Transdiagnostic Therapy in New York

One path through many struggles.

Beneath the surface of distress—whether it’s anxiety, depression, trauma, or burnout—there are often shared patterns. Loops of avoidance. Harsh self-judgment. Emotional overwhelm. Disconnection from meaning. These patterns don’t always fit neatly into one diagnostic label, yet they shape so much of our experience.

Transdiagnostic therapy is designed for this reality. It doesn’t focus solely on the diagnosis—it focuses on the process. What sustains the suffering, and what supports healing?

Here in New York, where life is layered and no two paths are the same, transdiagnostic therapy offers a flexible, intelligent, and integrative approach. It lets us work with the whole person, not just isolated symptoms.

Whether you’re navigating one clear diagnosis or many intersecting struggles, I offer transdiagnostic therapy for adults across Buffalo and throughout New York State—compassionately, online, and always grounded in both evidence and presence.

Transdiagnostic Therapy Symbolized by Circular Path

What is transdiagnostic therapy?

Transdiagnostic therapy is a clinical approach that focuses on core psychological processes that appear across different mental health concerns—rather than treating each diagnosis in isolation.

Traditional models often treat depression one way, anxiety another, trauma another still. But what happens when someone struggles with all three? Or when symptoms don’t fit neatly into one box?

That’s where the transdiagnostic model comes in. It’s based on the insight that many struggles—regardless of diagnosis—are maintained by similar underlying mechanisms, such as:

Avoidance of emotion or experience
Overidentification with thoughts
Impaired attention or present-moment awareness
Self-criticism and shame
Loss of meaning or values disconnection
Rigid behavior patterns or inflexible responses

Transdiagnostic therapy addresses these shared processes with evidence-based interventions that apply across diagnoses. Instead of asking, “What’s your label?” we ask, “What’s the process that needs support?”

This model draws from the latest psychological science and includes interventions from:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Unified Protocol
Mindfulness-based approaches
Emotion regulation strategies
Motivational and values-based work

Why choose transdiagnostic therapy in New York?

New Yorkers are complex—and your therapy should reflect that.

Whether you’re in Buffalo, the Bronx, or the North Country, many people experience mental health symptoms that don’t sit cleanly within one diagnosis. Or they carry multiple overlapping diagnoses: anxiety and depression. OCD and trauma. Burnout with a side of existential dread.

In this diverse and high-pressure state, transdiagnostic therapy in New York meets the moment. It honors complexity while providing structure. It allows us to:

Work with the whole person, not just a symptom cluster
Treat multiple diagnoses without switching approaches
Focus on meaningful change rather than diagnostic precision
Reduce overwhelm by targeting shared root processes
Adapt to changing needs and presentations over time

If you’ve ever felt like your therapy was too narrow—or that you were “too complicated” for one approach—transdiagnostic therapy offers a welcome alternative.

How does transdiagnostic therapy work?

In our work together, we begin by getting to know you, not just your diagnoses. We listen deeply for the patterns beneath the symptoms—those loops of behavior, thought, and emotion that keep distress in place.

Using a formulation-based approach, we explore five key areas:

Presenting issues: What you're struggling with now
Predisposing factors: What shaped your vulnerabilities
Precipitating events: What brought the issue to the surface
Perpetuating patterns: What keeps it going
Protective factors: What strengths and resources we can build on

From here, we identify core psychological processes that are active in your experience. Then we tailor evidence-based interventions to target them.

For example:

If experiential avoidance is central, we might use acceptance and exposure work
If rumination or overthinking is prominent, we might use cognitive defusion or mindfulness
If shame is a key driver, we might explore self-compassion and values-based action
If emotional dysregulation is central, we might practice distress tolerance and emotion labeling

We don't force-fit your story into a manual. Instead, we follow your story to its source—and build healing from the inside out.

Benefits of Transdiagnostic Therapy

✔️ Effective across diagnoses

Whether you’re living with anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, or a mix, this approach targets the underlying processes that sustain suffering.

✔️ Flexible and adaptive

As your needs shift, therapy can shift with you—without needing a new diagnosis or treatment plan.

✔️ Focuses on root causes, not just symptoms

Rather than chasing symptoms, we get to what’s driving them—and that creates more lasting change.

✔️ Reduces the burden of multiple labels

You’re not defined by diagnoses. This approach sees you as whole, not fragmented by categories.

✔️ Backed by research

Unified Protocol, ACT, and other transdiagnostic models have growing empirical support for treating diverse concerns with clarity and compassion.

✔️ Deepens self-awareness and emotional skill

By understanding your inner processes, you become more skillful in how you relate to thoughts, feelings, urges, and patterns.

Andrew Wilton LCSW, Transdiagnostic Therapist in New York

Transdiagnostic Therapy Near Buffalo & Across New York State with Andrew Wilton LCSW

I practice from a transdiagnostic, process-based, integrative model—which means we focus on what’s most active and meaningful in your internal world, not just what fits in a box.

With nearly two decades in the helping professions and a background in both clinical practice and academic teaching, I bring both technical expertise and human presence to this work.

I’m trained in ACT, CBT, DBT, mindfulness-based therapies, and the Unified Protocol, and I tailor interventions based on process formulation—what’s actually sustaining your distress.

People often come to me after trying other forms of therapy that felt too narrow, too symptom-focused, or not deep enough. My approach is integrative but anchored. We don’t float aimlessly, and we don’t follow a script. We follow you, with tools that work.

I offer transdiagnostic therapy for adults across New York, including Buffalo and surrounding regions, via secure, online sessions designed for accessibility, privacy, and depth.