Jay Sontag, LMHC

Jay Sontag is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) based in New York. Jay uses humanistic and existential approaches to help people find meaning and steady themselves so they can handle day-to-day challenges.

Jay draws on client-centered work to create a respectful, listening-first space. Sessions often focus on what matters to the person in front of them and on small, practical steps that can ease daily strain. Motivational interviewing can be used when people want help clarifying goals or making changes.

Many people come to Jay for help with relationship stress, family issues, parenting strain, grief, and LGBT concerns. Additional areas of focus include caregiver stress, adoption and foster care questions, gender dysphoria, and topics around sexuality and non-monogamous relationships. Jay also supports people working through guilt, abandonment, or family-of-origin wounds.

Jay identifies as LGBTQ+ and brings that lived experience into the work. With four years of practice as an LMHC, Jay combines empathy with practical conversation to help people take manageable steps forward. The approach values personal meaning and real-world problem solving.

Jay is based in New York and conducts therapy in English. People who are interested in starting can use the Start Therapy button and complete a short matching questionnaire to schedule sessions according to therapist availability.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Jay uses client-centered methods that focus on listening and responding to each person's concerns. This approach helps people feel heard and supports practical steps for dealing with relationship and family stress. Existential therapy is also part of the work and looks at meaning, purpose, and how people make choices when life feels uncertain or heavy. Motivational interviewing is used when someone wants help finding motivation or making changes; it focuses on clarifying goals and building confidence.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Jay works collaboratively to see which methods fit a person's needs, goals, and preferences. That means the plan can shift as a person learns what helps them most, with input from the client at every step.

Session format options are not specified in the biography, so confirm current session options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - clients can plan around work, caregiving, or school commitments and reduce travel time. Different ways of meeting also let people choose what feels most manageable for check-ins, deeper conversations, or short goal-focused work without promising a particular format.