healing Archives - Heather Edwards Mental Health Counseling

EMDR Therapy: Pandemic trauma

February 4, 2022

Anger, fear, and powerlessness quietly pervade the consciousness of people around the world. Stress and burn-out, grief, loss and resentment abound. And what started as a temporary crisis has become a chronic problem with no end in sight. EMDR Therapy can clear the trauma of this crisis. For the past 2 years, the goal-post of safety and calm was jockeyed around. Just when a moment of respite was achieved, a tidal wave of existential threat emerged. So, how have you made it this far? You are resilient. Leverage your resilience. Wake up the parts of you that provide nurturing, protection, wisdom, and peace toward yourself. Strengthen your inner resources. EMDR therapy is not only a form of exposure therapy, but it’s a strength-based resilience building process. Change your...

EMDR Therapy: Rewrite your story

September 29, 2020

Trauma

EMDR Therapy opens windows in the mind. Imagine rewriting your story. One where YOU decide who you are, how you can be, and how life's challenges affect you. Take a moment to notice how you view yourself in the world. Complete the statement, ”I am_____”. Is your belief negative, such as, “I am unworthy.”, “I am powerless.”, or ”I am unsafe.”? If so, that core belief may be tied to earlier unprocessed memories. What if you could believe something else? What would you rather believe about yourself? I am strong, safe, capable, worthy, lovable, smart… People decide to start EMDR therapy because of anxiety, depression, or pervasive negative beliefs. Francine Shapiro, the originator and developer of EMDR therapy stated that often these experiences are the result of unprocessed memories. When...

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Tattoos for healing?

July 11, 2019

Trauma

Tattoos date back to neo-Paleolithic times, serving purposes both for good and for bad. They have been used to record history, brand prisoners and slaves, express self-identity, and reclaim control over one’s own body. For many today, clients are claiming trauma recovery benefits. This intriguing Psychology Today guest blog by Heather Edwards combines insight about what tattoos can mean to folks, along with an interview with an artist in the craft, Paul Booth. The notion of a mark on oneself is as ancient as the Mark of Cain, after murdering his brother, Abel in the Book of Genesis. Nathaniel Hawthorn’s Puritan-era “Scarlet Letter” may not have been a tattoo–it was sown to one’s clothing–but it did mark the community’s condemnation of an adulterer. Not surprisingly, there is another side to...

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Heather Edwards Psychotherapy in New York

EMDR Therapy Changes Lives

March 20, 2018

Articles

EMDR Therapy: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing changes lives. EMDR can be thought of as an integrative physiologically based therapy that helps a person see emotional material in new and less distressing ways. A Certified EMDR therapist helps guide you in a specialized way to clear trauma, break through limiting beliefs, and create an empowered way of being you. Using Mindfulness and bilateral stimulation while holding gentle pulsers, healthy memory processing is stimulated to gain emotional distance from difficult memories. Research shows that trauma & emotionally charged experiences can get physically frozen in time in your body. They live there in the present, interfering with your life, as if the experience is happening now. EMDR creates a natural flow of information processing so that balance is restored and memories become...

Today I Cried During Meditation

February 18, 2016

Articles

As I followed my breath, body, and the sensations of the moment in meditation, I noticed a warmth filling and illuminating my heart. It called to mind the hurt, trauma, and despair of so many in this sometimes devastating human experience. As I attempted to gently escort my mind back, anchor myself and release the thinking, I noticed an urgency to project those feelings outward. I realized they weren’t thoughts, requiring effort to be quieted, tamed, or changed, but they were feelings and energies reflecting a genuine presence, atunement, and compassion. As I connected with them, a tear softly rolled down my cheek. There was light, peace, strength, safety, trust, and connectedness. I meditated on this. The tear wasn’t a cry of sadness or joy, but of wanting...

