Kessler Psychological, LLC
Kessler Psychological, LLC
Psychotherapy and Evaluation Services
Norfolk, VA
Dr. Lena S. Kessler is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist experienced in working with clients of all ages and with many different mental health struggles. She generally approaches psychotherapy by helping clients to identify and challenge distorted beliefs as well as understand their origins, and to learn how to identify and tolerate emotions (recognizing they're not enemies). She creatively crafts interventions to fit the needs of the client, and has successfully been using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for a few years now. She practices with compassion and highly professional boundaries.
Maggie and the cast of Foster Dogs
About Dr. Kessler (and Parker)
Dr. Kessler was born and raised on Long Island in NY.
She attended Oberlin College in Ohio to earn her
Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, and then moved back to NYC. She worked for several years in mental health research mostly regarding ADHD and trauma reactions, and then attended graduate school at St. John's University in Queens where she earned her Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Clinical Psychology.
She moved to Norfolk in 2009 to complete her internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School with rotations at Eastern State Hospital (ESH), the Hampton/Newport News Community Services Board and CHKD. She worked at ESH as a forensic psychologist and also at some community agencies before deciding to open her own practice in 2014.
Dr. Kessler also performs competency and sanity evaluations for many courts in the Hampton Roads area and volunteers for local animal rescues/shelters.
Dr. Kessler rescued her first ever dog, Parker, in 2016 from Tampa, Fl. According to his DNA testing, he was a Bulldog mixed with Boxer, Akita, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Chow Chow (apparently also known as a "Heinz 57"). To her continued heartache, Parker left this physical earth in November, 2024. He played an integral role in most therapy sessions and he is missed terribly by many.
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Her current resident dog, Maggie, who she began fostering shortly after losing Parker, became a "foster fail" in the Spring of 2025. She's a nice touch in sessions, but doesn't have the same touch that Parker did. Dr. Kessler continues to foster dogs and they continue to grace the presence of therapy sessions to all clients' delight!
Princess. ADOPTED!
Kairo, 8yo American Pit Bull Terrier mix. Available for adoption!
Dr. Lena S. Kessler is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of adults with a broad range of mental health struggles. She approaches therapy by conceptualizing the whole person inclusive of their histories, and focuses on identification and tolerance of emotions, challenging of distorted thinking, and grounding in the body. She creatively crafts interventions to suit the client, including the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing techniques for a few years now. She offers compassion, deep understanding, and ethical boundaries in her work.
Dr. Kessler has always wanted to help people and animals and has been particularly inspired to support the Hampton Roads communities as she believes they are experiencing community-level mental illness, wherein struggles pervade individuals, families, organizations, and numerous systems. She leads Kessler Psychological and her supervisees to maintain: the utmost respect for clientele, the highest of ethical standards, and the most professional and responsive mental health evaluation and treatment services.