About The Morris Guild of Psychotherapy
An Hour That Belongs to You
Therapy is a time for you.
Think about how few places in your life let you talk about yourself for a full hour and have a listener devoted to you, someone who cares, wants the best for you, and is rooting for you at every turn.
Most of us don't have one.
At the Morris Guild, that hour is the whole job, and you can bring whatever you'd like into it.
What You'll Find Out About Yourself
Our office is calm and quiet, and the first few sessions are mostly about getting to know each other. The conversation gets richer and more interesting as time goes on.
Once we really know each other, we get into the parts of your life you rarely say out loud, including your hopes and dreams, and you'll discover things about yourself you never knew.
Those discoveries bring excitement, relief, and a real source of energy for what comes next.
Your therapist will also challenge you, hand you another way of seeing yourself, and help you feel things more fully. That expands a life, and it takes time.
Give Therapy Six Months and Make It a Priority
Regular sessions do the most for you when you commit to coming and put the appointment ahead of the hundred other things pulling at your week.
Life is busy and the distractions never stop, so the people who get somewhere here are the ones who treat their hour like it matters.
When you commit to showing up and using the time to go deeper into your own experience, something shifts. We recommend at least six months, and often longer, for change that lasts.
That's a real ask, and it's fair to want to know who you'd be spending that time with.
Who You'd Be Working With
We're a small group of psychotherapists in Cedar Knolls, and we share one commitment: to meet you without judgment and without a script.
Between the three of us there are decades of experience, two languages, and one plain way of working.
Andy has been in the field for more than twenty years and spent about eight of them teaching new therapists at Rutgers, so explaining things clearly is second nature here.
Our training runs through gestalt and psychodynamic therapy, and gestalt simply means paying attention to what's happening right here in the room, in real time. The methods get chosen to fit the person in front of us rather than the other way around.
Turn What You Understand Into How You Live
Insight is the first half of the work. The second half is living differently: taking more informed risks and trying new ways of being, at a pace that feels right to you.
Understanding. Looking beneath the surface at the patterns you keep repeating and where they began.
Relationship. A genuine, collaborative connection built on trust, paced to what you need.
Growth. Turning understanding into change, one educated risk at a time.
About Andy Lapides, LCSW, BCD
Andy is the owner of the Morris Guild and has been in the field for over twenty years. He is a licensed clinical social worker in New Jersey and New York and is board certified by the American Board of Clinical Social Work. He has trained post-graduate in gestalt, psychodynamic, group, and couples therapy.
Outside of his professional life, Andy enjoys traveling, live music, hiking, NYC, the arts, and his dog.
New Jersey license number: 44SC05377700. New York license number: 077727.
Andy can be reached at alapides@morrisguildpsych.com or at the main number, (973) 532-2149.
About Alyson O'Neill, LSW
Alyson is a licensed social worker in New Jersey and a former student intern at the Morris Guild.
In her personal life, she enjoys going to concerts, the gym, jogging, and reading.
New Jersey license number: 44SL07518000.
Alyson can be reached at aoneill@morrisguildpsych.com or (201) 677-8420.
Make the Time for Yourself
Many of the people who find us are thoughtful, self-aware, and successful, and kind to the people around them, and still something in their own life isn't working. Some are facing anxiety or low mood, some a relationship in trouble, burnout, or a major life transition, and some simply sense that something isn't right.
If that sounds like you, you're welcome here. Seeking therapy takes courage, and we're honored to be part of it.
Make the hour yours. Call us at (973) 532-2149 to set up your first conversation with one of us, in Cedar Knolls or online.
Make the Rest of the Week Feel Like the Weekend
You already know what's possible, because you've felt it, on a good Saturday or in a quieter moment with yourself. Let's build toward more of that, on more solid ground than you're standing on now.
CALL FOR YOUR FREE 15-MINUTE CONSULTATION