is best characterized by warmth, flexibility, openness, active engagement, and sensitivity. Together, we will work to reduce your suffering, help you relate more authentically with yourself and others, and enhance your ability to experience more pleasure in your everyday life. I enjoy working with people from all walks of life, and make every effort to help those I work with feel welcomed, engaged, supported and respected. As a Clinical Psychologist, I serve as a Teaching Associate in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. I have extensive training in multicultural mental health, and I have also completed two fellowships in psychodynamic psychotherapy at Harvard Medical School. I have a particular interest in issues of identity development and intimacy difficulties.