Individual Psychotherapy
I offer talk therapy for adults. Together, we explore what feels stuck. I draw from psychodynamic and existential thinking.
Sessions are collaborative, honest, and unhurried. We move at a pace that respects you.
Psychiatrist & Psychotherapist · New York City
Dr. Irem SonmezMD, MSc
Welcome. I am glad you found this page.
I am a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. I treat adults, in person and virtually, offering psychotherapy and medication management. I also lead existential group psychotherapy.
My training crossed continents and institutions — Istanbul, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Columbia, Cornell. Each place shaped how I listen.
Life is asking hard questions lately. Isolation. Comparison. Meaning. War. Money. You do not have to answer alone. I would be honored to help.
About Me
I am Ayse Irem Sonmez, MD. I was born and raised in Turkiye, and I trained in medicine in Istanbul. Then I crossed an ocean for research.
At Mayo Clinic, I studied the brain and completed a master’s in clinical science. Next came psychiatry residency in Minnesota, where I served as chief resident. Today, I am a distinguished Shaffer fellow at Columbia, where I study adolescent mental health.
That work deepened my view of development — I now understand life stages more fully. This practice, though, is built for adults. We have all been a child before anyway.
Here, I offer therapy and medication together.
How I Work
Colleagues describe me as endlessly curious. I ask questions until something clicks, and I believe every story has more layers. I hold both science and soul.
My approach blends rigor with warmth. I do not believe in one-size answers. Every patient’s context matters to me — systems, culture, and biology all shape you. I look at the whole picture.
My Own Story
Moving countries taught me real resilience. I know how it feels to restart — new cities, new languages, new silences. That experience shapes how I sit with you.
I have led teams and mentored many, and I bring that same steadiness to sessions. With you, I stay curious, honest, present. I would love to meet you.
Services
Care should fit the person, not a formula. Here is how I can help.
Medication Management
I also provide psychiatric medication management. Medication can ease symptoms that block progress. I prescribe and deprescribe carefully, and only when needed.
We review your response often together. Medication works best alongside real conversation.
Group Psychotherapy
I am also launching group psychotherapy, beginning in 2027. This group follows an existential model, inspired by Irvin Yalom’s work.
Group members explore meaning, connection, and mortality together. We learn from each other, honestly. Isolation often heals best in company. Details will follow as the date nears.
Curious which path fits you best? Reach out, and we can decide together.
Research & Publications
Before private practice, I built a research career. I study adolescent depression, suicidality, and brain stimulation. That science still shapes how I practice. Below is my full publication record.
View my Google Scholar profilePeer-Reviewed Publications
- Sonmez AI, Lewis CP, Port JD, Cabello-Arreola A, Blacker CJ, Seewoo BJ, McKean AJ, Leffler JM, Frye MA, Croarkin PE. “Glutamatergic Correlates of Bipolar Symptoms in Adolescents with Depression.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 2020;30(10):599–605. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Lewis CP, Port JD, Athreya AP, Choi DS, Zaccariello MJ, Shekunov J, Blacker CJ, Croarkin PE. “A Pilot Spectroscopy Study of Adversity in Adolescents.” Neuropsychiatry, 2021;5. View publication
- Nandakumar AL, Vande Voort JL, Nakonezny PA, Orth SS, Romanowicz M, Sonmez AI, Ward JA, Rackley SJ, Huxsahl JE, Croarkin PE. “Psychometric Properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Modified for Major Depressive Disorder in Adolescents.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 2019;29(1):34–40. View publication
- Camsari DD, Lewis CP, Sonmez AI, Nandakumar AL, Gresbrink MA, Daskalakis ZJ, Croarkin PE. “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Markers of Antidepressant Treatment in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder.” International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2019;22(7):435–444. View publication
- Kucuker MU, Almorsy AG, Sonmez AI, Ligezka AN, Camsari DD, Lewis CP, Croarkin PE. “A Systematic Review of Neuromodulation Treatments for Suicidality.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2021;15. View publication
- Lewis CP, Camsari DD, Sonmez AI, Nandakumar AL, Gresbrink MA, Daskalakis ZJ, Croarkin PE. “Preliminary Evidence of an Association Between Increased Cortical Inhibition and Reduced Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents Treated for Major Depression.” Journal of Affective Disorders, 2019;244:21–24. View publication
- Lewis CP, Port JD, Blacker CJ, Sonmez AI, Seewoo BJ, Leffler JM, Frye MA, Croarkin PE. “Altered Anterior Cingulate Glutamatergic Metabolism in Depressed Adolescents with Current Suicidal Ideation.” Translational Psychiatry, 2020;10:119. View publication
- Ligezka A, Sonmez AI, Corral MP, Golebiowski R, Lynch B, Croarkin PE, Romanowicz M. “A Systematic Review of Microbiome Changes and Impact of Probiotic Supplementation in Pediatric Mental Health Disorders.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 2020;108:110187. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Camsari DD, Nandakumar AL, Vande Voort JL, Kung S, Lewis CP, Croarkin PE. “Accelerated TMS for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Psychiatry Research, 2018;273:770–781. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Lewis CP, Athreya AP, Shekunov J, Croarkin PE. “Preliminary Evidence for Anhedonia as a Marker for Sexual Trauma in Female Adolescents.” Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 2021;12:67–75. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Kucuker MU, Lewis CP, Kolla BP, Camsari DD, Vande Voort JL, Schak KM, Kung S, Croarkin PE. “Improvement in Hypersomnia with High Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Depressed Adolescents: Preliminary Evidence from an Open-Label Study.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2020;97. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Almorsy A, Ramsey LB, Strawn JR, Croarkin PE. “Novel Pharmacological Treatments for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Pediatric Considerations.” Depression and Anxiety, 2020;37:747–759. View publication
