Mary Ragan
Mary Ragan, PhD, LCSW, is a clinician and supervisor at the Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute, with years of experience as a therapist, consultant, and teacher. Her starting point in the therapeutic process is to establish a trusting relationship, built on respect and collaboration. This relationship is the essential foundation for creating a space free of judgment where emotional work can be done.
Her work with clients includes a range of psychological issues:
- Signs and symptoms of depression, one of the most common reasons people seek therapy.
- Anxiety symptoms ranging from generalized anxious feelings, to panic disorder.
- Relationship issues marked by struggles with intimacy, sexuality, conflict, and communication.
- Trauma responses related to a variety of adverse life experiences.
- Existential issues related to a rapidly changing world and workplace.
A particular area of interest for Mary is helping people heal from traumatic grief, which encompasses many different experiences, for example:
- Early parental loss or loss of a child,
- Natural disasters,
- Terrorist attacks and gun violence
- The trauma of Covid-19 and its aftermath, especially Long Covid.
She has done trauma work with first responders and family members after 9/11 and volunteered on mental health teams in the aftermath of climate-related disasters in Louisiana and New York. She served in New Orleans and Lake Charles, LA in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She is a volunteer therapist for Give an Hour, an organization that provides pro bono therapy for returning veterans.
Mary’s clinical work is informed by her extensive experience as a consultant and a teacher, working with executives and leadership teams in both faith-based and secular organizations. These organizations include hospitals, secondary schools, houses of worship and religious communities. Her consulting work included travel to Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Venezuela. She has periodically worked as a teacher and facilitator with the congregation and staff at Trinity Church Wall Street.
Mary’s teaching experience includes adjunct faculty positions at Columbia University, Fordham, Hebrew Union College and Union Theological Seminary. In each of these institutions, her work with students focused on the intersection of spirituality and psychotherapy, both for clinicians and pastoral workers.
Mary Ragan holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northcentral University, an MSW from Yeshiva University and an MA, M.Ed. from Columbia University. Her current practice is both hybrid on zoom and in-person at PSI’s Trinity Church office located at 50 Fulton Street in New York City.
You can reach Mary by emailing mragan@psinyc.org or calling 212.285.1552.
Read Mary’s review in the Journal of Pastoral Theology of Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper White’s book The Psychology of Christian Nationalism: Why People are Drawn in and How to Talk Across the Divide
Read Mary’s PSI Mind&Spirit Blog: “What Good Will Talking Do?“