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Heather Edwards Psychotherapist and Coach

Kung Fu Your Energy – Get Healthy with Open Awareness

July 1, 2015

Articles

As a kid, my sleeping imagination had no limits. My dreams were vibrant, colorful, moving, exciting, emotional, and physical. There were monsters, heroes, allies, and adventures. I could see, taste, touch, smell, and feel the twists and turns of events. My unconscious mind was free to wander, explore, create, and fantasize. The governor, censor, parental control, and filter of any sort was non-existent as far as I could tell. In the morning, the sensations from the intensity of my dreams lingered for a moment, leaving me wondering about the truth of their reality. Sometimes they scared me. Sometimes they filled me with joy. Regardless of the theme, their dynamic, flowing, saturated richness left a lasting impression. And then, KAPOW! Hello, reality. Time for school. That wild imagination was...

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Feelings are Your Deeper Truth

June 17, 2015

Articles

Don’t you hate it when you’re having a good day then you’re T-boned by loneliness, fear, or guilt? Pump the brakes! What just happened? In the intersection of a pretty decent life, you’re suddenly reeling with negativity. If you are a living, breathing, wanting, moving, evolving human being - negative emotions will be part of the fully-wakeful-ever-expanding-consciousness-raising-life-experience-package. They can stop you in your tracks, or at least slow you down a bit. But you can choose to take a closer look and use them as fuel to motivate and inspire you. Emotions are cues from your soul to make necessary changes in your life. When you pause to acknowledge them, back up and say hello to them, you can see them as such. They are internal informants that something...

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Bitter Endings: How to free yourself of lingering resentment

May 30, 2014

Articles, Stress Management

That lingering resentment from things gone wrong is hard to shake. Whether a bad break up or sudden job loss caused the grief, it’s best to resolve it and move on. Holding onto stress has negative physical, neurological, and emotional consequences. In a perfect world, we’d all get exactly what we want when we want it...

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Psychology Today – Got Relationship Blues?

April 9, 2014

Psychology Today Articles - In the Press!

(Hint: Stop Criticizing) Why endless criticism is doomed to failure. Published on April 4, 2014 by Mark Banschick, M.D. in Psychology Today Look at your relationship. The problems seem obvious. But, what are the solutions? Heather Edwards breaks down relationship problems into a digestible form,making it easier for you to do what’s needed to be happier. The Good Relationship: Sometimes the key to discovering what works best in a relationship is eliminating what we knowdoesn’t work. There are a number of scientifically proven actions that destroy relationships. John Gottman calls these the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” So let’s start there. Criticism: The first is Criticism. Unless this is constructive with the intent of helping, it’s probably hurtful. In destructive criticism, couples will attack each other’s personality or character in an effort to prove who is right and who is wrong. It leaves both feeling angry and...

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Empower Your Inner Goddess – Yoga and Coaching Beach Retreat

March 10, 2014

Articles

Stretch your body. Nourish your soul. Free your spirit. Relax in the quiet seaside retreat of Kismet, Fire Island: Join a small group of amazing women eager to find their center, build their energy, develop their passion, and empower their spirit. Realign your body and mind: Experience Beach Yoga, Coaching for Visualizing Your Ideal Self, De-cluttering Your Mind, Building Energy Sources, Improving Your Mind-Body-Emotion Connection, Embracing Empowering Beliefs, Sunset Yoga, Yoga Dance, Chakra Meditation and Relaxation Exercises. Leave the island feeling invigorated and ready to live an inspired, confident, and passionate life! Our program features: Fresh whole foods and juices. Breakfast x2, Lunch x2, Dinner x2, and healthy snacks. Mealtimes are relaxed. Enjoy healthy, balanced nutrition and the company of creative, inspired Retreat participants and instructors. Fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing...

healing Tag

EMDR Therapy: Pandemic trauma

EMDR Therapy: Rewrite your story

Tattoos for healing?

EMDR Therapy Changes Lives

Today I Cried During Meditation

Kung Fu Your Energy – Get Healthy with Open Awareness

Feelings are Your Deeper Truth

Bitter Endings: How to free yourself of lingering resentment

Psychology Today – Got Relationship Blues?

Empower Your Inner Goddess – Yoga and Coaching Beach Retreat

Heather Edwards LMHC

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