Physician-Psychiatrist, PSYCHOANALYST, EDUCATIONAL LEADER, FOUNDER, Author & Speaker
Grant H Brenner MD DFAPA
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”
“I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all of the time.”
“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light”
“Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.”
About the Practice
As a private practitioner working with high functioning clients, Dr Brenner utilizes a unique combination of cutting edge neuro-scientific theories, adaptive methodologies and compassionate personal engagement to provide successful and transformative psychoanalytical support and optimization. Working specifically with those who find change to be difficult after having achieved many of their more basic goals, Dr Brenner’s therapeutic approach is results driven, taking into account the whole person through a comprehensive and adaptive lens. Applying traditional practice with cutting edge neuroscience, Dr Brenner guides his patients through dynamic and personalized protocols that directly address their unique challenges, remove behavioral barriers, and rehabilitate the network connectivity of the brain, creating transformative and undeniable positive change, within themselves and the relationships around them.
Dr Brenner’s methodologies draw upon a wide range of neuroscientific and psychological theories, as well as his personal and professional experience as a psychiatrist, therapist, educator, and entrepreneur. Fundamentally, his approach is psychoanalytic - which is the idea that listening and allowing our self-righting resilient processes to work are paramount, as is understanding developmental influences as part of refining one’s identity and sense of place in the world. Dr Brenner’s therapeutic approach is results driven but recognizes and respects the impenetrable role of time in the process of personal development. It has been his consistent finding that we all have an enormous capacity for positive change, when given the correct perspective and insight.
Dr Brenner is a board certified physician-psychiatrist and prescribes medications with a conservative evidence-based approach. He utilizes a comprehensive psychological and medical evaluation to make sure treatable issues are not missed, and will assist with referrals and communicate with other professionals in ensuring care is comprehensive.
METHODOLOGIES
TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)
TARGET (Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide For Education & Therapy)
Cognitive & Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Complex Adaptive Systems
Self Reflective Function & Mentalization
STAIR (Skill Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation)
A PERSONAL STORY
Dr. Grant Brenner grew up in a culture and family immersed in self-exploration, psychoanalysis, psychology, growth and change, science and curiosity. Early on, he felt a desire to become a therapist, and before that, a scientist. As he grappled with his own challenges and inner forces, he followed a meandering path from physics to psychology, from surgery to psychiatry, ultimately entering psychoanalytic training and private practice in 2002. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City, where he has taught and supervised for over a decade. Dr. Brenner is Board Certified in General Psychiatry and holds certificates in Psychoanalysis and Organizational Psychodynamics from The William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Psychoanalysis in New York City where he served in a variety of leadership roles. Dr. Brenner is on faculty at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis, where he teaches a seminar in the Neurobiology of Trauma.
With almost 20 years in private practice, Dr Grant Brenner has developed a creative, results-driven approach to help his patients understand themselves, identify and breakdown limiting patterns, and realize their most fulfilling and complete potential.
As a leading psychoanalyst and educator in the field of mental health, Dr Brenner is driven to expand conventional thinking around mental health issues. He believes that successful therapy is a dynamic process, unique to each patient and practitioner. Through writing, speaking, and consulting, Dr Brenner brings novel and innovative thinking to traditional perspectives, encouraging his colleagues and patients to think creatively, intuitively, and strategically when working with the mind.
Dedicated to reframing how we think and talk about mental health issues, Dr Brenner drives a variety of initiatives that create effective relief and supportive space for those impacted. Dr Brenner serves as the founder and clinical lead of Brighter NeuroTherapeutics, which provides lasting relief for treatment-resistant depressive disorders using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a highly effective and clinically proven non-chemical therapy. As a creative, Dr Brenner serves as founding partner and executive director of Mental Health Media Group, a platform dedicated to the expression of the mental health experience through arts and media. As a leader in public education and mental health advocacy, Dr Brenner hosts The Doorknob Comments Podcast, which delves into critical topics in mental health and psychotherapy. A sought-after speaker, he presents at professional conferences, serves as a media expert on psychiatric topics, and works to destigmatize mental health treatment.
Dr. Brenner completed his psychiatry residency at Mount Sinai and holds certificates in psychoanalysis and organizational dynamics from the William Alanson White Institute. He has advanced training in trauma, dissociation, and disasters through the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.
He holds faculty positions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis, where he contributes to the education and training of future mental health professionals. His academic work focuses on the interplay of trauma, resilience, and contemporary psychoanalytic approaches.
A prolific author and researcher, Dr. Brenner has published extensively on trauma, resilience, and relationship science. His books include:
Making Your Crazy Work for You: From Trauma and Isolation to Self-Acceptance and Love (co-authored with Mark Borg Jr. and Daniel Berry)
Relationship Sanity: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships (co-authored)
Irrelationship: How We Use Dysfunctional Relationships to Hide from Intimacy (co-authored)
Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience: Integrating Care in Disaster Relief Work (co-edited with colleagues)
Disaster Psychiatry: Readiness, Evaluation, and Treatment (2nd edition, co-editor)
Dr. Brenner is also a leader in disaster response and serves on the Board of Vibrant Emotional Health, a national organization dedicated to mental health advocacy and crisis intervention. He is a creator of the MARCCD (Model for Adaptive Response in Complex Cyclical Disasters), a framework designed to enhance resilience and preparedness in the face of recurring crises.
He contributes regularly to Psychology Today through his widely read blog, ExperiMentations, where he explores the intersections of psychiatry, neuroscience, and human behavior.
Dr. Brenner lives in New York City and, outside of his professional work, enjoys photography as a serious amateur, finding creative expression through visual storytelling.
Distinguished Fellow of APA (American Psychiatric Association)
Fellow of NYAM (New York Academy of Medicine)
GAP Committee co-Chair (Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, Co-Chair of Disasters and the World Committee, Senior Fellow
Assistant Clinical Professor MSBI Mount Sinai Beth Israel
Faculty of Manhattan Institute of Psychoanalysis, Certificate Program in Trauma Studies, teaches advanced seminar on the Neurobiology of Trauma
Member of the Board of Directors, Vibrant Emotional Health
“The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.”
“Feeling real is more than existing; it is finding a way to exist as oneself... and to have a self into which to retreat for relaxation.”
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”