Karen Rifkin, MA, LMHC

“I’m not a sunshine and butterflies therapist.  I’m honest and respectful and will help you with what you want to accomplish, not just tell you what you want to hear.”

Direct and down to earth, Karen Rifkin has been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor for over 30 years but has been working in the mental health field for most of her life.  From an early age, her compassion and desire to help others motivated her. Beginning in her teens, Karen volunteered in group homes for kids and adults with special needs and abused and neglected teens. Her experiences led her to pursue a career in the mental health field.

Karen’s bachelor’s degree is in Exceptional Education.  She became a teacher for emotionally and mentally handicapped children and eventually began to counsel kids who were involved with drugs.  She went on to earn a master’s degree in Community Mental Health and became a high school drug counselor for 10 years prior to joining New Objectives.  During this time, she also ran batterer intervention groups, groups for women in residential treatment programs, and school-based treatment and education programs for adolescents.

Karen strives to teach assertive communication skills, so that her patients master the art of comfortably saying what they need to say directly and respectfully.  She teaches them to respond thoughtfully, calmly and logically. In addition to treating depression and anxiety, she specializes in substance abuse therapy for both teenagers and adults, domestic violence and therapy for eating disorders.

Karen feels rewarded by her work as she helps people meet their own needs and goals, especially when they are able to utilize their new skills in all areas of their lives. Substance abuse therapy, although challenging, is especially rewarding for her; when people are able to achieve that level of change, it changes the world for an entire family.  She loves hearing patients say, “Life’s so different!” as they make changes and feel better about their lives. Karen’s goal is to retire knowing she helped many people.

A lifelong volunteer on behalf of people as well as animals, Karen loves dogs and is a volunteer and foster mom for Houndhaven in Orlando.  She has been a vegetarian for 42 years and loves air shows, scrapbooking and classic cars.

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Specialties

  • Substance Abuse / Addiction
  • Domestic Violence
  • Couples Therapy / Marriage Counseling
  • Eating Disorders
  • Adolescent Issues
  • Cutting / Self-Injury
  • Anxiety
  • Depression / Trauma
  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
  • Neurofeedback (pIR)