About Dr. Martin H. Klein, Westport Clinical Psychologist
I am a licensed clinical psychologist and therapist with more than 30 years of experience in psychotherapy, clinical psychology, executive coaching, and consulting. My professional career has brought together clinical practice, teaching, organizational consulting, and an enduring interest in the psychological and philosophical questions that shape human experience.
I maintain a private practice in Westport, Connecticut, where I work with individuals and couples and with executives and other professionals. While my work today reflects many years of clinical experience, my perspective has also been shaped by an unusually broad professional background that extends beyond traditional psychotherapy.
Clinical Psychology and Teaching
An important influence on my development as a psychologist was my training and work in existential psychology with the distinguished psychologist and author Rollo May. May’s emphasis on freedom, responsibility, meaning, anxiety, and the individual person’s struggle to live authentically has remained an important influence on the way I think about psychotherapy.
My professional experience also includes clinical practice and teaching at Yale School of Medicine. Working in an academic medical environment deepened my interest in the relationship between psychological theory, clinical practice, and the broader intellectual foundations of psychotherapy.
Over the years, I have drawn from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential, and other approaches to psychotherapy. I do not believe that one theoretical model adequately explains every person or every problem. Instead, I try to understand the individual as a whole and draw upon different perspectives in a way that is appropriate to that person’s circumstances and goals.
Executive Coaching and Consulting
My professional work has also extended into the corporate and organizational world. For approximately three decades, I have worked as a senior executive, consultant, and executive coach, with experience across finance, technology, healthcare, and academia.
I have consulted with several Fortune 500 companies as well as leading university-based medical schools and other professional organizations. This work has given me extensive experience with leadership, organizational dynamics, decision-making, career development, professional relationships, and the pressures that accompany high levels of responsibility and achievement.
The combination of clinical psychology and executive experience has become an important part of my perspective. Professional success does not necessarily resolve the personal questions people face, and difficulties in one’s professional life are often connected to deeper patterns involving relationships, expectations, self-esteem, identity, and the way one responds to pressure.
My executive coaching therefore combines practical experience with psychological understanding. I work with professionals not simply to improve performance, but to better understand themselves, their relationships, their decisions, and the factors that may be influencing their professional and personal lives.
Media & Professional Recognition
My professional perspective has also been featured in Barron's, which examined the psychological effects of financial-market volatility and my work concerning the relationship between psychology, mood, and investing. View: Is Stocks" Plunge Affecting Your Mood? It Could Be "Dow Affective Disorder."
Writing and Psychotherapy
My interest in psychotherapy extends beyond clinical practice. I have written and presented on psychological and organizational issues, including managed behavioral health and academic group practices. I was the lead author of a published article examining these issues and the changing relationship between clinical practice and the healthcare system.
My most recent work is my book, Rethinking Cognitive Behavioral, Psychodynamic, and Existential Psychotherapy: A Philosophical Framework for a Unified Therapeutic Model, published by Routledge in 2025.
The book grew out of my longstanding interest in the different traditions of psychotherapy and the philosophical assumptions underlying them. Rather than treating cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and existential approaches as mutually exclusive, I explore how they can be understood in dialogue with one another within a broader philosophical framework.
Writing the book allowed me to bring together ideas that have influenced my clinical work throughout my career: the importance of understanding unconscious and emotional patterns, the value of behavioral change, and the deeper questions of meaning, choice, responsibility, and identity that are part of being human. View Book at Routledge
A Broad Perspective on Psychological Change
The different parts of my professional life—clinical psychology, teaching, existential psychology, executive coaching, consulting, and writing—have ultimately led me toward the same central question: How can people better understand themselves and use that understanding to make meaningful changes in their lives?
I believe psychotherapy is most effective when it combines genuine psychological insight with practical change. Understanding where a pattern comes from can be valuable, but so is learning how to respond differently in the present. Therapy can provide a setting in which people can examine their lives honestly, understand patterns that may have been outside their awareness, and consider new possibilities for how they want to live and relate to others.
After more than three decades in the field, I continue to approach each person as an individual rather than attempting to fit them into a predetermined model. My goal is to provide a thoughtful, private, and supportive environment in which people can develop a deeper understanding of themselves and work toward meaningful and lasting change.
