Chris Kingman, LCSW
NY State licensed psychotherapist
Hello, I’m Chris. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to review my site.
I have been doing psychotherapy, addiction consulting and relationship coaching for over 25 years, helping people recover from addictions, manage emotions, improve relationships, navigate transitions, advance careers, heal from trauma, eliminate self-destructive behaviors, feel more internally secure. And more. For all of this rich and meaningful work I am sincerely grateful.
Still, I feel that I’m just getting started. Because the work is so vital. So alive. So important. To my clients and to me. I never phone it in. Every session counts. Every conversation counts. That’s just how I’m built. It truly is a privilege beyond words to have the opportunity to walk beside people—from every walk of life—through their very difficult periods and most meaningful transformations.
My approach to helping people is inter-relational, down-to-earth, and rooted in the practical realities of daily life. At the same time it is full-on depth work. Feeling deeply matters. Living deeply matters. The past is always present. It all matters.
I’m not the kind of helper who “just sits there.” I show up fully. I engage. Working with me is a collaborative, living conversation, one in which we convene together to deepen awareness, hold space for all aspects of self, develop new ways of seeing. And make the kinds of changes that not only help you feel better, but help you live better.
Central to my life and work is my own long-term recovery from addiction. That path, full of social support, humbling lessons and ongoing growth, has played a central role in shaping me into the person and practitioner I am today. There is no substitute for doing the hard work of healing alongside others. It is in that shared work, that mutual effort to change and grow, that I’ve observed and experienced some of the most powerful truths about human nature.
Over the years, I’ve made a rigorous study of mental health, coaching, self-help and addiction recovery. To understand the different traditions. The blind spots. The failures. The most transformative insights. My deep respect for what attachment science has revealed—the lifelong importance of our emotional-relational experiences, from early caregiving all the way to how we show up in relationships today—profoundly informs how I understand suffering and how I guide change. In my view, emotional-relational health is not a side issue. It is the foundation of personal, marital, family and societal wellness.
Professionally, I’ve had the honor of teaching graduate-level courses on Human Behavior and Group Process, and I’ve served in clinical leadership roles as Supervisor, Associate Director, and Director at psychotherapy centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn. These roles kept me in dynamic relationship with diverse communities of clients, clinicians, and thinkers, all of whom profoundly shaped, deepened and enriched my work during those years and beyond.
And yet, my most profound learnings come from home. I live in Brooklyn with my wife and two daughters, where the challenges, humor, chaos and love of daily family life keep me grounded in the very truths I teach. I continue to be a student of human nature, my own included, and I remain committed to the idea that healing and growth, when they are real, always happen in relationships.