EMDR Therapy in New York: Online With a NY-Licensed Therapist

The accident was two years ago, on the Saw Mill. Nobody was badly hurt, and you have told the story enough times that it comes out smooth. But you still take the long way to avoid that interchange, your hands still go tight on the wheel when a truck drifts toward your lane, and some nights you are back in the car before you are fully asleep. You know it is over. Your body has not been told. (This is an illustration drawn from what clients commonly describe, not a real client.)

To start, contact us or check your insurance. EMDR in New York is with Lisa Abrotsky, LMFT, by secure video anywhere in the state. It sits alongside our trauma and EMDR therapy, individual therapy, couples therapy and grief and loss services. We offer EMDR by video in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida and Pennsylvania, plus five more states (full list below).

Online EMDR Therapy Anywhere in New York

Every EMDR session we offer in New York happens over secure video. Clients join from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, from Westchester and the Hudson Valley, from Long Island, and from the Capital Region and upstate. You need to be physically in New York during each session, since that is where your therapist is licensed, but it does not matter how far you are from White Plains.

For EMDR in particular, home can be an advantage. The hardest part of a reprocessing session is often the half hour after it, and there is no subway ride or drive on the Cross County to get through before you can sit quietly. Our online therapy in New York page covers the practical setup: a private room, a steady connection and a device with a camera.

Who Does EMDR Here

Lisa Abrotsky, LMFT, founded New Reflections Counseling in 2012 and has 20 years of experience as a therapist. She completed EMDR Basic Training in 2016 through Coast to Coast EMDR with Roxanne Grobbel, LCSW, an EMDRIA-listed training provider, including the consultation hours that training requires. She is trained in EMDR, not certified, and she is the only clinician who offers EMDR to our New York clients.

If EMDR turns out not to be the right fit, there are other routes inside the same practice. DJ Watson, MS, LMFTA, is trained in Brainspotting and in acceptance and commitment therapy, and sees New York clients by video as well.

What EMDR Is For, and What It Is Not

EMDR, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is a structured therapy for memories that still feel live: a car crash, an assault, a medical emergency, a frightening birth, a sudden death, years of being belittled at home. The memory itself does not disappear. What people tend to notice is that it stops ambushing them. It becomes something that happened rather than something that keeps happening.

It is not a shortcut through grief, a way to recover memories you do not have, or a replacement for the rest of therapy. We offer EMDR to adults only. Teens and children who have been through something frightening are better served by other approaches, and we will say so if that is your question.

How a Course of EMDR Unfolds by Video

EMDR follows a structured eight-phase protocol, and the first two phases are entirely preparation. Early sessions are about history, about what you want to be different, and about building reliable ways to settle yourself when something stirs. Nothing is reprocessed until those are in place.

During reprocessing, you hold part of the memory in mind while following a form of bilateral stimulation, most often eye movements that track a moving point on the screen. Sessions are 45 to 50 minutes, and we leave time at the end to close down rather than sending you off mid-memory. For self-pay clients, a 90-minute extended EMDR session is also available. There is no set number of sessions; a single recent incident and a long stretch of childhood harm are very different pieces of work.

Wondering whether EMDR fits what you are carrying? Call (914) 236-4450 or send us a message. You do not need a diagnosis or a referral, just a sentence or two about what you want help with.

New York Experiences People Bring to EMDR

Some of what New Yorkers bring is shaped by the city itself. A fall on subway stairs or a near miss on a platform, after which the commute that used to be dead time becomes the worst part of the day. A mugging or a break-in. A crash on the Major Deegan or the Long Island Expressway. Work that exposes people to other people’s worst days, in hospitals, schools and emergency services.

Just as often it is something older and quieter: growing up around a parent’s drinking or temper, a relationship that ended in fear, or a loss that came too suddenly to absorb. People are sometimes surprised that these count. If a memory still runs your reactions years later, it is worth talking about.

When We Would Wait

Reprocessing is not the right first step if you are in crisis, living somewhere unsafe, or in the middle of an upheaval such as a separation or a move. In those situations we steady things first and come back to EMDR when your life has room for it. We would rather tell you that plainly than start a protocol on schedule.

We do not prescribe medication in New York. If you take medication, or are considering it, we are glad to coordinate with your doctor or psychiatrist with your permission.

Insurance and Fees for EMDR in New York

New York plans we are in network with: Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare (including UMR plans), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, CDPHP, Northwell, First Health Network, MultiPlan and MagnaCare. Medicare and Medicaid are not accepted. Benefits differ from plan to plan, so send your details through our insurance verification form and we will email you what your coverage looks like within a couple of hours.

Self-pay is $125 per individual session and $175 for couples, family or EMDR sessions, each 45 to 50 minutes, and $200–$250 for an extended 90-minute individual, couples or EMDR session. You can pay with an HSA or FSA card, and if you have out-of-network benefits, we will give you a superbill to submit. Self-pay clients can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before starting. Most new clients are seen within a week.

Common Questions

Is there an EMDR therapist near me in NYC or Westchester?

Our EMDR in New York is online, so the closest therapist is the one on your screen. Lisa Abrotsky sees clients by video from all five boroughs, Westchester, Long Island and upstate, as long as you are in New York during the session.

Does EMDR work over video?

For many people it does, and it is the only way we offer it. It is not right for everyone at every stage, and we will tell you honestly if we think in-person work elsewhere, or a different approach, would serve you better.

Will I have to describe the whole event in detail?

No. EMDR asks you to hold a piece of the memory in mind, not to narrate it from start to finish. Many clients share far less detail than they expected.

Do you offer EMDR intensives?

No. We do not offer EMDR intensives or retreats. The longest format is the 90-minute extended session for self-pay clients.

Can I do EMDR while I am in couples therapy?

Yes. EMDR runs in its own individual sessions, and couples work can continue alongside it, with you and your partner seeing one of our New York couples therapists.

If you are thinking about suicide or feel you are in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, at any hour, or call 911.

Where We Work

All New York sessions are by secure video. We are licensed in twelve states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. EMDR is offered by video in every state except Rhode Island and Georgia. You can read about the clinicians who work here.

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• How to deal with triggers from trauma
• Online therapy in New York
• Postpartum therapy in New York
• Anxiety therapy in New York
• Brainspotting therapy