Psychiatry and Psychotherapyfor the Upper West Side
When symptoms affect school, work, relationships, or independence, the clinical picture often extends beyond a single diagnosis.
The Sheppe Group is a psychiatrist-led Midtown Manhattan practice serving adolescents, emerging adults, adults, and families from the Upper West Side. Care may include complex clinical evaluation, psychodynamic psychotherapy, medication consultation, personality assessment and development, family consultation, transference-focused psychotherapy, and coordination with existing clinicians or treatment teams.
Care that connects symptoms,development, and relationships.
Upper West Side patients may seek psychiatric or psychotherapeutic care when distress is visible, or when outward functioning no longer reflects what is happening internally. A person may still be attending school, working, parenting, or maintaining relationships while struggling with anxiety, depression, emotional instability, attention problems, trauma, medication questions, or recurring interpersonal patterns.
The Sheppe Group evaluates the person in context. That may include developmental history, family relationships, identity, school or work demands, personality functioning, prior treatment, medical and medication history, risk, strengths, and the systems surrounding care.
The purpose of the evaluation is to determine what deserves clinical priority and what kind of treatment structure is likely to be useful. The recommendation may be focused consultation, psychotherapy, medication review, personality assessment, family work, coordination with current providers, or referral when another setting is more appropriate.
Questions that call for more than symptom matching.
Some concerns are immediately recognizable. Others emerge through repeated difficulties across school, work, family life, intimate relationships, or previous treatment.
Different settings reveal different versions of the problem.
A patient may appear composed in one environment while struggling in another, leaving families, schools, clinicians, or the patient with competing explanations.
Life looks organized from the outside, but feels increasingly hard to sustain.
High achievement or continued productivity does not rule out depression, anxiety, trauma, emotional dysregulation, or significant relational distress.
The next developmental step has become difficult to reach.
Adolescents and emerging adults may need evaluation that considers identity, executive functioning, family roles, motivation, risk, school or college demands, and movement toward independence.
Several clinicians are involved, but no one holds the full picture.
A focused consultation can clarify roles, identify unanswered diagnostic questions, and determine whether psychotherapy, medication, family work, or broader coordination should change.
Focused pathways for complexquestions and overlapping needs.
The links below emphasize concerns often relevant when treatment involves development, family participation, diagnostic uncertainty, independence, or coordination across several parts of a patient’s life.
Specialties
Adolescents & Emerging AdultsFor developmentally informed care involving school, college, family relationships, identity, and independence.
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Family ConsultationFor families seeking clearer roles, communication, boundaries, safety planning, and treatment coordination.
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Complex Clinical EvaluationFor conflicting diagnoses, overlapping symptoms, or treatment that has not produced a coherent direction.
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Integrated Psychiatry & PsychotherapyFor integrated care connecting psychiatric evaluation, psychotherapy, medication decisions, and treatment planning.
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Personality Assessment & DevelopmentFor recurring patterns in identity, relationships, emotional regulation, and response to treatment.
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Failure to LaunchFor difficulty progressing toward adult roles, education, work, responsibility, or independent living.
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Transference-Focused PsychotherapyFor structured personality-focused psychotherapy that uses the therapeutic relationship as a source of understanding.
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Conditions We Help Clarify
Begin by clarifying the problem before deciding what treatment should follow.
A consultation is used to define the clinical question, review what has already been tried, and determine whether the next step should be evaluation, ongoing treatment, coordination, or referral.
Identify what has changed and why help is being sought now.
The discussion reviews current concerns, functioning, prior care, urgency, goals, and whether The Sheppe Group is an appropriate setting for the question being presented.
Connect symptoms with development, personality, relationships, and context.
The evaluation may consider diagnosis, family systems, trauma, identity, medical and medication history, risk, strengths, and the patient’s response to previous treatment.
Choose a focused next step rather than defaulting to every available service.
Recommendations may involve psychotherapy, medication consultation, personality assessment, family consultation, coordination with current clinicians, or a different level or setting of care.
From the Upper West Sideto Midtown Manhattan.
The office is at 122 East 42nd Street, 32nd Floor, near Grand Central. Upper West Side patients may travel east by subway connections through Midtown, taxi, or rideshare. Because crosstown travel can vary, current conditions and additional travel time should be considered before an appointment.
122 East 42nd Street, 32nd Floor
New York, NY 10168
Lincoln Square, Central Park West, Riverside, and nearby West Side neighborhoods.
