Addiction therapists & psychiatrists in Connecticut

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 10 years of experience helping adults and adolescents manage ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, stress, life transitions, and substance-related concerns.

My approach is practical, collaborative, and goal-focused. I use evidence-based strategies, including CBT and exposure-based work, to help clients better understand their patterns, build coping skills, and make meaningful changes in daily life.

I believe therapy does not have to be reserved only for moments of crisis. It can be helpful for anyone who wants to manage stress more effectively, improve relationships, strengthen emotional control, or feel more confident in how they handle life’s demands.

I am Dr. Douglas Zelisko (often affectionately referred to as "Dr. Z"), a Board-Certified Psychiatrist dedicated to holistic and integrative mental health care. My educational background includes degrees from Amherst College and St. George's University School of Medicine, followed by a Psychiatry residency at the UConn School of Medicine.

I specialize in treating adults with a wide range of issues, specifically:

• Anxiety and Depression
• Trauma
• Grief and Loss
• Relationship Issues
• Focus / ADHD
• Physical ailments related to mental health

My practice is unique in that I combine traditional psychiatric expertise with holistic methods to treat the "whole you"—mind, body, and spirit—rather than just addressing symptoms.

My name is Benjamin. With over 25 years of experience, I help individuals and couples build stronger, more fulfilling relationships and improve emotional well-being. I work with adults, couples, and families navigating anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other life challenges.

My approach is personalized, collaborative, and focused on meaningful, lasting growth. I help clients better understand their emotions, strengthen connections, and develop practical tools for everyday life.

Therapy with me is real, down-to-earth, and engaging—I bring honesty, humor, and compassion to create a space where you can grow, heal, and be yourself. Book with me here or at https://evolvetothrive9.com.

Welcome! I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 25 years of experience supporting individuals and families across diverse clinical settings. My career began in group homes working with adolescents and adults living with chronic mental illness, followed by work with the Department of Children and Families, Visiting Nurse Association and Crisis Intervention through the hospital Emergency Department where I developed strong skills in assessment, stabilization, and systems navigation.

For the past 10 years, I have specialized in Integrated Behavioral Health within a primary care setting, collaborating closely with medical providers to deliver whole-person, accessible mental health care.

I earned my Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Marist College and my Master of Social Work (MSW) from Fordham University. I utilize a range of evidence-based and client-centered treatment modalities, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), insight-oriented therapy, solution-focused therapy, and motivational interviewing. My work is grounded in helping clients build insight, develop coping strategies, and move toward meaningful, sustainable change.

I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner with a broad background in sociology. In my approach to treatment, I explore how culture, gender, and identity intersect with personality and neurochemical imbalances to produce psychiatric symptoms that impede daily functioning and interpersonal activities. Together with my clients, we determine the best pharmacological interventions to provide relief of these symptoms. I offer psychiatric evaluations, medication management, assessment for post-traumatic stress disorder, Connecticut state registration for eligible clients for medical marijuana, and Suboxone treatment.

I work with adults (26 - 64 years old) to improve the quality of their lives through a collaborative process in which client and provider together devise treatment plans that combine medication and behavioral modification. I am especially interested in men's mental health, but I work with all adults regardless of their gender identity.

In a world that is increasingly busy and complex, life can be overwhelming for all of us at some point in our lives. We all need a variety of ways to decompress. For example, I like to go to a pickleball court as often as my body will allow, where I find activity, community, and friendship. It is at these times when we need to reach out for support. Don't feel you have to struggle alone. I invite you to reach out and make a connection.

You're the one people call when things fall apart. You're good at it — steady, competent, the person who knows what to do. And somewhere along the way you stopped having anywhere to put your own stuff.

So you can run the meeting, hold the crisis, answer the phone at 2 a.m. — and still not be able to make yourself open the mail. Competence and collapse live together far more often than anyone admits out loud.

I work with adults carrying that particular load: substance use and recovery, emotions that arrive at full volume with no dimmer switch, thoughts of self-harm or not wanting to be here, and the specific erosion that comes from caring for other people for a living. Helpers, clinicians, parents, first responders — people whose exhaustion doesn't have an obvious place to go. I work with teenagers too, often the ones in families like these.

My style is direct, warm, and collaborative. I'm not going to nod quietly for fifty minutes. We'll find what's actually driving things, build skills you can use on a Tuesday afternoon when it counts, and I'll tell you honestly what I'm seeing. You set the pace. I'll bring the structure.

Real support for real life, wherever you are in your journey.

As an LCSW with more than a decade of experience, I work with adults who are navigating anxiety, depression, and life's inevitable turning points. Outside the office, my life is full with my small children and energetic puppy. I share that because I understand, firsthand, how full and unpredictable life can feel, and how hard it can be to carve out space just for you. That's exactly what our time together is for.