Tani Polansky, PhD

Optimism is not the belief that everything will turn out great. It is the belief in your capacity to respond to everything with greatness

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Tani Polansky, PhD's style

Why Tani Polansky, PhD chose to be in the helping profession

I have always been a deep feeler with a rich inner world. As a teenager, I would wander the streets talking to God, trying to see Him in the world around me, from the stars to the flowers. I was fascinated by other people and deeply curious to understand why people act the way they do, particularly in ways that hurt others or themselves. That curiosity led me to psychology and to the mechanisms of the brain and mind, and I became especially drawn to the mind-body relationship and obsessively curious about the ways it can create and sustain illness.

I initially chose a career in medicine, but after several years in Jewish outreach, I began to see that my path was in working with people's hearts and minds. Psychology gave me a way to bring together many of the questions that had always fascinated me: how we make meaning, how our experiences shape us, and how the mind and body carry what we sometimes cannot put into words. It is an honor to sit with people in that process and to help them hold parts of themselves they have never had the courage to hold. These may be parts they have never felt safe sharing with anyone, and I do not take that trust lightly.

Tani Polansky, PhD's approach

I believe that real change begins when you move beyond talking about your life to engaging with the patterns that have been keeping you stuck, head on. My approach is dynamic, intensely collaborative, and designed to empower you to live fully and in alignment with your vision. I am especially skilled in working with perfectionism, burnout, chronic pain and illness, trauma, including religious trauma, and questions of legacy, meaning, and faith. I particularly enjoy working with people who are exploring their religious lives, as well as leaders, innovators, and creatives whose impact and influence demand a high level of emotional agility.

I incorporate executive coaching when it is helpful, and I tailor the work to what you actually need rather than trying to fit you into a particular model. My practice is part of ONE Clinic, an integrative health practice where psychotherapy is offered alongside mind-body approaches such as somatic and breath work, clinical hypnosis, neurofeedback, and nutrition. We also look at markers such as microbiome and posture analysis when they may be affecting your wellbeing. I value having the ability to understand a person as a whole and to consider the many ways that the mind, body, relationships, and environment can interact.

What you can expect from sessions with Tani Polansky, PhD

I offer a space to bring what you have not been able to say elsewhere, received without judgment and at your own pace. You can expect a collaborative and tailored treatment plan, honest feedback, and a relationship in which you are met as a whole person rather than a diagnosis. I want there to be room for the parts of your experience that may feel complicated, uncomfortable, or difficult to put into words, without needing to rush past them or make them into something they are not. The work is not about telling you who you should be, but about helping you understand yourself more deeply and move toward the life you want to live.

So much of this work is about helping you retrace your steps and find the humility and courage to begin again. Sometimes that means looking closely at patterns that have been keeping you stuck, and sometimes it means making space for something you have never allowed yourself to acknowledge. I will be honest with you throughout that process, including about what I think may or may not be helpful. At the end of our consultation, I will tell you honestly whether I believe I can help you, and if not, I will be glad to help you find someone who is.

Tani Polansky, PhD's experience working with the Jewish community

I grew up between Chassidish, Yeshivish, and Dati Leumi communities, followed by years in the YU world and working with other communities around the country. I have spent more than a decade in Jewish outreach and community leadership, and I have counseled hundreds of students along the way. My passion for religious work grew from my own journey and from my deep curiosity about the ways people experience their relationship with G-d. My own religious experience had become consumed with shame and a self-judgment that I projected onto G-d, and it was not serving my relationship with Him.

Much of my own work has been to reconstruct a relationship with G-d in line with what I know to be true, rather than what I was taught in yeshiva. I studied that process in my doctoral dissertation, out of the same love and curiosity that first drew me to this work. This work is non-directive. I am not here to guide you toward any particular way of practicing, but to help you explore what is true and meaningful for you.

Particularly with religious exploration work, much of it is separating your religious experience from your psychological experience, so we can build a connection that is your own, one that carries aliveness and vitality. Sometimes that means examining the shame, fear, expectations, or self-judgment that have become intertwined with religious life and beginning to understand what belongs to your psychology and what belongs to your relationship with G-d. There is room to ask difficult questions, to sit with uncertainty, and to discover what a relationship with G-d can look like when it is genuinely your own. As Dovid HaMelech writes in Tehillim, “Taste and see that G-d is good.” A life of connection with G-d should feel good. It should make you feel ALIVE.

Tani Polansky, PhD's Book Recommendation Zone

• Man's Search for Meaning & The Will To Meaning
  Both are fantastic descriptions of Viktor Frank's journey to his formulation of man's innate drive toward meaning. These books stand in stark contrast to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the idea that humans require safety before pursuing meaning. a beautiful psychological exploration of concepts rooted in jewish psychology.
• The Committed Life - Esther Jungreis
  Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis's seminal work on living a Jewish life built on commitment to higher ideals, rather than pressure or conformity to other's standards.
• Orot Hateshuva (The lights of Return) Rav AY Hakohen Kook
  Rav Kook's brilliant, holistic, and poetic description of the process of "Teshuva" or return. Describing it as a mulifaceted process including fixing of the body, faith, choice, and action. An inspiring read for anyone looking to find a new relationship with themselves.

Approaches

• Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
• EMDR
• Existential
• Hypnotherapy
• Neurofeedback
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Trauma Focused Therapy

Concerns

• Anxiety
• Bereavement & Grief
• Chronic illness
• Dating
• Depression
• Gender Identity Issues
• Mood Disorders
• Religious Identity Issues
• Stress management
• Trauma

4 years in practice

Licenses

• Clinical by Psychologist 2026. License number 4272

Degrees

• PhD by Clinical Psychology 2025
• MS by Clinical Psychology 2023

Awards

• Research Award by Palo Alto University 2025
• APA Presentation Award by American Psychological Association 2025

Certificates

• Pastoral Counseling by Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary 2023

Trainings

• Elevation Academy Teacher Training by Elevation Academy 2022
• Ericksonian Hypnotherapy by Ericksonian Institute of Hypnosis 2025
• EMDR Training by EMDRIA 2026
• Imago Therapy Training by Imago Institute 2024
• Somatic Experiencing - Level 1 by SE International 2024

Affiliations

• AOJP
• APA
• Nefesh
• Contemporary Reichian - Orgone Therapy Society 2023

Average costs per session

$300 - $650

Payment Methods

• Insurance
• Sliding Scale
• Free consultation
• Cash
• Check
• Credit Card