New space for mental health care in Sunset Park

Sunset Park is a neighborhood built on strength and diversity, home to families from many cultures who add to its rich character. Yet access to mental health care remains a challenge: a 2025 Health Department report found roughly 945,000 adult New Yorkers had an unmet need for treatment in the past year.

Language barriers, stigma, and limited resources often make mental health care difficult to access. For many residents, seeking support has required traveling far from home or navigating unfamiliar and overwhelming systems.

Located at 649 39th Street, Tulip Behavioral Health serves families in Mandarin, Spanish, and English, aiming to make language less of an obstacle to getting help.

Since opening in January 2026, the clinic has served children, adolescents, and families, addressing anxiety, depression, trauma, family and relationship challenges, and everyday stressors affecting emotional well-being, according to Dr. Irwin Shindler, executive director of Tulip.

“We have to modify our approach for the community that’s there,” said Shindler, who described the Sunset Park site as his sixth clinic. “We take evidence-based practices delivered by licensed therapists and tailor them to each person’s needs.”

Clinical Director Shoshana Kawalsky explained that this philosophy is grounded in culturally responsive, trauma-informed care. She noted that understanding a family’s background, lived experiences, and cultural values is essential to building trust and achieving meaningful progress in therapy.

“Mental health care should feel welcoming and centered on cultural humility,” Kawalsky said. “Everyone arrives with different life experiences and cultural perspectives, and therapy is a space where we learn from each other.”

On the ground, that approach can be seen in the day-to-day work of Rochel Horowitz, a peer specialist at Tulip. “A peer specialist is a support for the client who needs extra assistance,” Horowitz explained. She said she and the other clinicians go the extra mile for their patients, sometimes moving sessions into different environments to make patients more comfortable.

“Sometimes people suffer with intense emotional issues, and one therapy session isn’t enough,” she added. “I step in to give them that special support, meeting a couple of times a week and helping connect them to different resources.”

Many patients are first-timers and might not feel comfortable opening up right away.

“In most communities here, especially in Sunset Park, there is a stigma around seeking mental health care,” Horowitz said. “We reach out in a very normal, gentle, and encouraging way to tell them we’re all in this together.”

According to staff, the clinic’s name reflects a philosophy of resilience and renewal woven into everyday life. Tulips are known for their ability to grow through difficult conditions, returning year after year.

As Sunset Park continues to grow and evolve, access to local, culturally responsive mental health care has become increasingly vital. For Shindler and his team, their goal is straightforward: reduce barriers that keep families from starting care, whether that barrier is distance, stigma, or language.