Publications, Articles & Presentations
My professional writing, articles, and presentations reflect my interest in psychotherapy, existential psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, organizational consulting, and the psychology of finance. View Publications and Presentations
Member, Connecticut Society of Psychoanalytic Psychology (CSPP)
Visit CSPP
I am a licensed clinical psychologist and therapist with more than 30 years of experience in psychotherapy, clinical psychology, executive coaching, and consulting. My professional career has brought together clinical practice, teaching, organizational consulting, and an enduring interest in the psychological and philosophical questions that shape human experience.
I maintain a private practice in Westport, Connecticut, where I work with individuals and couples and with executives and other professionals. While my work today reflects many years of clinical experience, my perspective has also been shaped by an unusually broad professional background that extends beyond traditional psychotherapy.
Clinical Psychology and Teaching
An important influence on my development as a psychologist was my training and work in existential psychology with the distinguished psychologist and author Rollo May. May’s emphasis on freedom, responsibility, meaning, anxiety, and the individual person’s struggle to live authentically has remained an important influence on the way I think about psychotherapy.
My professional experience also includes clinical practice and teaching at Yale School of Medicine. Working in an academic medical environment deepened my interest in the relationship between psychological theory, clinical practice, and the broader intellectual foundations of psychotherapy.
Over the years, I have drawn from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential, and other approaches to psychotherapy. I do not believe that one theoretical model adequately explains every person or every problem. Instead, I try to understand the individual as a whole and draw upon different perspectives in a way that is appropriate to that person’s circumstances and goals.
Executive Coaching and Consulting
My professional work has also extended into the corporate and organizational world. For approximately three decades, I have worked as a senior executive, consultant, and executive coach, with experience across finance, technology, healthcare, and academia.
I have consulted with several Fortune 500 companies as well as leading university-based medical schools and other professional organizations. This work has given me extensive experience with leadership, organizational dynamics, decision-making, career development, professional relationships, and the pressures that accompany high levels of responsibility and achievement.
The combination of clinical psychology and executive experience has become an important part of my perspective. Professional success does not necessarily resolve the personal questions people face, and difficulties in one’s professional life are often connected to deeper patterns involving relationships, expectations, self-esteem, identity, and the way one responds to pressure.
My executive coaching therefore combines practical experience with psychological understanding. I work with professionals not simply to improve performance, but to better understand themselves, their relationships, their decisions, and the factors that may be influencing their professional and personal lives.
Media & Professional Recognition
My professional perspective has also been featured in Barron's, which examined the psychological effects of financial-market volatility and my work concerning the relationship between psychology, mood, and investing. View: Is Stocks" Plunge Affecting Your Mood? It Could Be "Dow Affective Disorder."
Writing and Psychotherapy
My interest in psychotherapy extends beyond clinical practice. I have written and presented on psychological and organizational issues, including managed behavioral health and academic group practices. I was the lead author of a published article examining these issues and the changing relationship between clinical practice and the healthcare system.
My most recent work is my book, Rethinking Cognitive Behavioral, Psychodynamic, and Existential Psychotherapy: A Philosophical Framework for a Unified Therapeutic Model, published by Routledge in 2025.
The book grew out of my longstanding interest in the different traditions of psychotherapy and the philosophical assumptions underlying them. Rather than treating cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and existential approaches as mutually exclusive, I explore how they can be understood in dialogue with one another within a broader philosophical framework.
Writing the book allowed me to bring together ideas that have influenced my clinical work throughout my career: the importance of understanding unconscious and emotional patterns, the value of behavioral change, and the deeper questions of meaning, choice, responsibility, and identity that are part of being human. View Book at Routledge
A Broad Perspective on Psychological Change
The different parts of my professional life—clinical psychology, teaching, existential psychology, executive coaching, consulting, and writing—have ultimately led me toward the same central question: How can people better understand themselves and use that understanding to make meaningful changes in their lives?
I believe psychotherapy is most effective when it combines genuine psychological insight with practical change. Understanding where a pattern comes from can be valuable, but so is learning how to respond differently in the present. Therapy can provide a setting in which people can examine their lives honestly, understand patterns that may have been outside their awareness, and consider new possibilities for how they want to live and relate to others.
After more than three decades in the field, I continue to approach each person as an individual rather than attempting to fit them into a predetermined model. My goal is to provide a thoughtful, private, and supportive environment in which people can develop a deeper understanding of themselves and work toward meaningful and lasting change.
Publications, Articles & Presentations
My professional writing, articles, and presentations reflect my interest in psychotherapy, existential psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, organizational consulting, and the psychology of finance. View Publications and Presentations
Member, Connecticut Society of Psychoanalytic Psychology (CSPP)
Visit CSPP