EMDR Therapy and Brainspotting

For Grad Students and Young Professionals in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Evidenced-based therapy that works.

You have big goals for your life and you push yourself to reach your dreams, milestones, and accomplishments.  You believe you are capable of big things - and you work hard to get where you are - graduate school, your career, this place in life.  But somehow you don’t feel like you’re able to meet the expectations that you have for yourself.  Once you reach a goal - before you can even take a breath - there’s another goal in front of you that needs achieving.  You wonder why you can’t let yourself slow down and celebrate how far you’ve already come.  But it never feels like you’ve done enough.  No matter how hard you work, how many A’s, awards, or job offers, you still feel deep down that it’s not enough.  

You put the needs of others in front of your own needs.  Maybe that’s giving a friend a ride, going out for lunch when your to-do list is overflowing, or stopping to help someone else.  You’re helpful to everyone - maybe even to a fault.  You feel conflicted because of course you want to be a kind and caring human being - but lately it feels like it’s starting to get in the way of you following through with your commitments and your ability to  reach the goals you have for yourself.  It means staying up late, working harder, feeling rushed, or just more things on the to - do list and your energy is running thin as it is.  You often find yourself feeling like things are your fault and even though logically you know it’s not something you are responsible for, it’s hard not to feel guilty. You feel the need to make everything okay for everyone else.  You wonder if it’s tied to something from your past or childhood that may be causing you to feel this way.

Can you relate…

  •  Feel close and connected to your friends, family, and even your partner

  • Stay focused and motivated at work or school (or just the opposite - you can’t let yourself slow down, stop, and feel)

  • Manage feelings of stress, sadness, or overwhelm

  • Feel optimistic and capable.  You’re not used to feeling apathetic or hopeless

  • Relax, get rest, and restart fresh the next day

You had a really stressful experience and it’s affecting your ability to…

You want relief. I’m here to help.

EMDR and Brainspotting are evidence-based therapies that incorporate the mind and body.  I use EMDR and Brainspotting to help grad students and young professionals reduce overwhelm and increase feelings of peace.  This time of life is stressful and often it can dig up deeper pains from the past.  EMDR and Brainspotting are effective forms of therapy that can improve so many areas of life! 

I offer EMDR and Brainspotting specifically for you.

EMDR and Brainspotting can help to…

  • Restore your energy 

  • Relieve feelings of burnout and overwhelm

  •  Renew your sense of self

So you can…

  •  Feel proud of yourself and your accomplishments.

  • Take care of yourself & make the decisions that are best for you.

  • Feel closer to your friends and family.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured 8 phase model that goes beyond traditional talk therapy to help you heal from distressing life events and limiting self beliefs.  It uses bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, sounds, or tapping to engage both hemispheres of the brain to reprocess negative events.  When we reprocess a painful memory or negative belief about yourself, I guide you to practice dual attention - keeping one foot in the here and now - while allowing one foot to be back in the past.  This is how the brain is able to “reprocess” or make new meaning of past events or beliefs that have kept you stuck.

What is EMDR?

We begin therapy by discussing your goals - focusing on how you want life to change for the better.  Before processing painful beliefs of memories, we establish a connection and feelings of safety.  We work together to prepare for trauma processing.  Because it can bring up strong emotions, thoughts, and beliefs, we practice ways to help you feel calm, safe, and centered.  When EMDR is complete, you can remember the painful event, but not feel the painful emotions or hold on to the painful messages about yourself and the world.

What is an EMDR session like?

Brainspotting was created by David Grand, an EMDR Therapist.  It’s based on the idea that “where you look affects how you feel.”  Brainspotting involves placing your focus on specific eye positions (or “brainspots”) that correspond to painful memories, emotions, or body sensations.  I can guide you to notice these spots and tap into their deep emotional experiences, allowing the brain to process and heal the underlying issues.  In this way, Brainspotting can help to process unresolved trauma.

What is Brainspotting?

What is a Brainspotting session like?

We will start by discussing the goals that you would like to work on. If you don’t have a specific memory you would like help with, I can help you to locate a “brainspot” that correlates with an emotion or body sensations.  Then I will guide you using focused mindfulness.  This simple process is powerful to heal root issues that are keeping you stuck and overcome habits you just couldn’t break…until now.

I’m happy to talk with you all about the differences between EMDR & Brainspotting so that you can decide what’s right for you.  Both can support you to reach your goals for therapy.

How do I choose?

Structured 8 phase model

Simple setup and client focused

Spend time sharing your story and building safety/trust with your therapist

Sharing your full story is not necessary

Target a specific painful memory or belief that is creating stress or overwhelm

No specific memory necessary, we can connect to an emotion or body sensation to begin

Uses eye movements, tapping, or auditory sounds

Uses a fixed eye position and sometimes biolateral music

Verbal check ins with therapist throughout session

Verbal check ins less frequent depending on the situation

Brainspotting

EMDR

Notice body sensations and somatic experience during the session

Notice images, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations associated with memory

There’s no right or wrong choice because…

Both EMDR Therapy & Brainspotting can help you:

  • Find more peace and balance 

  • Be able to handle big emotions and changes in life

  • Feel more confident and capable

  • Have better relationships 

  • Feel seen, heard, & appreciated

A life full of peace and purpose is possible.

FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • There are three different appointment options:

  • Not necessarily. As humans, we have all experienced things that have scared, stressed or overwhelmed us. Essentially, that is what trauma is. However, many times people don’t come to therapy with a specific “trauma” in mind - but rather feelings of being stuck, exhausted, or discouraged. I can help you dig deeper and understand what’s beneath the surface when it comes to these feelings.

  • No, both EMDR and Brainspotting are effective even if you do not want to talk about the very specific details of what you experienced. It is important that you communicate to your therapist about how you are feeling and what is happening inside of you during the therapy session.

  • This is something that we can talk about during the consultation. If you are dealing with daily thoughts of suicide or wanting to die, needing crisis or emergency mental health support, or needing treatment for substance abuse - I would not recommend EMDR or Brainspotting at this time.

  • Brainspotting:

    - Brainspotting Video

    - Brainspotting Demo Video

    - About Brainspotting

    EMDR:

    - EMDR Video

    - About EMDR