Frequently Asked Questions
Gay Therapist NYC | Chronic Pain Therapist
Clinical Focus: What are the 3 Parts of Chronic Pain Recovery?
1 - The psychological work. Get the accurate information about pain. Understand it, internalize it, and believe it. From there, we can calm the brain and nervous system with messages of safety, because there's nothing wrong with your body. It's safe to feel physical sensations. You can relax inside your body. And you can slowly reengage in activities you thought you had to give up.
2 - The emotional work. Teach your brain and nervous system that it's safe to feel your emotions. All of your emotions. Chronic pain is caused by the emotions you don't acknowledge, don't address, don't process, and don't feel. So we're going to feel them - and teach your brain that you can handle it.
3 - Patiently attuning to your true self. Learn to trust yourself, attune to yourself, align with yourself, and treat yourself with compassion. Feel into the true, unique animal of your body. That is you. Chronic pain is an invitation to learn your deeper truths and learn who you really are.
If this doesn't make sense yet, that's okay. These are the basic fundamentals. We'll work on all three together...and your pain will start to recede. For sure.
Individual Psychotherapy:
the Logistics
Weekly individual appointments are 45 minutes in length, the appointment fee is $200, and appointments take place online via telehealth.
With telehealth, you get to choose any comfortable and private space for your therapy sessions.
Appointments are scheduled in a weekly slot that'll repeat each week until you're ready to be done.
Please reach out for a consultation if you'd like to get started.
What is EMDR?
I practice EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a specialized form of trauma treatment.
A body-based modality, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help you reprocess traumatic memories.
EMDR easily lends itself to telehealth, and it can be a very effective avenue into the deeper emotions triggering your chronic pain and chronic symptoms.
Fees
Weekly psychotherapy sessions are $200.
A sliding fee scale is available on a limited basis.
If you're interested in the sliding scale, please contact me and we'll determine your fee.
But Therapy is Expensive…
Yes, for many people - and many budgets - psychotherapy is expensive. Let’s not beat around the bush about that. If finances aren’t a concern for you, great. You can skip this section. If you’re like me, however, I recommend you read on.
This is a two-parter.
Part 1. It’s possible that out-of-pocket therapy is entirely too expensive for you right now. I respect that. That’s okay. You deserve this healing information either way. That’s why I, and so many other mind-body practitioners, provide free or very low-cost educational and self-help resources. Listen to my podcast. Check out the Other Resources section at the bottom of this page. There’s so much great content. And people can heal entirely independently. Many people do. It’s your brain and your nervous system. You, ultimately, have the power.
And…
Part 2. Your first instinct might be “I can’t afford this.” But your truth, if we dig deeper, is that you don’t prioritize your inner self. This is very common for TMS patients. You’ll “push” yourself, you’ll “perfect” yourself, you’ll “better” yourself, you’ll certainly make space for others, but you don’t really cater to you. The core of you, the animal of you, your inner child, your deeper needs and desires. You’re like me. You enter the party through the side door, pull off your rainboots (cuz you walked), avoid the ticketed area (cuz it’s expensive), and side-step your way through life. You wouldn’t allow yourself to be driven up in a Rolls-Royce, walk in through the front door, get the full-price ticket, and just enjoy the party. I get that, because, same. You reach toward the bottom shelf for the cheap deals rather than just allowing yourself to grab the one you know you like the best.
But what if a part of you, a part deep inside you, needs more?
What if you need to start learning how to treat yourself well …for your own health?
I know it’s hard to believe you deserve to spend good money on you. But that thought process isn’t really about the cost. It’s about you. For me, I never want to be greedy and I never want to be self-indulgent, but I’ve slowly grown to understand that, yes, I think I’m worth a nice, solid investment. And that feels good. My body has thanked me for - finally - learning how to honor and take care of myself. It’s been a fundamental part of my pain recovery.
So, for you, I’d encourage you to ask yourself, is your inner self worth it? To have a TMS therapist help you? And help you with something that really matters? Like I said, it took work for me to get here. But now I know, I can spend money on me when I need it. And I invite you to think about what you need - for you.
And I know. It’s all terrible. Capitalism and *the economy* and worth and money and guilt and inequity and “deserving” and the wealth gap and …I know. It’s terrible.
But you deserve help - for you - when you need it.
To learn more…
Listen to the Podcast 🎧
Therapist Sean Hershey, LCSW teaches you how to use psychological and emotional modalities to heal from chronic pain.
Other Resources
I recommend that everyone takes time to learn about the mind-body connection. This understanding is a key part of the psychological work. Your brain and nervous system will calm down as you learn more about mind-body healing and integrate the information into your lifestyle. As the brain and nervous system relax, the physical symptoms abate. Here's a list of resources, books, websites, podcasts, videos, and all the stuff that'll help you. Each of the resources below helped me, so I recommend all with confidence: