About Me
Pain Reprocessing Therapy | Somatic Therapy
Sean Hershey (he, him)
Psychotherapist in New York
I'm a human, with a brain and a nervous system. Just like you.
That means I'm susceptible to chronic pain. Just like you.
People have called me sensitive. People are right.
I am who I am.
I can’t control my basic nature. And, just to say, you can’t control yours either 😉
My name is Sean, and I'm a gay White cisgender man.
I’m capitalizing the word White because, as Nell Irvin Painter once wrote, leaving the w lowercase falsely situates Whiteness as neutral and normal.
I make it a priority to question my cultural assumptions. And you’re welcome to question me too.
I grew up in an Irish Catholic community in St. Paul, Minnesota. I spent my childhood gay and closeted and alone in the Catholic Church.
To get through my childhood, I had to hide.
I hid myself from others, and I hid myself from myself. And not just my sexuality. To escape judgment, I felt I had to hide so much.
Years and years later, I would learn that chronic pain is caused by emotional repression and misattunement with oneself.
Now it’s clear—that childhood set me up.
Today, though, here I am.
Still me. And still queer as ever.
With 12 years of clinical experience, I'm a solidly-grounded therapist—with an advanced proficiency in many therapeutic modalities.
I’m trained in psychodynamic therapy, trauma-informed therapy, attachment-based therapy, emdr, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, emotional awareness and expression therapy, and pain reprocessing therapy. I’ve also worked under the expert guidance and supervision of Christina Sarno Horner, LMHC.
My training makes me a good therapist.
But my humanity makes me a great therapist.
I, like you, have emotions. But my emotions don’t scare me. And your emotions don't scare me either. So I’m going to gently challenge you—and we’re going to go deep. Because emotional work is a key part of the treatment that resolves chronic pain.
Over the years, I've had: a childhood of chronic headaches, years of chronic back pain, decades of chronic hip pain, severe (like, severe) chronic irritable bowel syndrome.…
I've had a lot of issues.
And I was one of those people who tried everything—doctors, medications, alternative doctors, herbs, cleanses, elimination diets, acupuncturists, chiropractors, back stretches, sacroiliac joint exercises, supplements, unconventional supplements, very unconventional supplements…
My chronic pain took me to a place of absolute desperation.
You probably get it—because you've been there too.
But all those treatments were based on the wrong paradigm.
Eventually, finally, I learned how to apply mindbody medicine to chronic pain.
That changed everything.
Now, I'm experiencing true, deep symptom recovery.
After all the symptoms I’ve dealt with, feeling well feels like a miracle.
This stuff works.
And, if you’re open, if you give yourself over to this process… let me be the one to tell you, I know this will work for you too.
Your Identities Matter
We all bring our identities into therapy.
In order for us to have an authentic connection, it's important for us to acknowledge our intersectional identities. In my career, I've worked with clients across the wide spectrum of races, cultures, ethnicities, immigration statuses, sexualities, gender identities, relational styles, and religious beliefs.
I make space for and value conversations about you. The whole of you—including your unique background and identities.
All are welcome.