Brian Neff, Ph.D., MALD, is a Manhattan-based clinician who specializes in the therapeutic treatment and neuropsychological assessment of children, adolescents, and adults. Brian believes the transformative power of psychotherapy comes from its power to create a radically safe space in which a new, healing interpersonal experience can evolve over time. Brian’s approach to therapy is trauma-informed and social justice-oriented, and he works from a relational psychodynamic foundation while integrating elements of other evidence-based treatments including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, transference-focused therapy, mentalization-based therapy, and alliance-focused therapy, in which he has received focused training.
Brian is currently a staff therapist at both Bryant West Psychology and the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Counseling Center. Brian received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The City College of New York (CUNY), where for five years he was a therapist in residence at the Psychological Center, a low-cost mental health clinic serving the greater West Harlem community. He completed his predoctoral internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, and also served for four years as an extern therapist and Clinical Coordinator at MSM. Brian has received further clinical training at the William Alanson White Institute, the Stephen Mitchell Relational Study Center, the Yale Child Study Center, and the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. Brian’s dissertation research, examining the impact of therapist self-disclosure when both patient and therapist identify as LGBTQ+, won CUNY’s 2024 Kenneth and Mamie Clark Award for outstanding contributions to social justice in the field of psychology. His research has appeared in the Journal of Health Psychology and the edited volume Global Mental Health: Training and Practice (Routledge).
Brian holds a BA in history from Yale and began his career as a television news producer for Barbara Walters at ABC News. He went on to earn a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts with a focus on international mediation and conflict resolution. As a political affairs consultant to the United Nations Mission in Sudan, he conducted field research on mental health interventions for the country’s displaced population. Brian also earned a Certificate in Global Mental Health from Harvard Medical School and spent two years as a researcher at Columbia University’s Global Mental Health Program, where he contributed to a broad array of projects including the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. As a nonprofit leader, Brian served as Chief Operating Officer for arts advocacy organization Sing for Hope and as United States Chief Executive for global conflict resolution organization Peace Direct, among other executive roles.