Abigail M. McNally, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist and Psychoanalyst
O: (617) 256-1252
50 Leonard Street
Suite 204
Belmont, MA 02478
Psychotherapy Practice
Psychotherapy
This treatment approach is a 1-2x weekly interpersonally-based psychotherapy (individual or couples) that focuses on the development of insight into and freeing of unconscious motivations as well as the impact of early relational history on present sense of self in relation to others.
Psychotherapy Services
Psychoanalysis
This therapeutic model is an intensified, deeper version of psychodynamic psychotherapy that aims to pull apart rigid, unhealthy, or developmentally young layers of emotion, meaning, and self-protective defenses and restructure them into a healthier and more peaceful sense of self. This treatment is variably structured in ways that best facilitate the continual opening up of a client's access to his/her mind (e.g., lying on a couch to think freely without the burden of eye contact or attending 4-5 sessions per week to allow gradual deepening of opened themes).
PTSD/Trauma/Dissociative Disorder Treatment
An area of specialization in Dr. McNally's pracitce is in the integrative treatment of traumatic experience and disorder (PTSD, complex traumatic stress disorder, sexual abuse, dissociative disorders, and DID/MPD). Her work in this area embraces a combination of psychodynamic therapy, exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and internal family sytems (IFS) approaches. Treatment in this realm is tri-phasic, first emphasizing safety and stabilization, second incorporating processing and integration of past traumas and/or dissociated affects or self-states, and third, returning to connection and meaning-making in a truly post-traumatic relational world.
Eating Disorder Treatment
Dr. McNally's approach to eating disorders is a theoretically integrative one that combines strategies from psychodynamic, internal family systems (IFS), and dialectical-behavioral (DBT) models. Treatment is tailored to the client's unique needs and symptom severity and focuses on a development-enhancing relationship that repairs emotion regulation, self-esteem, and self-structure deficits, loosens maladaptive and rigid coping strategies, and builds a life worth living.
Supervision/Consultation
Professional supervision and consultation provided in psychodynamic psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, transference/countertransference, trauma/PTSD/dissociative disorders, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder.
