We had the good fortune of connecting with Avi Steinhardt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Avi, how do you think about risk?
Many important moments in psychotherapy involve risks. When the therapist steps outside of being purely empathic or supportive, there are implicit risks- of pushing someone to a place they’re not willing to go, risk of losing their business, risk of offending- and it’s often in these risks that a new level can be reached. And of course I also took a big creative risk when I started my Instagram account, @monsteright.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I started @monsterinsight after becoming somewhat obsessed with footage of Jim Henson’s funeral. Watching his muppeteers singing and mourning together with their puppets had me thinking of what it could mean to use a puppet to access the depths of therapy, mental health, grief, even existentialism- I thought some of the insights of therapy and the teachers I’ve had could reach new ears through the whimsy and humor of a monster puppet. That the nostalgia of Sesame Street or The Muppets could be a sort of Trojan horse for something more adult, and far more serious.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Countless people deserve recognition in my success. My friendships, my family, my kid. There are great thinkers and writers near and dear to my heart: James Hillman, Robert Bly, Stephen Jenkinson, Irving and Miriam Pollster, Fritz Perls. And there was my mentor- at the piano, in improvisation, at loving life, whose teaching pour into my therapy: the late Connie Crothers.

Website: www.brooklyntherapies.com

Instagram: monsterinsight

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monsterinsight?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Beren Jones Lily Cole

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.