As a chief financial officer, I spend my days designing processes and measuring results. When I came to Dr. Mandelbaum in the midst of a personal crisis, I didn’t expect to find that same kind of discipline applied to mental health. I was in a place I couldn’t think or work my way out of, and nothing I was good at helped.

Under his guidance, we identified the patterns driving the problem, and he gave me concrete steps to follow. His approach involved more than open-ended conversation; it provided protocols and prescriptive actions to ensure those patterns did not repeat. Each step built on the last — from recognition, to working through the issue, to building toward something better.

Perhaps most interesting was how far the approach reached beyond the initial crisis, revealing that the way I had been operating professionally was less than optimal as well. The stress, anxiety, and self-criticism I once accepted as occupational hazards have given way to a more level mind throughout the day. I am a clearer-thinking and more deliberate leader at work, but the most meaningful results have come at home. I am more present with my family, more honest with myself, and living with a sense of purpose I didn’t realize was missing.