“For over twenty years, Dr. Joe Taravella’s colleagues, clients, and associates have benefited from his therapeutic approach to healing individuals and families in crisis. It is Dr. Joe’s practice mission to help all who pass through his doors reach their full potential.”
“It has been my absolute privilege to know Dr. Joe, professionally and personally. He is someone on whom people can consistently rely, and he gives of himself with genuine kindness, compassion, and generosity. He is someone who relates to people with incredible ease, and his ability to maintain an empathic and open stance while still holding himself to the highest professional and ethical standards is unmatched.
Dr. Joe’s creativity in developing “the secret box” as a vehicle for families to communicate has been extremely useful in my own practice, and it is clear that his many years of experience have given him the insight and understanding needed to help children and families navigate through even the most challenging situations and circumstances. As a psychologist, the bar by which I measure other colleagues is to consider whether they are someone I would trust my own loved ones with for care. When I ask that of myself with regard to Dr. Joe, it is an instant and confident yes. He is a true leader who conducts himself with integrity and true care and concern for those whose lives he touches.”
“It’s not often that you meet a person who truly cares and goes the extra mile unselfishly. Thank you, Dr. Joe for helping both me and my family get through a terrible time. Losing several family members in an unspeakable tragedy was too big for me to handle and move on from. I was suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. I couldn’t sleep and wasn’t able to function at work. My marriage was falling apart, and I didn’t know how to change any of it. I’m not the type of person who would ever speak to a psychologist, but your empathetic, caring, and non-judgmental approach helped me open up to you and develop a trusting relationship. You will never know how much you are appreciated. Thank you for helping me put my life back together. You were truly meant to do what you do.”
“I have known Dr. Joe Taravella for ten years, two of which he was my therapist assigned for psychological services. His patience, courtesy, intelligence, and winning manner are only part of what makes Dr. Joe the sensitive, caring, and professional therapist he is. Dr. Joe is a good communicator and has a marvelous sense of humor. He feels empathy and compassion for his patients and is unparalleled when it comes to helping individuals and families cope with modern relationships. Dr. Joe is an outstanding and exceptional human being and I feel privileged to know him.”
“Speaking with Dr. Joe was like talking with the angels. My depression was so severe, I was no longer able to care for my child or do the normal, ordinary tasks I was used to doing. I thought I was spiraling downward into what felt like a black hole. Dr. Joe understood the severity of how I was feeling and recommended a combination of weekly psychotherapy as well as antidepressants. After several weeks and psychotherapy with Dr. Joe, my depression began to lift; however, even though I was beginning to feel better, I was scared and nervous that this would happen to me again. Dr. Joe worked with me to help me understand my depression and gave me the tools to keep my thoughts in a functional and adaptive cycle in an effort to ward off depression. I trust him wholeheartedly and thank God I found him.”
“Dr. Joe helped me overcome what I previously thought was an insurmountable trauma. As a teenager, I was repeatedly raped and threatened by her neighbor. I carried the secret with me for many years until finally, overtime, I was able to build a healthy interesting relationship with Dr. Joe and divulge my secrets. I am most appreciative of his genuine kindness and gentle approach and pushing me to and past my limits, as well as his skill and expertise and helping me trust again. After finally freeing myself of my secrets, Dr. Joe helped my spouse and me get to a much better place and continue to make progress towards a happier and healthier life. Thank you for giving me my life back and for giving me my first Christmas without depression.”
“I met Dr. Joe Taravella during the summer of 2010. While working with him as the host of a show I was developing, I quickly discovered that his professional knowledge is extensive; he is extremely knowledgeable in his field and one of the most kind and compassionate people I know. The work he did with our families on the set made a lasting impact. The qualities I saw and admired after wrapping up our shoot convinced me to approach our Board to invite Dr. Joe to be a part of Kid Angel. We knew that Dr. Joe was the type of person who would positively complement our existing board members.
As Director of Family Programs, Dr. Joe works with some of Kid Angel’s most challenging families. The positive, lasting results we have had with these families are staggering. He is a master in his field.”
“We have been using Dr. Joe Taravella as a referral source for our patients’ psychological well-being for several years and are excited to finally be working together with him in the same practice, as director of psychological services. As a medical director, I see many patients who suffer from psychological problems due to the challenges of everyday life. Dr. Joe and I consistently take the extra steps in caring for patients, and I trust him with even the most complicated situations. He is a competent and well-respected psychologist who often brings new understanding and insight toward medical team and staff. We at Moretti & Rocco Medical Associates understand the importance of treating the patient as a “whole” and find comfort in having Dr. Joe as part of our team of specialists.”
“I have only known Dr. Joe Taravella for about four years, during this time however, I have developed an amazing relationship with him and feel as if I have known him my entire life.
I take my role as a physician assistant very seriously; my patients count on me for sound advice. This is why I only refer my patients to Dr. Taravella; he is the only one I trust 100%.
Dr. Taravella’s innate and unique talent to exercise kindness, compassion, and empathy, while always maintaining the highest level of professionalism and integrity is what sets him apart from the rest. He is able to address the challenges of his patients and arrive at a satisfactory resolve quickly and effectively. He is always warm and caring, and his humble demeanor lens to the comfort level of everyone in his presence. It is a privilege to have Dr. Taravella as a colleague and an honor to call him my friend!”
“We knew we were struggling with communication in our home, so we talked to our family doctor. My 12-year-old son seemed to be talking to us less and less and it felt like we were walking on egg shells, even during meals, to try to have a conversation with him. His teacher and principal told us it was normal at this age to withdraw from family activities and explore his individuality. We try to except this, but our son just didn’t seem happy like he used to be. Our doctor told us that while it was normal to some extent, he also noticed a change in our boy. He suggested we explore therapy and we were lucky he recommended Dr. Joe Taravella. We liked him instantly and soon discovered what was troubling our son and we began to work our problems. My wife and I know that we have avoided a future family crisis by getting help early and we are glad we did.”
