Who looks for a mental health therapist in Short Hills?
Most people who reach out from Short Hills are functioning well by any outside measure. They hold demanding jobs, run busy households and show up for their kids. What brings them in is the gap between how things look and how they feel: sleep that never quite restores, a mind that will not stop scanning for problems, irritability at home, or a heaviness that has lasted far longer than a bad week.
Some are parents watching a teenager at Millburn High School buckle under academic and social pressure. Some are commuters who spend hours a day on the Midtown Direct trains and have no margin left for themselves. Others are carrying something older: a painful childhood, an abusive relationship, a loss they never had room to grieve.
Dr. Audrey Kteily works with all of these situations. Her practice is online only, which matters in a community where time is tight and privacy is valued.
What therapy with Dr. Audrey looks like
Therapy starts with understanding the full picture. In the first sessions Dr. Audrey asks about current symptoms, history, relationships and what you want to be different. From there she builds a plan that may include skills for managing anxiety and strong emotions, work on the beliefs that keep you stuck, and, when it fits, involving a partner or family members.
She often draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which she is certified in, for clients who feel overwhelmed by emotion or who use self-criticism, perfectionism or overwork to cope. For many high-achieving adults, the most useful early change is learning to notice stress before it becomes a crisis, rather than pushing through until the body forces a stop.
Conditions she commonly treats
- Anxiety, panic and constant worry
- Depression and mood disorders
- PTSD and complex PTSD
- Grief, loss and major life transitions
- ADHD and autism spectrum concerns in teens and adults
- Recovery from domestic violence or sexual assault
- Family conflict, parenting stress and relationship strain
She also offers couples therapy and family sessions when a problem involves more than one person.
Complex PTSD and trauma work for Short Hills adults
Complex PTSD develops after prolonged or repeated harm, often in childhood or within a long relationship where safety was never steady. It differs from single-event PTSD in how widely it reaches: it can shape self-worth, trust, emotional regulation and the ability to rest. Many people with complex trauma are highly capable at work and still feel unsafe in their own lives.
Dr. Audrey's trauma work is phased. First comes stabilization, which means practical tools for sleep, triggers and overwhelming feelings. Next comes careful processing of the experiences underneath, at a pace you can manage. The final stage is about rebuilding: relationships, boundaries and a sense of self that is not organized around threat.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 911. Dr. Audrey's practice is not a crisis service.
For background on trauma and mental health more broadly, the World Health Organization's mental health overview and the American Psychological Association are reliable starting points. The APA's Monitor on Psychology also covers current research in plain language.
How online sessions work for Short Hills residents
Short Hills is part of Millburn Township in Essex County. Dr. Audrey sees New Jersey residents under her New Jersey Licensed Professional Counselor license, and sessions are scheduled in Eastern Time. Each session takes place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video that opens in your browser, with no download required.
Because she is also licensed in New York as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, you can join from home in Short Hills one week and from a private office in Manhattan the next. The rule is simple: you need to be physically located in New Jersey, New York or Texas at the time of the session.
Online therapy removes the parts of traditional therapy that tend to collapse first when life gets busy: the drive, the parking, the time in a waiting room. It also means no one in town sees you walking into a counseling office. Read how online therapy works in New Jersey for the practical details, or visit the New Jersey online therapy hub.
Support for Short Hills teens and families
Dr. Audrey works with teens ages 12 to 18 and young adults ages 18 to 29. Adolescents in high-performing school districts often feel that every grade and activity is a referendum on their future. Some respond with anxiety or panic, some with withdrawal, and some with self-harm. Parents frequently sense that something is wrong before they know what it is.
Her approach with teens combines private individual sessions with guidance for parents. Parents learn what to say, what to avoid saying, and how to support their child without taking over. When the stress involves the whole household, family sessions help everyone hear each other. More on this is on the adolescent issues page.
How do you know if a therapist is the right fit?
Fit matters more than most people expect. Research on therapy consistently points to the working relationship between client and therapist as one of the strongest factors in whether therapy helps. A good fit usually feels like this: you are taken seriously, you understand the plan, and you leave sessions with something concrete to try.
A few questions are worth asking any therapist before you begin. What is your training with my specific concern? How do you structure the early sessions? How will we know if it is working? Dr. Audrey welcomes these questions in the first conversation, and she will tell you plainly if another kind of support, such as a psychiatric evaluation for medication, would be a useful addition.
It is also fine to have tried therapy before without much change. Sometimes the approach did not match the problem, for example, talk-only sessions for trauma that needed a more structured plan. Bringing that history into the first session helps her avoid repeating what did not work.
Dr. Audrey's background
Dr. Audrey Kteily earned a PhD in Family Studies and a Bachelor's in Psychology from Texas Woman's University, and a Master's in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York, and a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor in Texas, licensed since 2001 and a supervisor since 2004.
She is a Certified Family Life Educator through the National Council on Family Relations, holds C-DBT certification from Evergreen Certifications, and has published work on family dynamics. With more than two decades of clinical experience, she has worked with a wide range of individuals, couples and families. The professional standards behind counseling, social work and psychology are shaped by organizations such as the National Association of Social Workers and the APA, and Dr. Audrey's own practice follows the ethics codes of her counseling licenses.
The practice is LGBTQ+-friendly and LGBTQ+-owned, aligned with GLSEN and the Human Rights Campaign.
How to get started
Starting is simple. Fill out the New Jersey appointment request, or text the practice; texting is the easiest way, but please leave health details out of the message. You will hear back within one business day to talk through your situation and find a time.
Dr. Audrey is an out-of-network provider and provides a superbill you can submit to your insurer. Check your out-of-network mental health benefits before your first session. To learn more about the practice first, start at the Dr. Audrey home page.
When you are ready, request your first session, or text or call (917) 905-3183. Email works too: [email protected].