Best Grief, Anxiety & Life Transitions Therapy Therapist in New Jersey
Meet the Therapist: Tammie Maitlin, LSW
Maitlin is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) at Light Street Psychotherapy in Short Hills, NJ, currently completing her clinical licensure (LCSW) under supervision as required by New Jersey law. She holds a Master’s in Social Work from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work and has close to a decade of hands-on experience in mental health settings — including significant time working in nursing homes and hospice care, plus private-practice work with couples and teens.
- License: Licensed Social Worker (LSW), pursuing LCSW under clinical supervision
- Education: MSW, NYU Silver School of Social Work
- Who she helps: Individuals, couples, families, teens, and older adults
- What she treats: Grief and loss, bereavement (for individuals and families), anxiety, depression, the emotional toll of aging and end-of-life care, and stressful life transitions
- How she works: Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Psychodynamic Therapy — tailored to each person’s family situation, attachment style, and background, delivered with a non-judgmental, individualized approach
- Office: Light Street Psychotherapy, Short Hills, NJ (in-person + telehealth NJ)
Contact: (973) 544-8617 | Book a free consultation
Why Her Background Matters
A lot of therapists learn about grief and aging from a textbook. Maitlin has actually worked inside nursing homes and hospice settings — the exact places where families are living through loss, decline, and end-of-life decisions in real time. That’s a different kind of preparation than clinical training alone, and it’s part of why families searching for “grief support for elderly parent NJ” or “hospice bereavement counseling NJ” tend to be well matched with her.
What Grief and Loss Actually Feel Like
People searching “why can’t I stop crying” or “is it normal to feel numb after a death” are usually further along than they realize — grief rarely looks the way movies show it. It can show up as:
- Trouble sleeping or eating, or sleeping and eating too much
- Feeling numb, foggy, or disconnected from everyday life
- Guilt over things said or unsaid, or over “moving on” too fast or not fast enough
- Anger that seems to come from nowhere
- Trouble concentrating at work or with family
- Waves of sadness that hit unexpectedly, long after others expect you to be “over it”
What Anxiety and Depression Can Look Like Day to Day
Searches like “why do I feel anxious for no reason” or “signs of depression in adults” usually point to something like:
- A constant sense of dread or worry that doesn’t match what’s actually happening
- Losing interest in things that used to feel good
- Feeling exhausted no matter how much rest you get
- Withdrawing from friends, family, or activities
- Physical symptoms — tight chest, stomach issues, headaches — with no clear medical cause
Coping With a Loved One’s Aging or Declining Health
Families searching “how to cope with parent’s dementia” or “caregiver burnout support NJ” are often carrying grief before a loss has even happened — sometimes called anticipatory grief. It can bring up guilt, exhaustion, and a strange kind of loneliness, since friends may not understand what it’s like to slowly lose someone who’s still there. This is one of Maitlin’s specific areas of focus, given her hospice and nursing-home background.
What to Ask When You’re Comparing Therapists
When looking for a grief, anxiety, or life-transitions therapist, ask about real-world experience with the specific loss you’re facing (a death, a divorce, a health decline), not just general training; ask whether the approach is talk-based, structured (like CBT), or a mix; and ask whether they work with the whole family, not just the person who made the appointment.
Where to Find Her
Maitlin practices out of Short Hills, NJ, with telehealth available throughout New Jersey — including Millburn, Springfield, Maplewood, South Orange, Summit, Madison, Chatham, Livingston, Florham Park, Westfield, Cranford, Whippany, Berkeley Heights, Union, Scotch Plains, Morristown, New Providence, and Mountainside.
See the full range of approaches at Light Street Psychotherapy’s services, including individual therapy, family therapy, and couples therapy.