“I met Dr. Joe Taravella over 10 years ago while working at NYU Medical Center. Dr. Taravella quickly became a trusted colleague and a personal friend. I was immediately struck by his excellent clinical judgment and sensitivity to patient needs. Dr. Taravella was greatly respected as a member of the psychology department and quickly grew to a position in which he was supervising psychologists-in-training and overseeing the outpatient pediatric services department. ”
“My husband tends to over think things in a good way, so when he opened the note our nine-year-old son brought home from school and saw a form they wanted us to sign, he cringed and saw that labeling was about to begin. The school wanted him to join their group counseling meetings for what they termed a lack of social skills. We went to the school for a meeting with his teacher, the guidance counselor, and the principal. They were concerned because our son was asking his teacher science questions during recess instead of playing with the other kids.
Our son participates in sports, and has a lot of friends, play dates, and sleepovers almost every weekend. Since he learned to read, he’s really enjoyed being able to look things up and learn. He loves school. My husband thought we should see a private therapist to protect our son from being typed by the school system and lost in a category that could cause further damage. Dr. Joe worked with us, our son, and the school to help them understand how to better deal with things like this in the future. Dr. Joe helped us avert a crisis and will be forever grateful. Kids should be allowed to be kids and develop to their full potential without being categorized and judged.”
“Like every young couple who is having a baby, my husband and I want to be the best parents possible. Instead of trying to choose from the mountain of books available on child rearing, we turned to Dr. Joe for guidance and advice. The pre-parenting education and insight we learned from talking with Dr. Joe gave us the self-confidence every new parent should have to understand the developmental phases of infancy and early childhood. We know when and how to interact with our baby and make these years warm and loving ones. We consider Dr. Joe in important part of our growing family!”
“About 15 years ago, when I was in high school, I was a client of yours at SJU for about a year. My wife, who was at the time, my best friend Amy, was studying to be a social worker and getting her masters, doing her internship, etc. I often find myself thinking about how much I learned about myself in that time we worked together, and talk to her about things that I did, as she’s working at her field placement. We were talking today, and I said I wonder whatever happened to him, and of course with googling people being such an easy thing to do now, I did, and popped up your Facebook page. I have very positive memories of our time together, and I still use things we worked on so long ago in my life today.”
“When my normally bubbly little girl got too quiet, we became concerned. Over the course of a few months, she had stopped being a fun and cuddly six-year-old. We didn’t put our finger on the fact that she had started wearing glasses and made no connection to the fact that she had fallen on the playground and come home with a scraped elbow. My daughter was being bullied at school, made fun of for wearing glasses. She didn’t tell us that she had been pushed down on the playground and taunted for having ‘four eyes’. This was too heavy burden for a child, and we didn’t know what to do about it. I tried talking to the teacher, then the principal. Nothing changed at school. We had to deal with this ourselves. A friend of mine told us about Dr. Joe. After a couple of sessions, we noticed our daughter becoming more like herself. Through the use of Dr. Joe‘s secret box, our little girl learned that she didn’t have to hold onto the secrets that were causing her stress. We will continue to use this method anytime we see our daughter’s self-esteem and self-confidence wavering. Thanks for bringing our daughter back to us Dr. Joe.”
“When my husband and I decided to get divorced, I knew I was struggling. What I didn’t realize was that my daughter was also struggling too. After all, she hadn’t asked for this upheaval in her life and the changes in her went unnoticed until I took some time off from work to spend with her and she really wasn’t interested in talking to me or doing any activities with me. I hadn’t noticed how withdrawn she had become because she went to her father’s house half the week and when she was with me, she came home alone, and I didn’t see her till evening when I get home from work. The relationship we shared only a few months ago was gone. I couldn’t get her to talk to me or tell me what was bothering her. She used to come into the room and hug me and we’d talk about the day, then she started to stay in her room and watch way too much TV. I didn’t know how to approach her.
I decided to attend a talk on family crisis at my daughter’s school and will always think of that day I met Dr. Joe as one of the luckiest in my life. The following week, my daughter and I met with Dr. Joe and begin to work our way through this major change in both of our lives, as a family. Eventually, my ex-husband joined us in a session, and we all got used to using the secret box. The secret box opened an avenue of communication for all of us that we will use for years to come. I wish that school guidance counselors would learn to use this approach as well. Dr. Joe can’t be everywhere! Thank you, Dr. Joe!”
“I have had the fortune of training and working alongside Dr. Joe Taravella at NYU Langone Medical Center and admire him as a friend as well as a colleague. He is an individual of the highest caliber both professionally and personally. He is dedicated, generous, and considerate with everyone in his life and innovative and skillful in all that he does. The qualities that make him a competent and professional practitioners stem from those personality factors that make him a trustworthy and dependable friend. I have worked with many clinical care providers and in my experience, his standard of care and level of conduct in professional matters have consistently been superior. I would not hesitate using him as a referral source or seeking consultation from him on clinical matters.”
“I have known Dr. Taravella both personally and professionally for over 30 years. When I needed to find an expert/psychologist for my students to interview on cyberbullying, I immediately thought of him. Dr. Joe is a kind, caring, and highly competent professional who made my students feel at ease throughout their time working together. Dr. Joe worked closely with my students and brought a fresh and insightful viewpoint on the topic of cyberbullying. Most importantly, it was on a level my students understood. My students not only enjoyed working with Dr. Joe, but they also took away a lot of information to use in their daily lives to help prevent cyberbullying. We were also happy to have Dr. Joe as part of our school team project. And as an added bonus, our interview with Dr. Joe has been nominated for an Eddy award!”