Josh Stieber, PhD

I felt drawn to a healing profession after noticing that I was often the person with whom people sought to share their struggles. These experiences inspired me to understand how we as humans respond to life’s many adversities. Gratefully, these gifts and interests guided me onto a therapist’s career path. Personally and professionally, lessons of healing and growth have been frequently illustrated. One such lesson is, as Rumi worded it: “the wound is where the light enters you.” I’ve also seen that when people have the self-compassion to understand why they cling to patterns that no longer serve them, it is easier to find the courage to trust new and more fulfilling ways of existing. I’ve seen these lessons in action in my positions at several New York City hospitals and my dissertation research with veterans with depression at the Manhattan VA. Currently, in addition to Winding Elm Psychotherapy, I am a supervising psychologist at the Mount Sinai World Trade Center Mental Health Program. I have been honored to work with and learn from 9/11 rescue and recovery workers as they confront the trauma the have experienced.