About

I am not currently accepting new patients

I am a clinical social worker offering individual psychodynamic psychotherapy to older adolescents and adults. Psychodynamic therapy is a collaborative approach that fosters personal development through careful attention to the patient’s experiences, reflections, interactions, dreams, and memories. As a psychodynamic therapist, I honor the primacy of human attachment, the significance of formative relationships, the inevitability of internal conflicts, the centrality of developmental tasks, the need we all have to protect ourselves from anxiety and pain through psychological defenses, and the importance of finding purpose, being ourselves, and grieving.

Each person’s therapy takes a unique shape. It may at first feel like a fearful undertaking, as so many of the small steps toward growth and healing are not known in advance. It is painful to deal with losses, to revisit traumas, and even to know ourselves in ways we did not want to, yet in the context of a safe and supportive therapeutic relationship, it becomes possible to embark on this journey and to create a full and richly meaningful life. As your therapist, I will strive to be compassionate, trustworthy, and empathically attuned to the nuances of your mental life and of our interactions. I will work to help you move toward greater resilience, wholeness, connection to yourself and others, aliveness, and freedom from debilitating symptoms and self-defeating patterns.

I completed my graduate training at Smith College School for Social Work and my post-graduate training at the Cambridge Health Alliance Program for Psychotherapy. I have been in practice for nine years and have worked successfully with issues including depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, self-esteem, family of origin issues, identity development, grief, addictive behaviors, trauma, feelings of shame and guilt, as well as many other issues. I welcome people of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities, as well as those of any religious or spiritual affiliation. I invite you to be in touch if you would like to explore whether I might be a good fit for you.

Lydia Onofrei, LCSW; Raleigh and Chapel Hill Offices, 919-408-3212 x 26