testimonials
7 year old incest survivor
“I started coming to therapy with Lynne after spending two weeks at a psychiatric hospital in Connecticut. I was a fifteen year old girl who had just told my parents that I had been raped seven years earlier. I was having issues with depression, flashbacks, drug and alcohol use, and self-harm. I worked with Lynne three times a week that first summer—it was incredibly hard work and the days that I didn’t spend with Lynne I would be working with other doctors to determine what medications were best and how to proceed with school. I loved going to Lynne because I felt like I could talk to her about anything, and what I couldn’t say with words I 1 could say with art. She made me feel incredibly safe and I felt comfortable speaking my mind, especially because she kept her word about confidentiality and if she felt it necessary to tell my parents something, we would discuss it beforehand. I saw Lynne for about a year, and she helped tremendously. I stopped using drugs, I stopped cutting, and I learned how to handle my flashbacks. I’m nineteen now and am extremely happy with how my life turned out. I go to one of the top 50 colleges in the United States, I am proudly serving my country, and my mental health is better than it has ever been. If it wasn’t for Lynne, I may not even be alive today. She is an amazing doctor and an even better person.”
15 year old survivor of childhood rape
“I was looking for a play therapist for my 3 year old daughter. I was going through a really bad divorce and my daughter was having very bad tantrums, wetting the bed, not listening, acting like a different child – and I could not handle her. Of all the therapists I read about I liked Lynne’s profile and I was not wrong about her. Her profile directed me to her website which has so much information, and so many pictures of Lynne working with kids in her big beautiful office/art studio. I had a good idea of what it was going to be like before we even got there, which helped my anxiety a lot. Lynne helped us learn how to deal with our feelings when we were upset. She gave me ideas on how to reward good behavior and showed me many ways to help my daughter with her worries. Lynne was also always right there on the phone with me when I was scared because my ex was stalking us and I needed to wait for the police. Lynne has a lot of experience and gives 100% to the families that she gets involved with.”
Mother of a 3 y/o girl with adjustment disorder and severe anxiety due to parent’s violent divorcer
“Lynne, I really am grateful for finding you when I did and the part you played in helping me grieve and heal and move on. When I very first met you, you said something along the lines of “eventually you’ll have a little Lynne in your head and you’ll know what I’d say,” and I suppose I do. I’ve gained a whole skill set in terms of feeling my feelings and recognizing what they are and honoring them and that’s been frankly invaluable in coping with all the other crazy stuff that life has thrown my way since. Things have still been hard, but I’ve not felt broken or frozen or afraid in the ways I did when I sought out your help and for that I’m really grateful. A lot of really great things have happened in the past (almost) two years…but above all I’ve felt more able to cope, more in the drivers seat of my own life, more competent, as though I have more resources within myself, and just less…lost. I also think back to some of my therapy goals and I think a lot of them are accomplished or at least on their way. I don’t feel so helplessly stuck in terms of the rest of my life.“
29 y/o woman experiencing trauma from the ending of a long-term relationship
When our teenage daughter disclosed an early childhood sexual trauma, we immediately began a search for a therapist to help her through the healing process. The use of art as a healing technique seemed to be a perfect match. When I (thankfully!) came across Lynne’s website, I knew in my heart that her therapeutic style would be a good fit. Lynne’s comfortable approach, empathy, and compassion gave our daughter the tools she needed to heal. Lynne included our entire family in our daughters’ recovery and the support and care she has shown all of us has been a blessing. Lynne’s office is a safe haven for anyone who walks through her doors.
Mother of 15 y/o girl who survived rape as a child
Lynne’s approach was very unique and creative which gave our daughter the confidence to open up and eventually confront her worries. Lynne not only successfully helped our daughter, but she also worked with us as parents and gave us many tools to handle different situations. Lynne made sure to always be up-to-date with our daughter’s daily life and with us. She sent our daughter letters and had phone conversations with her when needed. In addition, the daily communications with us via email allowed us to receive constant feedback. Lynne went above and beyond and we greatly appreciate her efforts to help us.
