Johanna Schwartz, LCSW
Brooklyn · Virtual Across NYHi, I'm Johanna. For over a decade I've been the therapist for the ones who are everyone's strong friend, the person who handles the crisis, coordinates the dinner, and keeps the family peace while quietly running on fumes. If that's you, you're exactly who I'm here for.
Your turn. You've spent years being everyone's first call, their steadiest support, their fixer. The one who holds it together so nobody else has to. Nobody ever thinks to ask if you're okay because you never let them see that you're not.
The invisible weight of always over-delivering, the guilt of having needs, the exhaustion of being strong on demand. That's exactly the kind of work I'm built for.
You've spent enough time holding everyone else up. It's your turn to be at the top of the list.
This Is
Your Hour.
My sessions are that unfiltered, soul-deep conversation you'd have with a trusted friend, but with the clinical strategy to actually back it up. No fixing, no performing, no having it figured out before you walk in. Just you, finally getting to be the one who's supported for once.
You get to stop being the strong one.
We aren't here to change the parts of you that show up for others. Those are your strengths. We're just making sure you aren't sacrificing yourself in the process.
The exhaustion finally makes sense.
We untangle the family dynamics, the over-delivering, the guilt of having needs, and figure out what's actually driving the pattern underneath all of it.
You stop feeling behind.
The nagging feeling that you're somehow not where you're supposed to be. Spoiler: you're not behind. You're just tired. We work on that.
The Experience Behind the Work
I'm a Brooklyn-based licensed clinical social worker with over a decade of experience working with the ones who hold everything together for everyone else. Before private practice I spent over seven years in a Level 1 trauma hospital emergency room, in the thick of the most acute, high-stakes moments people ever face. I've sat with people in crisis, in grief, in the kind of pain that doesn't have easy words, and I don't flinch. I currently work as a special education social worker, which means I understand the specific, layered weight of navigating systems, advocating for the people you love, and showing up professionally while carrying a lot personally.
My background is rooted in understanding how the patterns we learned early, the people-pleasing, the over-functioning, the need to keep the peace, show up in every relationship and every role we play as adults. I bring clinical strategy and genuine warmth in equal measure. You won't have to perform okay for me. Show up exactly as you are and we'll figure out the rest together.
Who I Work With
I work with millennial women, new moms, teens, and professionals in Brooklyn and virtually across New York State. If you're navigating the complexity of modern dating, the identity shift of new motherhood, parent loss, chronic illness, or the invisible weight of raising a child with special needs, you're exactly who I had in mind. And if you're the one who shows up for everyone else while quietly putting yourself last, that's exactly the kind of work I'm here for.
How I Work
My approach is direct, warm, and genuinely tailored to what you're actually dealing with. I pull from CBT and Brief Strategic Therapy to give our work real structure and actionable direction, alongside Family Systems and Reality-Based approaches to understand how your patterns started and why they keep showing up. We'll work on the people-pleasing, the burnout, the boundaries that never quite stick, and the identity questions that surface when you finally stop performing for everyone else. Every session has a point. We're not here to talk in circles. We're here to actually move.
Availability
I offer virtual sessions anywhere across New York State, with in-person and virtual availability at our Greenpoint, Brooklyn location at Held Space BK on Tuesdays and Sundays.
Education, Training & Licensure
Education
Masters in Social Work (MSW) · Stony Brook University
Bachelors of Art (BA) in Psychology · State University in Albany
Licensure
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
New York State, License, #88233
Trainings & Certifications
Advanced Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis (BA) · Hunter College
New York State Permanent School Social Worker
Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Substance Use Intervention Trained
ABOUT ME
Outside the office I'm the person who volunteers on days off because apparently rest is a concept I'm still working on, and I will never turn down a gluten-free food recommendation or a book rec, physical or Kindle, both count. I'll walk anywhere if it's under an hour and I'm almost always doing it with a coffee cup in one hand and a book in the other.
Based in Brooklyn, where the coffee shops are good and the walks are long. I've built my life here and I know the specific energy of this city, the pace, the pressure, and the way it can make you feel both completely surrounded and entirely alone at the same time.
Green is technically my favorite color but you'll find me in all black every time. Savory over sweets, always, except when peanut butter cups are involved, which is apparently my one exception and I've made peace with that. Directions are my downfall and I navigate entirely on vibes. If that sounds like your kind of person, I think we'll get along just fine.
Let's see if we're the right fit.