About
Diana G. Knight is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with Twenty Years of Experience. She has Private Practices both in New Jersey and in Midtown Manhattan at The Center for Optimal Performance. She has Certification in Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy yielding insights into the Deep Connections and Power in Mind-Thought Interactions in the Healing Process.
An Equity Actress and Recipient of the Greer Garson Award for Excellence in Acting, Ms Knight brings a wealth of performance and training experience to her Clinical Services. Her Artistic Journey continues to this day as she studies and competes in International Latin Dance.
Her teaching skills were honed as a Professor of Movement and Acting at Trinity University. Coupled with her Certification as a Developmental Somatic Psychotherapist, Ms. Knight has a profound depth of knowledge of the Workings of the Body/Mind and the Impact of these Factors on the Therapeutic Healing Process.
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS - ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIPS COUPLES SESSIONS - SMALL, INTIMATE GROUP WORKSHOPS
LEARN HOW TO:
IDENTIFY Repetitive thought patterns which create limiting tensions in your body;
UNDERSTAND How these Mind/Body habits prevent you from being in your Optimal Mind/Body Relationship;
Learn how these Mind/Body habits limit your Ability for Personal Self-Actualization, Your Personal Relationships or in your Work Performance.
Learn how to REDIRECT Your Mind/Body Patterns to
RELEASE Physical tensions and postural habits
in order to
FREE AND DIRECT Your Energy to be used in CompassionatPowerful Styles
Clinical Services
Individual Sessions Treating:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Attachment (Repetitive) Relationship Issues
- Trauma Recovery
- Grief Counseling
- Life Transition Challenges
Artistic Blocks in Performance
Endorsements
Meryl Marger Picard
PhD, MSW, OTR
Diana Knight is a masterful clinician known for her work with adult clients with trauma and more recently, with individuals working in the performing arts. Her background in acting and dance inform a comprehensive, holistic approach to psychotherapy that attends to the emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioral aspects of her clients’ lives. She is a consummate listener and skilled observer blending traditional psychotherapy techniques with her certification in Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy. Her applied knowledge of the interactions of emotional and mental health on physiological health offers her clients an alternative approach to traditional talk therapies.
Performing artists are vulnerable to unique life stressors due to auditions, practice and performance schedules, pressure to provide perfection in their chosen art on a daily basis, and must often work through physical injuries or psychological trauma. Finding a psychotherapist who understands the uniqueness of work and task demands can be challenging. Diana has the rare combination of personal background and skills to address the particular needs of working performers.
I have known her for over 20 years and can attest to her compassion, insight, and attentiveness – a truly mindful practitioner who works to optimize wellness.
Diana Knight is an intuitive dancer in every aspect: technically, physically and emotionally. In the four years that I have danced with her as her coach and partner, Diana’s progress has been measurable and impressive. She is a fiercely committed and focused student who channels her unique point of view and personal identity into the expression of the dance. Her emphasis on the mind/body connection makes her a stand-out among her peers and is no doubt the secret to her success and continued growth as a competitor and performer.
Nikolai Shpakov
Ballroom Dance Professional
Cassandra Medley
Playwright and Professor of Playwriting
Sarah Lawrence College and New Federal Theatre
I began teaching Workshops with Diana Knight starting in 1986. She is an astute, inspiring, illuminating movement teacher, as well as a deft, sensitive, and enlightening psychotherapist.
As a teacher and therapist Diana has the seasoned training and magnetic ability to help her clients work with their minds and physical bodies as a way to facilitate their creative processes.
Diana has an exceptional ability to analyze body movement patterns and postures. In this way she helps her clients become more aware of how their conscious and unconscious thought processes are generated, and influenced by the ways that they physically move through the world. Clients learn to use their bodies as a means of improving their awareness of patterns in their thinking. In this way one is inspired to gain further access to the insights that deepen and enhance creativity.
Andrea Wolper
Vocalist, Songwriter, Teacher
I can say without exaggeration that I knew Diana Knight to be one of the most gifted actors working in New York in the 1980s. She has a rare talent, which was evident to everyone who witnessed her ability to bring to life the emotional truths of the characters she played. As someone who was fortunate enough to work with her, though, I saw that she took nothing for granted, never resting on talent alone. Rather, talent was a seed to be nurtured with her powerful work ethic, great attention to detail, and extraordinary compassion and humanity.