Riley Tanzman LMSW
Every journey begins with a restlessness, a sense that the life one is living is not quite the one they are meant for. Mine began in the corporate world after earning my bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Scranton in 2017. On the surface, I was on track—but inside, I was unfulfilled, daydreaming not of promotions but of how I might truly impact people’s lives. This disquiet was the call to adventure that set me on an unexpected path.
Crossing the Threshold: Teaching as Initiation
Answering that call first led me into the classroom at Neighborhood Charter Schools in the Bronx. Teaching was my initiation into the world of human development. It was there, surrounded by the energy and struggle of young students, that I learned to connect across difference, to read the subtle signals of emotional distress, and to create safe harbors in the midst of chaos.
These two years were my training ground. I discovered that what stirred me most was not academic achievement, but the inner lives of my students—their resilience, their struggles, their need for steady adults. That realization, coupled with the mentorship of Tracey Masella, revealed the road ahead: social work.
Trials and Allies: Clinical Training and Early Practice
At Fordham University, I immersed myself in the theories and practices of social work, gaining both knowledge and conviction. My early practice at Pathways Inc. in Greenwich, CT, supporting adults with severe mental illness, tested my patience, compassion, and creativity. Later, as a TeenTalk counselor with Kids in Crisis, I walked alongside middle school students in moments of crisis and quiet despair. Each role was a trial that honed my skills, deepened my empathy, and clarified my purpose.
The Revelation: Interventional Psychiatry
The turning point came when I stepped into the world of interventional psychiatry at The Krasner Faculty Practice. Here, I was no longer merely responding to crisis but engaging directly with cutting-edge treatments that rewire the brain itself. As a TMS technician and therapist, I witnessed change unfold before my eyes: circuits once dulled by depression sparking back to life, adolescents reclaiming energy and hope.
This was the revelation—neuroplasticity as both science and miracle. The FDA’s clearance of TMS for adolescent depression confirmed what I had already seen in practice: that we are entering a new era where treatment is not just symptom management but true transformation.
The Return: Bearing Gifts of a New Era
Today, I stand surefooted in this realm, carrying forward the insights of my journey—from marketing to teaching, counseling to clinical practice, and now interventional psychiatry. What distinguishes me is not only my training but the unique vantage point shaped by those early initiations: the teacher who learned to see potential in every child, the counselor who listened without judgment, the clinician who discovered that new tools can unlock ancient truths of healing.
I now serve at the vanguard of adolescent TMS, a field poised to reshape how we address depression and anxiety during the most plastic years of the brain’s development. My teaching and counseling roots give me a rare capacity to translate neuroscience into lived connection for young people and their families.
Looking ahead, I am actively pursuing training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, exploring its synergy with TMS and psychotherapy. The path continues, but the uncertainty that marked its beginning has given way to clarity and conviction.
My professional journey has encompassed stepping from the known into the unknown, tested by trials, guided by mentors, and returning with gifts that I now share with those seeking healing. In the rapidly evolving landscape of interventional psychiatry, I remain committed to walking alongside patients, pioneering treatments, and helping reimagine what it means to recover.