At Long Island EMDR, we are evolving the way we provide trauma treatment.
For years, our practice has specialized in helping people understand and heal the experiences that continue to affect how they feel, respond, connect, and move through their lives.
We have learned something important along the way:
Trauma recovery is rarely about one technique.
It is about building the capacity to feel safe enough to do the deeper work, resolving the experiences that continue to shape the present, and then learning how to live differently when the past is no longer making so many of the decisions.
That is why we developed The Reclaiming Pathway™.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ is our structured approach to trauma recovery.
Rather than approaching therapy as a series of disconnected weekly sessions, treatment is organized around a clear clinical pathway designed to help you understand:
Your treatment plan is individualized, but the overall goal remains the same:
To help you reclaim your present from the experiences that shaped your past.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ may be appropriate for people who find themselves saying things like:
“I know why I do this, but I still can't stop.”
“I've been in therapy before, but I still react the same way when I'm triggered.”
“I'm successful in a lot of areas of my life, but certain situations completely overwhelm me.”
“I understand that what happened wasn't my fault, but part of me still feels like it was.”
“I keep ending up in the same relationship patterns.”
“I'm constantly anticipating what could go wrong.”
“My body reacts before my brain has time to catch up.”
“I want to move forward, but something keeps pulling me back.”
Trauma does not always look like flashbacks or nightmares.
Sometimes it looks like perfectionism.
Overthinking.
People-pleasing.
Avoidance.
Difficulty trusting.
Shutting down.
Always being prepared for the worst.
Feeling responsible for everyone else.
Being highly capable until one particular situation makes you feel completely powerless.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ is designed to help us understand not only what happened to you, but also what is happening in your life now because of it.
Recovery does not happen in a perfectly straight line.
However, having a framework helps you and your therapist understand what the work is trying to accomplish.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ is organized around four stages.
Before we ask your nervous system to process difficult experiences, we help you build the ability to remain present with them.
Treatment may focus on:
The goal is not to become perfectly calm.
The goal is to increase your ability to stay connected to yourself when difficult emotions or experiences arise.
When appropriate, treatment begins addressing experiences that continue to influence the present.
Depending on your needs, your therapist may incorporate approaches such as:
We do not believe every client needs the same technique.
We choose interventions based on your treatment goals, history, symptoms, capacity, and response to treatment.
Healing is not measured only by whether something feels less upsetting in therapy.
We want to know:
What are you able to do differently in your actual life?
This stage focuses on translating therapeutic change into areas such as:
The focus shifts from simply surviving old patterns to actively creating something different.
Eventually, therapy should require less of your life—not more.
This stage focuses on helping you recognize your own patterns, maintain the gains you have made, respond to future stressors, and know when additional support is needed.
Together, you and your therapist may develop a personalized maintenance plan that includes:
The goal is greater independence and confidence outside therapy.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ provides structure without assuming that everyone needs the same treatment.
Your individualized plan may include a combination of:
Regular sessions with a clinician trained in trauma-informed treatment.
Structured groups may be incorporated to help clients develop skills, practice new ways of relating, understand common trauma responses, and strengthen recovery alongside others doing similar work.
When clinically appropriate, trauma-focused interventions such as EMDR may be used to address experiences that continue to produce distress or interfere with current functioning.
Some self-pay clients may benefit from longer sessions when clinically appropriate, particularly when additional time allows treatment to progress without repeatedly stopping in the middle of important clinical work.
Extended sessions are considered as part of individualized treatment planning rather than as a separate program.
Progress in trauma therapy is not always:
“I never feel anxious anymore.”
It may look like:
The ultimate measure of recovery is not just what decreases.
It is what becomes possible.
EMDR remains an important part of our clinical work.
But we no longer believe the best question is simply:
“Are you looking for EMDR?”
The better question is:
“What is keeping you from living the life you want, and what does your treatment need to address for that to change?”
For some clients, EMDR will be a significant part of that process.
For others, the first priority may be nervous-system regulation, relational patterns, executive functioning, parts work, boundaries, or strengthening the ability to tolerate difficult emotional experiences.
The modality serves the treatment plan.
The treatment plan does not serve the modality.
Our clinicians work with adolescents and adults experiencing concerns that may include:
A consultation or intake can help determine whether The Reclaiming Pathway™ is an appropriate fit for your needs.
We are intentionally narrowing the insurance plans we participate with as our practice transitions toward this structured treatment model.
We are currently accepting new clients with:
Coverage and eligibility are subject to the terms of your individual plan and medical necessity requirements.
We may provide courtesy billing for clients using eligible out-of-network benefits through plans including:
Courtesy billing does not mean that Long Island EMDR is participating in your insurance network and does not guarantee reimbursement. Benefits vary by plan.
Self-pay treatment is also available.
Self-pay may allow greater flexibility in treatment planning, including session frequency and extended session lengths when clinically appropriate.
You do not need to know exactly what type of therapy you need before contacting us.
You also do not need to have the perfect words for what is happening.
Our intake process is designed to help determine:
The first step is simply determining whether we are the right place to help.
Understanding yourself matters.
Coping skills matter.
But sometimes the next stage of treatment is helping your mind and body recognize that the circumstances that created those patterns are no longer happening.
The Reclaiming Pathway™ is designed to help you move from understanding why you are stuck toward experiencing what it is like to live differently.
If you are already working with a Long Island EMDR clinician, speak with your therapist about how The Reclaiming Pathway™ may apply to your current treatment plan.
Your clinician can help you understand your current stage of treatment and whether individual therapy, group treatment, trauma processing, or other components of the pathway may be appropriate.