- Camsari DD, Lewis CP, Sonmez AI, Ozger C, Fatih P, Yuruk D, Shekunov J, Vande Voort JL, Croarkin PE. “Event-Related Potential Markers of Suicidality in Adolescents.” International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2023. View publication
- Sonmez AI*, Webler R*, Krueger AM, Godoy-Henderson C, Sullivan C, Wilson S, Olsen S, Schmid S, Herman A, Widge A, Peterson C, Nahas Z, Albott CS. “Effects of TMS on Anhedonia and Suicidal Ideation in TRD: Outcomes from the University of Minnesota Interventional Psychiatry Program.” Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders, December 2024. View publication
- Sonmez AI, Garcia JQ, Thitiseranee L, Blacker CJ, Lewis CP. “Transdiagnostic Measurement of Impulsivity Domains Using the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scales in Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, August 2024. View publication
- Lewis CP, Nakonezny PA, Sonmez AI, Ozger C, Garzon JF, Camsari DD, Yuruk D, Romanowicz M, Shekunov J, Zaccariello MJ, Vande Voort JL, Croarkin PE. “A Dose-Finding, Biomarker Validation, and Effectiveness Study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adolescents with Depression.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2024. View publication
Other Writing
- Merkle S, Sonmez AI, Odebunmi T, Masilamani MSJ. “Supporting International Medical Graduates in Minnesota.” ECFMG Journeys in Medicine, 2022. View publication
- Sonmez AI. “Navigating Medical Residency Interviews.” STAP, 2023. View publication
Writing
Occasional essays on the questions I hear most often in the room.
In my practice, I hear this often. People say, “I have friends, technically.” “But no one really knows me.” That gap between contact and connection is real.
We are more connected than ever. And somehow, more alone than ever. Screens promise closeness but deliver distance. A like is not a conversation. A follow is not a friendship.
I think about this clinically, and personally. I moved across the world for training. I know how it feels to restart. New cities. New languages. New silences.
Loneliness is not a character flaw. It does not mean something is wrong. It is often a signal, not a sentence. It tells us something needs attention. Sometimes that something is connection itself. Sometimes it is safety, or trust. Sometimes it is simply being witnessed.
In therapy, we slow down and look closely. Together, we ask what is actually missing. Not company for its own sake. But the kind that feels real.
This is also why I believe in groups. Group therapy interrupts isolation directly. You sit with others who also struggle. You realize you are not the only one. That realization alone can be healing.
Yalom wrote that isolation is a given. But he also believed connection eases it. I have seen that truth repeatedly.
If you recognize this weight, reach out. That first step matters more than you think. You do not have to carry it alone.
We copy each other’s desires constantly. Social media turns this into a machine. Everyone performs a version of wanting. The vacation. The body. The relationship. The outfit. The career that looks effortless online.
We compare our insides to their outsides. Of course we feel like we are losing.
In my sessions, this shows up often. Patients describe a vague, persistent dissatisfaction. Not sadness exactly. More like restlessness. “I have a good life,” they say. “So why do I feel behind?”
Mimetic culture manufactures that feeling on purpose. It is not a personal failure. It is a design feature of comparison culture. Understanding this can be genuinely freeing.
Your desires are not fully your own. Many were borrowed, absorbed, or copied. That does not make them meaningless. But it means we can examine them. We can ask: is this mine? Or did I inherit this want?
In therapy, we slow that question down. We separate authentic longing from borrowed longing. That work is slow, and worth it.
Existential psychotherapy takes this seriously. It asks what you truly value. Not what your feed tells you to value.
Group therapy helps here too. In a room, comparison softens. You see real struggles, not highlight reels. That honesty is its own relief.
You are allowed to want your own life. Not someone else’s, filtered and curated. That is the work I care about.
It is not an abstract question anymore. AI now writes, paints, and even comforts people. That blurs lines we once took for granted. Meanwhile, headlines deliver crisis after crisis. It is reasonable to feel overwhelmed.
Existential psychiatry does not offer easy comfort. It does not promise things will be fine. Instead, it asks better questions. What matters to you, specifically? What can you actually control?
Viktor Frankl wrote from inside true catastrophe. He argued meaning survives even there. Not because suffering is good. But because meaning is a choice we keep. Even when circumstances are not chosen.
Technology will keep changing rapidly. Global events will keep feeling heavy. Neither of those is fully within your control. And our values are still ours to choose. Your relationships are still yours to nurture. Your daily choices still carry real weight.
Being human was never about certainty. It was always about how we respond. How we love, create, and connect. Especially when the world feels chaotic.
This is where therapy becomes useful. Not to erase uncertainty, but to hold it. Together, we build a life that feels grounded. Even inside an uncertain world.
That grounding is always possible. Sometimes the progress comes with structure. Sometimes it is letting yourself relax. No matter what the headlines say.
Contact
Reaching out is often the hardest step. You have already done something brave today.
I would love to hear from you. Send a message, and I will respond soon.
- Email irem@drsonmez.com
- Phone 917 268 4478
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Office
Lumina Psychiatric PLLC
220 5th Ave, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
All inquiries stay private and confidential.