Mali Austriyak Mikhli

Compassionate, experienced social worker and psychotherapist

LCSW-R New York

Experience: 40 years in practice
Focus areas: Stress, Anxiety, Relationship, Family
Approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages: English, Spanish, Yiddish

About Mali

Mali Austriyak Mikhli is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with four decades of experience in social work and psychotherapy. She entered the field after recognizing early on how a compassionate, insightful therapist can change a person's quality of life.

Background and approach

Over the span of her career she has worked with clients across ages, cultures, religions, and lifestyles, focusing on PTSD, bereavement, early childhood disruption and trauma, and a wide range of emotional and life challenges. Her practice emphasizes supportive, psychotherapeutic interventions delivered in a warm, interactive manner.

Mali blends cognitive-behavioral ideas with client-centered and emotionally attentive techniques to create pragmatic plans for managing stress, anxiety, relationship and family concerns, grief, depression, intimacy-related issues, parenting struggles, anger, self-esteem, career challenges, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes.

She also attends to areas such as abandonment, adoption and foster care, attachment issues, caregiver stress, codependency, and family-of-origin problems. Mali approaches each person with respect, sensitivity, and compassion, aiming to empower clients to take courageous steps toward greater fulfillment and well-being.

Her long experience supports a flexible, individualized process that meets people where they are and helps them move toward their goals.

Approach-Focused Online Therapy Tailored to Your Needs

Many clients benefit from practical, skill-oriented methods and Mali often draws on cognitive-behavioral therapy to help identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop concrete strategies for managing anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, and stress. Client-centered therapy is another strand of her work, emphasizing an empathic, nonjudgmental relationship that supports self-exploration and personal growth. Emotionally-focused ideas are also used to help people understand and shift patterns in close relationships and to process painful emotions more effectively.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. She works with clients to evaluate goals, preferences, and the issues at hand, adjusting methods as needed so therapy fits each person's situation rather than forcing a single model onto every case.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, allowing people to access licensed professionals from different locations and schedules. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care, fit sessions into busy routines, and try different communication styles while working toward specific goals.

Frequently asked questions

Which concerns does she commonly address?

Mali works with a broad range of issues including stress, anxiety, grief, depression, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related problems, parenting, anger, self-esteem, career challenges, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her approach is warm and interactive, offering supportive and psychotherapeutic interventions that combine cognitive-behavioral and client-centered ideas with emotionally-focused attention.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has practiced as a social worker and therapist for 40 years, bringing long-term clinical experience to a variety of presenting concerns and life stages.

What credentials and location are on file?

She holds the credential LCSW-R and is listed with NY LCSW-R 020384, practicing from New York.

In which languages can sessions be conducted?

Sessions are offered in English, Spanish, and Yiddish, and she accepts international clients as well.

What session formats are available?

Clients may meet through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on preference and availability.

How is cost determined for sessions?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

What are the first steps to begin working together?

To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesFamily conflictsGrief Depression

Also works with

Trauma and abuseIntimacy-related issuesParenting issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoping with life changesCoaching

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeBlended family issuesCaregiver issues and stressCodependencyCommitment issuesDependent personalityDivorce and separationDomestic violenceEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameImmigration issuesIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMulticultural concernsPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthPrejudice and discriminationSocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness TherapyNarrative TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

40+ years

Licensed

New York

Languages

English, Spanish, Yiddish