Find a therapist in Manchester, CT — covered by insurance

I’m a psychotherapist and coach with nearly two decades of experience working with teens, young adults, and families. Much of my work focuses on strengthening communication, rebuilding trust, and helping people navigate major life transitions, including adolescence, college, relationships, and career development.

Over the past several years, I’ve focused deeply on generational, religious, and family dynamics—especially the ways past experiences shape how we relate to ourselves and to the people closest to us. My goal is simple: to help people like each other as much as they love each other.

My approach is practical, direct, and collaborative. I integrate evidence-based therapies such as CBT, DBT, EMDR, and Internal Family Systems, while also helping clients develop clear communication skills, emotional awareness, and confidence in who they are and how they want to live.

Clients who work with me can expect thoughtful conversations, honest feedback, and a focus on meaningful growth—not just symptom relief.

There is often a disconnect between what we logically know and how we truly feel. My approach is warm and direct, using a relational framework to bridge that gap. Together, we’ll move toward the root of your distress—exploring patterns, processing emotions, and developing the self-compassion and skills needed to create lasting, transformational change.

I’m Ilene Robbins, a Licensed Professional Counselor and I believe meaningful change happens through connection, trust, and understanding. Clients often describe me as warm, highly perceptive and solution oriented . I strive to create a space where you can feel safe enough to be honest, understood, and supported without judgment.

I work with teens, adults, professionals, parents, and couples who may feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or stuck — even when things appear “fine” on the outside. I have extensive experience supporting people through anxiety, depression, OCD, relationship challenges, parenting stress, and major life transitions.

As both a clinician and a parent, I understand how complex relationships and emotional worlds can be. I bring a balance of empathy, insight, and practical guidance to my work, helping clients make sense of patterns that feel confusing or painful and move toward healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and relating.

You don’t need to come in with perfectly formed goals, just a willingness to begin. My role is to walk alongside you, helping you feel less alone, more grounded, and more capable of creating meaningful, lasting change.

I am a U.S. Navy veteran that came to therapy late in life after a successful career in Tech. I am very analytical but also empathic, compassionate and humorous.

As a clinician, I enjoy working with everyone in all phases of life helping in building self-esteem, managing addiction, trauma, self-discovery, medication management, anger management, re-establishing one's dreams/purpose, building/strengthening relationships one has with self, partners or family systems.

I have worked with foster children, young adults, primary care staff and patients, those who struggled with substance abuse in a methadone clinic, provided supervision to non-licensed social workers in the hospital.

I welcome the opportunity to meet with you for a consultation to see if working together would be a great match like a grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwich.

Best of luck on your journey to health and wellness.