What Nearly Thirty Years of Clinical Practice Looks Like — Dr. Michael A. Civin

Experience, Expertise, and Evolving Practice in New York City Psychology

There is a meaningful difference between a psychologist early in their career and one who has spent nearly three decades in sustained clinical practice. That difference is not just quantitative — it is qualitative, involving layers of insight, pattern recognition, and clinical wisdom that simply cannot be taught in a classroom. Dr. Michael A. Civin has accumulated that kind of deep, experiential knowledge over a career that stands as one of the more distinguished in New York City’s psychology community.

Currently based at Rose Hill Psychological Services in the Bronx — a practice he helped co-found in 2008 — Dr. Civin holds the position of senior psychologist, a title that reflects both his leadership role within the organization and the respect his colleagues have for his accumulated expertise. Since 2007, he has also operated a private practice across multiple New York City locations, including Manhattan, Astoria, and Bayville.

Within that practice, his work is organized around several key areas of psychology. Psychodiagnostics is perhaps the most technically demanding of these — requiring the careful administration and interpretation of clinical assessments designed to evaluate personality structure and behavioral patterns. Dr. Civin’s fluency in this area gives patients access to a level of diagnostic precision that can significantly improve the quality and direction of their treatment.

Adult psychology and adolescent psychology are additional specialties, reflecting his recognition that different populations require tailored therapeutic approaches. His work in group psychology and supervision rounds out a clinical profile that is unusually varied and comprehensive.

All of this professional depth rests on a foundation of exceptional formal training. Dr. Civin began his academic journey at Harvard University, graduating cum laude in 1968. He then studied at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine before earning graduate degrees from the University of Oregon and the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University. His doctoral degree from Adelphi arrived in 1988, and a Postdoctoral Certificate in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy from the same institution followed in 1993.

His scholarly contributions to the field have been equally substantial. Articles published in medical journals and chapters contributed to important books on psychology demonstrate that his engagement with the field has never been purely clinical — it has always been intellectual as well.

For patients navigating the complicated landscape of mental health care in New York City, the experience of working with Dr. Michael A. Civin offers something rare: a practitioner whose career has been shaped by both rigorous training and the irreplaceable lessons of decades of direct patient care.