Esther Priegue, LCSW

Esther Priegue is an LCSW who draws on long experience to help people facing midlife transitions and other life stressors. She works in New York and offers sessions in English and Spanish. Esther frames therapy as a practical partnership where the client's goals come first.

Esther has 25 years of clinical experience supporting people with anxiety, stress, depression, and trauma. She also helps those dealing with relationship strain, grief, sleep troubles, and shifts in life purpose. Esther pays attention to conditions like ADHD and bipolar and to concerns such as compassion fatigue and chronic illness.

In sessions she tends to use clear, goal-oriented methods. Esther often applies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to change unhelpful thinking and behavior. She may draw on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotional regulation and on Motivational Interviewing to build momentum for change.

Clients can expect a straightforward, respectful approach that highlights strengths and small steps. Esther encourages people to name practical goals and practice skills between meetings. She emphasizes collaboration so each plan fits a person’s daily life.

Esther also supports people working through complex histories like family of origin issues, codependency, and abandonment wounds. She brings focused attention to end-of-life and hospice concerns, chronic pain and illness, and life changes often centered in midlife. Her aim is to help clients create manageable change over time.

How Esther’s approaches translate to online work

Esther commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy in her practice. CBT helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors to ease anxiety and low mood. DBT teaches concrete skills for managing intense emotions, building distress tolerance, and improving interpersonal effectiveness.

She also uses Motivational Interviewing to help people find reasons to change and to build momentum toward personal goals. These approaches are practical and fit well into sessions focused on life changes, midlife concerns, grief, or chronic health issues. Esther will work with each person to figure out which approach or blend makes the most sense based on their needs and goals.

If you are considering online therapy, confirm the current session formats before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and DBT exercises for remote sessions so skills practice continues between meetings.