Wendy Carolina Franco PhD
Clinical Psychologist
She/her
Welcome to My Practice
Starting therapy is a leap of faith, often taken, at times of limited hope and resources. It is an act of courage. I aim to harness the power inherent in this action to maximize the impact of the therapeutic process.
I prioritize symptom relief and stabilization, which is the foundation of the work that results in lasting change and personal growth.
I work best with people who are interested in meeting and embracing their own complexity and in uncovering the many unconscious forces at play in their lives. I believe social and political environments, genetic predispositions, and intergenerational histories all interact to manifest our challenges and gifts.
Clinical Training And Expertise
I am a Bilingual (English/Spanish) clinical psychologist and equity consultant.
I earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2014. But my experiences in therapeutic settings began in 1997, working as the night manager in a halfway house for dually diagnosed teenagers. In 2000 I joined a drama therapy company lead by a psychoanalyst in Spain. We facilitated experiential drama therapy interventions to assist patients, as well as their families and medical providers, confront the dying process in palliative care settings across Europe. These experiences lead me to pursue a PhD at City College of NY, one of only psychoanalytically oriented clinical psychology programs in the country.
Psychoanalysis prioritizes meaning making through the exploration of unconscious and relational processes and is known for its comprehensive theories of mind and development. I practice Psychodynamic therapy, which is based on psychoanalytic theories but differs in technique. My practice also draws from liberation and feminist psychology that examine the impact of identity, contextual factors, and power dynamics in their theories of health and illness.
I have specialized training in trauma-informed psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). And I am experienced in serving and affirming the LGBTQIA+ community as well as racially and ethnically diverse individuals, couples, and families.
I provide therapy to process and integrate non-ordinary states of consciousness that may accur and are not limited to psychedelic or meditative states. I help clients weave their psychedelic experiences into their therapy exploration of their unconscious mind. The therapy focuses on uncovering processing and making changes in response to new understandings.
Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is an innovative pairing of the widely used and safe anesthetic Ketamine and evidence based psychotherapies. This modality capitalizes on the effects of non-ordinary states of consciousness, which include a lowering of defenses, to promote cognitive flexibility, emotional release, and behavioral change. Research on KAP has shown promise in the treatment of complicated grief, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and Substance Use Disorders.
I provide KAP as an adjunctive treatment to psychotherapy, meaning that I only see people who are in therapy and plan to continue therapy for a while after KAP. I work with therapists to support their clients with this powerful medicine. And I partner with licensed medical ketamine prescribers to provide our patients Ketamine assisted treatment.
Please be advised that I do not administer or provide therapy to people under the influence of illegal psychedelic substances. I do
Individual Therapy
I see individuals across the lifespan starting in early adolescence. I have expertise working with folks with marginalized identities, as well as with professionals at risk for burn out ie, human rights advocates, health care workers, journalists. I treat all mental health disorders that are appropriate for a private practice setting.
Group Therapy
Group therapy offers a unique and invaluable opportunity for growth and connection.I offer process oriented, support, and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy groups as well as short-term skill building groups, day workshops, and retreats.
Couples and Family
I offer psychodynamic couple and family therapy that focuses on mutual understanding and compassion. Couple therapy can help heal the wounds of relational conflict and be the key to transforming your relationship to meet your needs as you grow and change. Family therapy is a powerful intervention in times of crisis and across development. Families with young and adult children benefit for a space to process their relational problems and change dynamics.
Organizational Consulting
I support businesses and non-profits interested in addressing internal relational conflicts and those with difficulties meeting their goals due to innefficient, unclear, or unbalanced distributions of work products.
I have particular interest and expertise identifying and providing opportunities to confront toxic power dynamics that replicate systems of injustice and oppression that were integral to success of capitalism and commerce.
Additional Professional Activities:
I provide training and supervision to clinical psychology PhD students at City College, CUNY, and early career psychologists.
As a consultant I offer innovative interventions aimed increasing mental health awareness and care to frontlines workers and activists locally and internationally. Most recently I was part of a care team at the 12/2023 Kenya convening of UN-Women Trust Fund grantees for Gender-Based violence initiatives in Latin America and Africa Regions.
I provide forensic and clinical evaluations as well as expert testimony for Immigration hardship evaluations (I-601), U-Visa Domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, as well as VAWA psychological evaluations for abused partners.
I have published academic papers on the need to examine social political and historical factors in therapy, opinion articles on reproductive justice and police brutality.
I am also the founding facilitator of Our Abortion Stories, https://ourabortionstories.com/ , an interactive event planning organization. We have worked with Planned Parenthood and the Brooklyn Museum to create and hold spaces for sharing, documenting, strategizing, and processing the loss of, and the fight to regain, fundamental rights of body autonomy and reproductive justice.
GET IN TOUCH
111 John St. Suite 2400
New York NY 10038
110 Prospect Pl
Brooklyn , NY 11217
(646) 322-5802