Welcome
The Center for Loss and Renewal is a leading New York City psychotherapy and consultation group dedicated to the practice of life transition therapy. In a setting of warmth and acceptance we focus our energies on helping individuals to discover resilience, hope, meaning and coping strategies in the presence of loss, trauma, work and relationship problems. Over the last thirty years hundreds of clients have utilized our services for grief counseling, bereavement groups, individual psychotherapy for low self-esteem, depression and anxiety, couples counseling using IFIO (the Intimicacy from the Inside Out) model, and grief in the workplace crisis debriefing. We have expertise and advanced psychotherapeutic training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, and Eriksonian Hypnosis.
We are also trained providers of a highly researched and effective sixteen week protocol to help persons suffering from Prolonged Grief Disorder (formerly known as Complicated Grief). We invite you to call today to embark on your journey of change. Please call today (212) 874-4711 or complete a Contact Form to schedule an individual or marital therapy consultation or to inquire about a bereavement group or professional presentation.
EIGHT WEEK GROUP INFORMATION FOR SUMMER 2023
Hundreds of people over the years have participated in our groups and found solace and support in meeting with other mourners under the guidance of sensitive and experienced professionals.
- ADULTS MOURNING THE LOSS OF A PARENT - Beginning on Wednesday June 7th for 8 weeks from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.
- SPOUSE AND PARTNER LOSS FOR THOSE UNDER AGE 50 - Beginning on Wednesday July 15th for 8 weeks from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.
PLease call 212-874-4711 or fill out a Contact Form for more information on these groups or to schedule an individual counseling session. Recent participants in our groups write:
- I participated in an 8-week bereavement group with Ben. The experience was wonderful. It was great to be able to hear others who have also experienced loss. Ben's style for leading was excellent. He is very knowledgeable, caring, comforting and knows how to ask the right questions. The weekly homework assignments were a great supplement to our weekly meetings. I highly recommend this bereavement group.
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I recommend The Center for Loss and Renewal with all my heart. If you are reading this — it means you might be searching for some support — and I can say with so much confidence that you’ve found it. It’s hard to take that first step and call or email — but I promise it will be a soft landing. The grief journey is long, but Benyamin and Miriam are here to helpp.
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I can't say enough good things about completing grief therapy here. Benyamin is an extremely skilled facilitator and was able to lead some really important discussions. If you are grieving, I highly recommend seeking out the Center for Loss and Renewal. I was hesitant to go but I'm so grateful I did. Grief is a confusing and messy process and Benyamin helped me make sense of some really painful feelings.
- I joined the 8 week group program to receive support for the loss of a parent. Ben provided a safe place in a group setting all remotely for all of us to process our grief. The group was very structured and we had homework which I found very helpful and incredibly grounding to help process emotions. I did have difficulty completing a couple assignments but it was met with compassion and understanding. Overall the experience was very helpful. We had wonderfully supportive group members. I have recommended this place to my doctors to recommend for patients as well as a friend who recently lost her father. I found it to be incredibly helpful during a very vulnerable and painful time, especially in the middle of a pandemic where the grief process has been extremely difficult and complicated to cope.
BENYAMIN CIRLIN RECENTLY WAS INTERVIEWED AS A FEATURED SPEAKER DISCUSSING GRIEF AND TRANSFORMATION AFTER A CORE LEVEL LOSS
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH HIS INTERVIEW:
Benyamin Cirlin on Grief and Transformation
Grief in the Workplace TestimonialS
Part of our mission is to provide onsite debriefing sessions following loss and death in the workplace setting. Below are evaluations of two recent defbriefings held in New York City.
- I work on my company's HR team and I blindly contacted Ben after the sudden unexpected death of a beloved colleague. Although I came to Ben as a total stranger, he was immediately open to speaking with me and quickly responsive and open to coming in to speak with my team. He was also very flexible to work around our schedule as we were unsure when the funeral would be and we were not able to lock down a date for his onsite visit. Ben was very understanding, open and comfortable to communicate with, and that comfort extended to my team when he came in to meet with us in-person. Ben led our team through a grief counseling session and provided a safe and open space for our team to grieve. I appreciated how much time was spent allowing us to speak openly about our memories and feelings. Ben also gave us concrete tools to use as we process our grief. Ben also held a few private individual sessions with our team, and I received positive feedback after those as well. Amid the upheaval and uncertainty after a colleague's death, Ben provided genuine care, support and flexibility. From a Human Resources professional of a New York City business employing 200 people.
