Avigail Lev

My Approach to Therapy

I am, at my core, an existential behavioral therapist. I find that the whole purpose of therapy is to change our behaviors. We can talk and we can understand, but understanding is not enough — the goal is behavioral change. Most of us already know where we are stuck. What we need is to recognize what the barrier to behavioral change actually is.

The way I work is through highly experiential interventions that help you identify those barriers and make small but meaningful behavioral changes that accumulate over time into lasting transformation. Often, those barriers are automatic thoughts, automatic feelings, sensations, and urges that are connected to core beliefs — what I call schemas. When we are able to see the core belief that drives our behavior, we are able to intervene. We are able to help you change your relationship with difficult thoughts, feelings, sensations, and urges so that they have less control and influence over your actions. So that you can feel guilt at 80% and still be assertive. So that you can have the thought that you are selfish and still set a boundary. So that the difficult thoughts, feelings, and sensations that hold you back from being the kind of person you want to be — from taking the steps you want to take — no longer have the final say.

I help people get unstuck from those barriers so that they can live the way they truly want to live, be their authentic selves, and recognize their true values and what they want to be about.

I am highly integrative in my approach, blending behavioral therapy with existential therapy, schema therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and somatic therapy. This is because thoughts need cognitive interventions, feelings need emotional and somatic interventions, sensations need physiological interventions, and our humanity needs existential interventions. We also incorporate mindfulness to help you stay present and recognize the moment of choice — the moment where you can do something different. And most importantly, I help people identify, clarify, and embody their values. Values are the number one motivator for behavioral change, and connecting with them is what builds lasting motivation.

I also have a deep love for working with couples, families, and group dynamics. There is something profoundly meaningful about untangling complicated relational dynamics and breaking them down to the core beliefs, core values, and core needs of each person — to the smallest pieces. When we can see what each person is truly carrying, and use that understanding as a bridge between them, something shifts. I help people use their interconnection as a source of healing rather than hurt — transforming the relationship itself into the vehicle for growth.

Above all, I feel genuinely lucky and deeply honored to do this work. Being a part of someone's process of change — witnessing the moment they begin to move differently in the world — is something I never take for granted. This is not just what I do. It is what I love.