The Taconic Counseling Group

Maria Alba-Fisch, Ph.D.

Biography

Maria Alba-Fisch, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, received her doctorate from Columbia University and received further specialized training in the evaluation of children and their families as Staff Psychologist at Downstate Medical Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Alba-Fisch was later Chief Psychologist and Coordinator of the Children's Evaluation Unit at Peninsula Counseling Center in Woodmere, New York. She holds a Certificate of Specialization in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy from New York University Postdoctoral Program and has received training in the use of hypnosis and relaxation techniques.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Alba-Fisch has worked with lawyers, financial planners and other mental health practitioners to develop the Collaborative Divorce Team of the Hudson Valley, making this non-adversarial process available to divorcing families in Dutchess County. .In conjunction with Dr. Marsha Shelov, she researched, developed and offers a short term therapy program for divorced families with symptomatic children

Dr. Alba-Fisch practices in Fishkill and Mt. Kisco. She teaches extensively on the emotional and cognitive development of children and is both a supervisor and consultant to educators, pediatricians and mental health professionals.

She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the New York State Psychological Association, the Hudson Valley Psychological Association, and the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

Current Interests

Over the many years I have been working with children and their families, I have been increasingly interested in how important the temperament of each parent and child is. Understanding temperament is equally helpful in my work with adults. It is helpful for adults to see and understand that they came into this world with particular ways of responding, with different rhythms and with different reactivity speeds. These inborn temperamental variables readily affected both the way they interacted, whether they were the parent or the child, and the ways they took in the world around them. Each temperamental style has advantages and presents limitations. I am fascinated by the way our temperament affects our lives and have seen how understanding our own temperament and that of our children, our friends, and our partners can make life better for all.

Currently, I am on a mission to reduce the negative effects of divorce on families and children by offering a new model for divorce and family reorganization: collaborative divorce. Having worked with many families and children who have suffered adversarial divorces, I know that the adversarial process itself can be a damaging process when applied to family conflict and divorce. Collaborative divorce is a new way for couples to divorce and solve the problems that arise without court appearances and with less damage to themselves, their children and their pocketbooks. In addition to my clinical work, I am co-directing the Collaborative Divorce Team of the Hudson Valley, a multidisciplinary group of attorneys, mental health professionals and financial planners who are committed to a more constructive way of helping families through divorce and family reorganization (see article). I function either as a divorce coach or a child specialist on the teams that we put together for an individual family. This is challenging and exciting work that can offer hope and more effective help to families facing divorce.

© Taconic Counseling Group 2007.