The practice provides scheduled outpatient care and is not an emergency or crisis service.
Telehealth may reduce travel when it is clinically appropriate.
Telehealth may be available when clinically appropriate and legally permitted for the patient’s location. Suitability depends on diagnosis, risk, privacy, complexity, family participation, and whether remote care provides an adequate treatment setting.
Psychiatry and clinical psychologywith attention to the full formulation.
The recommended provider depends on the patient’s age, the purpose of consultation, and whether the central need involves psychiatric evaluation, psychotherapy, medication, personality assessment, family work, or coordination with an existing treatment team.
Alexander H. Sheppe, MD, FAPA, DFAACAP
Dr. Sheppe provides complex clinical evaluation, psychodynamic psychotherapy, medication consultation, personality-focused assessment, family consultation, and coordinated treatment planning.
View Dr. Sheppe’s Profile →
Aliza Spruch-Feiner, PhD
Dr. Spruch-Feiner provides diagnostic and personality assessment and feedback, individual, couples, and family psychotherapy, and coordinated treatment for adults and adolescents from the Upper West Side.
The Sheppe Group Testimonials
“His guidance is much appreciated.”
MM · Zocdoc review · Read source“Very helpful! Great experience!”
Amy A. · Zocdoc review · Read source“His responses to my questions were so thorough, accurate, and reassuring…”
NS · Zocdoc review · Read source“Dr. Sheppe is honest and down-to-earth…”
RM · Zocdoc review · Read source“He is clear, coherent, and thorough.”
CB · Zocdoc review · Read source“Warm and comprehensive consult.”
YH · Healthgrades review · Read source“He was really patient with me and was so thorough.”
TP · Healthgrades review · Read source“His guidance is much appreciated.”
MM · Zocdoc review · Read source“Very helpful! Great experience!”
Amy A. · Zocdoc review · Read source“His responses to my questions were so thorough, accurate, and reassuring…”
NS · Zocdoc review · Read source“Dr. Sheppe is honest and down-to-earth…”
RM · Zocdoc review · Read source“He is clear, coherent, and thorough.”
CB · Zocdoc review · Read source“Warm and comprehensive consult.”
YH · Healthgrades review · Read source“He was really patient with me and was so thorough.”
TP · Healthgrades review · Read sourceQuestions about fit, family involvement,evaluation, and access.
These answers provide general information. A consultation is needed to determine whether the practice, provider, format, and level of care are appropriate for an individual patient.
Is The Sheppe Group located on the Upper West Side?
No. The practice is located at 122 East 42nd Street, 32nd Floor, near Grand Central in Midtown Manhattan. This page is for people who live, work, study, or receive care on the Upper West Side and are considering treatment at the Midtown office or by telehealth when appropriate.
Can someone need treatment even if school or work performance still looks strong?
Yes. Continued achievement does not rule out significant depression, anxiety, trauma, attention problems, emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, or personality-related concerns. Evaluation considers internal distress, effort, sustainability, relationships, risk, and the broader pattern of functioning, not performance alone.
Can you coordinate with an existing therapist, psychiatrist, school, or college clinician?
Coordination may be considered when it is clinically useful and the appropriate authorization is in place. The purpose may be to clarify roles, exchange relevant information, reduce conflicting treatment directions, or organize a more coherent plan.
How is parent or family involvement handled?
Family participation depends on the patient’s age, developmental needs, safety, privacy, treatment goals, and the purpose of care. Involvement may range from focused consultation to ongoing family work, while preserving an appropriate individual treatment space.
Can an evaluation help distinguish ADHD, anxiety, depression, and personality or developmental patterns?
A careful evaluation can examine how attention, mood, anxiety, trauma, development, relationships, personality functioning, sleep, medical factors, and prior treatment interact. The goal is not to force every concern into one category, but to create a formulation that guides the next step.
Is telehealth available for Upper West Side patients?
Telehealth may be available when clinically appropriate and legally permitted for the patient’s location. Suitability depends on diagnosis, safety, privacy, complexity, family participation, and whether remote care provides an adequate treatment setting.
How do I begin?
Use the contact page to request a consultation. The initial discussion helps clarify what is bringing you to care, whether the practice is an appropriate fit, which provider or service may be most relevant, and what information may be useful before an appointment.
Begin with a clearerclinical direction.
A consultation can help determine whether the best starting point is psychiatric evaluation, psychotherapy, medication review, personality assessment, family consultation, coordination with an existing treatment team, or another level of care.
Request a Consultation →