True transformation requires more than just analyzing the past; it requires holistic integration that honors the deep connection between your mind, body, and spirit. Together, we will gently release the old cycles holding you back, turning deep self-awareness into true, lasting healing.
You are exhausted from endlessly analyzing your patterns only to find yourself reacting from the exact same hurt places when triggered. Even though you logically understand your past, your body still carries its weight, leaving you feeling profoundly stuck between the insights in your mind and the tension in your nervous system.
Treating the whole person
Recognizing that you’re ready for a change is an incredibly powerful step, and it takes real self-awareness to get here. Whether you are new to counseling or have walked a therapeutic path before, you are likely looking for a deeper type of healing. You can clearly see the negative mental habits and old patterns holding you back—yet you still feel caught in the current, quietly wondering if this repetitive cycle is as good as life gets.
True transformation requires more than just analyzing the past; it requires a whole-person approach that honors the deep connection between your mind, body, and spirit. Together, we will create a safe harbor, blending evidence-based modalities with intuitive, holistic practices to absorb the heavy impacts of life's stressors. By gently releasing the places where you feel trapped and shifting your conditioned responses, we will nurture the lasting inner strength you need to navigate hardships and restore a true sense of inner peace.
At Breakwaters Mental Health Counseling, our goal is to help you process life's challenges and reclaim your calm. As a licensed therapist with over 16 years of experience, I believe you already hold the keys to your own wellness and possess innate wisdom about your life. Just like a breakwater provides shelter from rough seas, we will create a supportive, open relationship that acts as a safe harbor to address the root of your emotional pain. I view you as a whole person, balancing goal-oriented care with in-the-moment spontaneity to integrate advanced modalities like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), IFS (Internal Family Systems) and certified play and sand tray therapy into your unique healing journey. Whether you are navigating depression, anxiety, or deep-rooted trauma symptoms, we will work together to shift old habits and restore your internal equilibrium. Ultimately, we will lay a firm foundation that helps you grow from adversity and step forward with quiet confidence, deep wisdom, and true self-compassion.
Services
Explore a comprehensive range of therapeutic services designed to support your unique healing journey, from specialized trauma recovery to holistic mental health counseling.
Offering both in person in Central New York and virtual appointments anywhere in New York State
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You might logically know you are safe, yet your body still reacts with sudden anxiety, chronic overwhelm, or an overactive inner critic. These disruptive physical and emotional charges happen because your nervous system stores stressful, overwhelming past experiences long after they are over. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) bridges this gap between knowing you are safe and actually feeling it. By pairing brief focus on these old patterns with bilateral stimulation—like eye movements, taps, or tones—EMDR helps your brain safely re-file the memories so they finally lose their grip. We will spend plenty of time building a solid toolkit of grounding resources first, ensuring your nervous system feels completely secure every step of the way. When you are ready to unburden the past, we can begin this collaborative journey together.
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If you are looking for a deeper layer of healing but feel trapped by the weekly routine of opening and closing tough topics, you are not alone. It can be exhausting to spend your days managing a highly reactive nervous system, an intrusive memory, or an old emotional roadblock, only to feel like your weekly 50-minute therapy session stops just as you are beginning to break through. It makes complete sense to want a therapeutic experience that respects both your deep desire for relief and your busy life. Healing does not have to be a slow, fragmented process; it can happen in focused, concentrated spaces designed around your needs. Through EMDR Intensives, we compress months of traditional therapy into extended, multi-hour sessions, giving your brain the dedicated time it needs to naturally process painful memories and accelerate lasting relief. There is no need to worry about being overwhelmed or rushed; these sessions are highly customizable and can be beautifully spaced out over multiple weeks to perfectly match your personal pacing and energetic boundaries. You deserve a path to freedom that honors your timeline, and whenever you are ready to dedicate the space to your healing, I am here to help you navigate the way forward.
