Dara Salem
Dr. Dara Salem (she/her) joined Columbia Health in 2023. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University-Brooklyn and completed her doctoral internship at Albany Medical Center, where she did rotations at the Veterans Administration, a state inpatient psychiatric hospital, and an outpatient clinic. Dara has also conducted therapy at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital; the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis; and several university mental health centers; including NYU, CUNY, and LIU-Brooklyn.
While recognizing the importance of customizing therapy to the needs of the particular individual, Dara is especially interested and extensively trained in psychodynamic, insight-oriented therapy. In particular, she enjoys working from a relational psychodynamic framework and using experiences arising in the “here and now” of the therapy process to inform the therapeutic work. Importantly, this includes the interpersonal dynamics between the therapist and client, and what implications these dynamics may hold for what may be occurring in the client’s relationships outside the therapy room.
In addition, Dara has particular interests in issues of identity, transition, interpersonal relationships, one’s relationship to society, and the experience of difference. As an immigrant herself, she is also interested in acculturation issues and the experience of international students. Among other things, she appreciates the role of authenticity and humor in the therapeutic process.