- Years in practice
- 40
- Credentials
- LCSW-R
- Licensed in
- New York
- Languages
- English, Spanish, Yiddish
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Mali
Mali Austriyak Mikhli is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Registered (LCSW-R) who has practiced social work in New York for more than 40 years. She chose this work after seeing how much a thoughtful, empathic clinician can change someone's life. Mali offers warm, interactive care aimed at helping people handle difficult moments and build more satisfying daily routines.
Her sessions are rooted in supportive psychotherapy alongside clear, goal-focused tools.
Background and approach
Mali draws on cognitive-behavioral techniques to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. She also relies on client-centered listening so each person feels heard and respected. Mali has worked with many ages, cultures, and faiths across a long career.
Her practice includes help for grief and bereavement, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, stress and anxiety, and mood issues such as depression and bipolar struggles. She also addresses relationship and intimacy-related difficulties and practical life transitions. Parents often come for coaching around family patterns, blended family issues, adoption and foster care questions, or caregiver stress.
Mali can also help with attachment, abandonment, and family-of-origin issues that affect how people relate to their children and partners. Her style is compassionate and interactive. Sessions focus on practical steps that fit a person's life while also allowing time to process emotions.
Mali supports people who are ready to make changes and wants to help them feel more capable and steady over time.
What Mali works with
Everything Mali lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Mali helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Depression
- Trauma and abuse
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Mali lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches that translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on active listening and creating a respectful space where the person's concerns guide each session. It helps when someone needs empathetic support and wants to explore goals at their own pace.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It uses practical exercises and homework to reduce anxiety, manage mood shifts, and change repetitive patterns that cause stress.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy attends to patterns in relationships and how emotions shape connection. This can aid people working on intimacy-related issues or those trying to improve how they relate to partners or children.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will ask about your goals, try different tools, and adjust methods based on what helps most. Clients often combine elements from more than one approach to meet real-life needs.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet: video calls for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions when bandwidth is limited, live chat for shorter check-ins, and text messaging for ongoing support between appointments. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, handle quick check-ins, and continue work regardless of geographic location.
Questions people ask about Mali
What kinds of concerns does Mali address?
Mali works with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting questions, relationship and intimacy issues, anger, self-esteem, career concerns, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes. She also addresses adoption and foster care, blended family challenges, caregiver stress, attachment and abandonment issues, and family-of-origin problems.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her approach is warm and interactive, combining supportive psychotherapy with goal-focused techniques. Sessions mix listening and practical strategies so people can try small changes between meetings.
What experience does she bring to sessions?
She has over 40 years of experience as a social worker in New York and has worked with many ages, cultures, and faiths across her career.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Registered (LCSW-R) practicing in New York.
Which languages are offered during sessions?
Sessions are offered in English, Spanish, and Yiddish. International clients are accepted.
What session formats are available?
Therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to suit different schedules and needs.
How does cost and payment work?
Cost varies with location and therapist arrangements; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working with Mali?
To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
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