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You are highly self-aware—you can see the negative mental defaults and old patterns holding you back—yet you still feel stuck in place, quietly wondering if this repetitive cycle is as good as life gets. You likely wake up every day carrying a painful gap between knowing better and feeling better, constantly managing an overthinking mind, an anxious nervous system, or a relentless drive for perfectionism just to get through the day. It is completely normal to feel exhausted by this loop; true transformation requires more than just intellectually analyzing your past. There is a path to a more vibrant, aligned life where your mind and body finally feel safe and at peace. By weaving together Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and trauma-focused talk therapy, we bridge the gap between intellectual understanding and true emotional release. This structured yet intuitive approach equips you with practical daily tools while safely exploring the deeper emotional "parts" of yourself that hold old wounds, ensuring you heal at a pace that honors your unique survival history without overwhelming your system. You don't have to navigate this heavy landscape all on your own, and whenever you feel ready to take that next step toward deeper healing, I am here to walk alongside you.
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Recognizing that you are ready for a change is an incredibly powerful step, especially when the depth of what you are carrying cannot easily be put into words. You might find yourself moving through your days feeling a quiet, heavy burden—trapped by old patterns, memories, or stress that you can clearly see but cannot seem to talk your way out of. It is entirely natural to hit a wall with traditional talk therapy; some emotional wounds live in a space that language simply cannot reach. There is another way forward, an opportunity to express your experiences without the pressure of having to explain them. Sand tray therapy offers a creative path to healing by helping you externalize your inner world through a tangible, visual medium. By arranging miniature figures in a dedicated tray of sand, you bypass your analytical mind, allowing your subconscious to safely map out your internal landscape so you can reprocess trauma and explore life's challenges from a fresh perspective. While it can feel vulnerable to try something new, this modality allows you to set the pace entirely, making it a safe and highly effective supplement to EMDR and talk therapy. Whenever you feel ready to explore what lies beneath the surface, we can step into this creative space together.
What is EMDR, exactly?
FAQ
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In EMDR therapy, we begin by creating a safe foundation of stability and calm, moving entirely at your pace. Instead of requiring you to talk through every painful detail of your past, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) uses gentle, guided eye movements or tapping to help your brain naturally process and untangle heavy, stuck memories. You can expect a collaborative, structured environment where we first map out your goals, build practical tools to ground you in the present, and then safely neutralise the emotional charge of old wounds so you can finally experience lasting relief and reclaim your peace.
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The timeline of your therapeutic journey is completely unique, shaped by your personal goals, history, and the depth of what you are carrying. While standard talk therapy often requires months or even years of ongoing processing, EMDR therapy is specifically designed to accelerate your healing by leveraging your brain's natural processing system. Because EMDR targets and untangles the root cause of emotional distress rather than just managing symptoms, it frequently allows clients to experience deep, lasting relief in a much shorter amount of time. While we move at a pace that ensures you always feel safe and grounded, our ultimate goal is to help you heal efficiently so you can step back into your life with lasting peace.
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You are entirely in control of your therapeutic journey, and you never have to share anything before you feel ready. True transformation requires a safe harbor, and we move strictly at a pace that honors your unique comfort and nervous system. Because my practice integrates whole-person approaches like EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS), healing does not require you to repeatedly recount every painful detail of a distressing event. Instead, we spend significant time upfront building a solid toolkit of grounding resources to ensure you feel secure, stable, and supported. Your boundaries are respected here, and we will work collaboratively to help you process old patterns safely and comfortably.
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I offer both in person sessions in Oswego County/Central New York or virtual sessions anywhere in NYS! Research shows that both are equally effective in healing outcomes, depending on your personal comfort and preference
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While I do not bill insurance directly, I provide courtesy billing to handle the heavy lifting for you by submitting out-of-network (OON) claims to your insurance provider on your behalf. This means you pay the session fee upfront, and your insurance company reimbursement checks go directly to you if your policy covers out-of-network mental health care. It allows you to focus entirely on your healing while still maximizing your available insurance benefits. Prior to our first session, my biller will verify your out of network coverage and provide details about any out pocket costs so that you feel clear and confident about the process of using OON
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A standard 60 minute session is $175
Rates for 30 or 45 minute sessions are prorated, please contact us for more information
EMDR Therapy Intensives start at $250 for 90 minute sessions, longer sessions are charged accordingly