- Just a note to say thank you so very much for your professionalism and the sensitive way in which you handled helping the Republic Clothing Family move towards the process of healing. Our employees have expressed their profound thanks in the way you were able to address each person in making them feel validated in their grief. Your approach and sensitivity during the communal session to our loss was very helpful in showing that there was not just one person that felt the loss but that we all felt it in different ways and sharing those thoughts out load helped in making the mood lighter because we were able to realize that it is a shared grief. The individual sessions were also a great idea for those employees who needed it and they have all praised your approach in helping them to cope. Again, thank you so very much, the Republic Clothing Family truly valued our meeting with you. Sandy Leon-Gonzalez, Director Human Resources, Republic Clothing Corp.
16 Best Books About Dealing with Grief
Our Clinical Director, Miriam Benhaim, Ph.D., and our Executive Director, R. Benyamin Cirlin, LCSW, were recently interviewed for a New York Magazine article about books dealing with grief and loss. Below is an excerpt of the article. While no single text can offer a simple answer, we’ve compiled a list of books that can, at the very least, help you better understand the grieving process. “When we suffer core-level losses, the narrative arc of our life stories is torn apart,” explains Dr. Miriam Benhaim, clinical director of the Center for Loss and Renewal. “There are no shortcuts in this process, but books can help to repair and rewrite those narratives as we learn about the stories and struggles of those who have gone before us in meeting these challenges and in validating our feelings and reactions.” http://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-books-grief.html
Meet Our Staff
Miriam Benhaim, Ph.D., Clinical Director
I have been a Clinical Psychologist for 34 years, and I continue to be enriched, challenged and personally deepened by my work with individuals and couples. My therapeutic style is to be active, engaged and empathic. I explore the past, ask questions about the present, and collaborate with my clients to brainstorm solutions for the future as I work to help people find meaning and purpose in their lives. Read More »
R. Benyamin Cirlin, C.S.W., Executive Director
I have been practicing psychotherapy for 37 years and it continues to be an honor to enter the lives of the people who seek out my help. I have worked with hundreds of clients on issues relating to loss, trauma, depression and general life difficulties. My approach is to work with the whole person and be collaborative, supportive and empathic. Humans are complex and my experience teaches me that one size does not fit all. Therefore I use techniques from a variety of therapeutic approaches, including Schema Therapy, Gestalt and EMDR. Read More »
Upcoming Groups
- ADULTS MOURNING THE LOSS OF A PARENT - Beginning on Wednesday June 7th for 8 weeks from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.
- SPOUSE AND PARTNER LOSS FOR THOSE UNDER AGE 50 - Beginning on Wednesday July 15th for 8 weeks from 7 - 8:30 pm via Zoom.
A former participant writes:
- After I lost my dad I needed to be with people who understood what I was going through and to be in a safe space where I could talk about it. Ben Cirlin provided that, and I cannot say enough nice things about him or this program. "Adult Children Coping With The Loss Of A Parent" was such a blessing and I would recommend it to anyone who is grieving the loss of a mother or father. It's been over a year now but the lessons that I learned in this program have stayed with me. Ben Cirlin is kind and gentle, and his weekly homework assignments re- shaped the way that I think about grief. I lost my father in October of my senior year of college and was still able to graduate that May. I would not have been able to do that without the healing that happened at the Center For Loss and Renewal and I really cannot recommend it highly enough.
- Call 212-874-4711 to register
Video Interview
R. Benyamin Cirlin, LCSW, Executive Director, recently spoke on the subjects of grief and trauma following the New York Theater Workshop's production of "The Events," an award winning drama dealing with an individual's attempt to make sense of a tragic loss.