Mother of a 7 y/o girl experiencing anxiety and issues with autonomy, held her stool in and refused
to go to the bathroom
I was in therapy with Lynne starting in the spring of 2011, because I had been having problems since my mother died. I was 16. Lynne is amazing. She always made me things (small animals to sleep with, special letters, encouraging notes. She called these things transitional objects and explained that they would make me feel close to her when I was not in session.) I slept with many of those things for a long time. Then the terrorist attacks of 9/11 happened and the World Trade Center came down. My father, who worked in tower one, was “missing.” Lynne immediately made arrangements for my brother and I to go stay with My Aunt and Uncle in New Jersey. Lynne always knew just what to do. I knew that as long as I had Lynne, everything would be okay. My father was never found. Lynne arranged for our Aunt and Uncle to adopt us. She saved us from foster care. I spent many more months seeing Lynne. She taught me how to identify what I was feeling so that I would not act-out on it by binge eating or becoming more sexually promiscuous. Today I am a Mom, with a healthy relationship with my husband. It was sad that my Mom and Dad were not at my daughter’s birth – but Lynne was. I never would have made it without her. If you are struggling, don’t hesitate. She will make your world make sense again.
16 y/o girl who lost both parents, one to cancer and one on 9/11 in the World Trade Center
My child worked with Lynne since they were 12. They had done many different types of therapies before then. Lynne’s therapeutic approach was a perfect fit. The combination of talk and project based therapy worked very well for my child. At each stage of development whether it be social, physical or developmental Lynne met my child where they were and found the resources to help them. My child was able to gain confidence and build real friendships as a result of their sessions with Lynne. Lynne was always available to my child and to me as a parent. When necessary Lynne would act as an intermediary for my child to discuss hard issues with us. Lynne helped my child feel safe and be ready to venture off to college. Thank you so much for your help over the years and supporting my child.
Parent of College Bound 18 Year Old
FROM COLLEAGUES
“Lynne has that too rare capacity to stand in the awkward, and often dark, pain of a patient. While residing there she can empathize, guide, getting her hands dirty…not only with chalk or paint…but with the grief and trauma exuded from the soul she’s guiding in that moment. She isn’t thrown by humanity’s darkness, nor is she immune from it. She is resilient, bold, and creative as she leads. Such golden and gifted eccentricity is too rare in the mental health field that often plods when a patient needs to fly.”
from a supervisor at a NYC hospital child crisis psychiatric ER
“Lynne was always able to give herself in such a way as to make each patient feel safe and nurtured. Because of her warmth and sensitivity, her patients quickly recognized the genuine concern, interest and respect she had for them. Her empathic style, combined with her ability to maintain therapeutic boundaries, enabled them to risk revealing and exploring traumatic experiences and difficult emotional material in ways that facilitated movement toward psychological health.”
from a psychologist on a child sexual abuse team
“Part of why my association with Lynne is so enlightening…is that she never flags in her attention to the visual world around her, its meaning and its impact. A simple walk or drive becomes an analysis of architecture, traffic patterns, hand gestures, commercial signage, storefront displays, the way adolescents bunch together, the way elderly people use shopping carts, the way women wear accessories, the way stores display those accessories to women. No one I know goes as far as Lynne in understanding the seamless continuum between image and impact.”
from a fellow graduate student at NYU
“I have spoken [already] to Ms. Beldegreen’s intellectual and work strengths. Interpersonally, she is extremely warm, humane, and caring. She establishes rapport easily, even in moments of great difficulty and distress. She is someone that I automatically think to involve when confronted by hostile, frightened, or very guarded individuals. Her interpersonal skills and understanding are highly developed and astute, and others benefit greatly from [their] engagement with her.”
from a supervisor on a child crisis team
from a 6 year old girl who was sexually abused since birth