Trauma Therapy
in Farmingdale, NY and Greenwich Village, NYC
Have you (or someone you love) experienced or witnessed something so painful that it’s disrupting core aspects of your life? Do you often struggle with:
Persistent feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, shame, or self-blame?
Nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, or unexplained physical ailments?
Deep-seated fears/worries that keep you on edge, bracing for the worst?
Perhaps your romantic relationships are suffering under the weight of increasing trust issues, mood swings, or avoidance behaviors that are pushing those you love away.
Or maybe you’re the parent of a child or teen who’s coping with trauma through risky behaviors or self-harm, and you’re hoping therapy can help them heal and reclaim their childhood.
Has A Traumatic Experience Turned Your World Upside Down?
Living With Trauma Means Fighting Each Day Just To Function
Whether you’re an adult navigating a painful past or a parent watching their child struggle, trauma can complicate life in countless ways. Following daily routines, maintaining structure, and interacting with others starts to feel intolerable, so you either withdraw, mask up, or lash out.
Criticism, conflict, and fears of abandonment wear at intimate relationships. Work performance suffers from absenteeism. Social circles grow smaller. Grades fall. Dreams succumb to procrastination and lack of motivation. Even trusting your own emotions, expressing your needs, or just feeling emotionally safe can seem impossible.
At the end of the day, all you want is to feel better—or to know that your loved one will be okay—and that’s why we’re here. Regardless of your age, situation, or the severity of your symptoms, our compassionate trauma/PTSD counselors at Zen + Zest Therapy can support you through it all, giving you the tools and awareness needed to thrive instead of just survive.
Why Does It Seem Like Trauma Is Getting So Much Attention Now?
For the longest time, trauma was looked at as something explicitly related to life-changing experiences like sexual assault, mass violence, or military combat. However, trauma and PTSD can also result from witnessing or merely being close to someone who experienced a traumatic event, something first responders or caregivers can run into.
Over time, even elements of challenging, high-stress environments like NYC can contribute to trauma, including:
Crime, racism, discrimination, and microaggressions
Anti-LGBTQ violence, harassment, and oppression
Immigration stress, xenophobia, and fear of deportation
For kids, exposure to toxic news and divisive politics—combined with academic pressure, cyberbullying, and rigid discipline systems—adds to these already powerful stressors.
Why Is Trauma Recovery So Difficult Without The Support Of Therapy?
Where to start? First, trauma hits you on a neurological level, changing the way you think and robbing you of the clarity needed to take appropriate action. Sometimes, shame and self-blame get in the way of recovery—or avoidance feels safer than healing, so you stay stuck in the past even though you want to move forward.
Plus, few of us were born with the skills for regulating emotions, changing behaviors, or even interpreting the symptoms of trauma. That’s something that can be particularly problematic as a parent because trauma manifests in children in ways that can easily be misunderstood or overlooked.
Working with a trauma therapist helps you understand what you’re dealing with while defining concrete steps you can take to heal and create real movement in your life. If you’re a parent, trauma counseling can be an invaluable source of support, providing you with clarity, solutions, and even coaching for helping your child heal.
Therapy For Trauma Is All About You And Your Needs
Trauma can impact your life in profound and complex ways, so our therapists at Zen + Zest Therapy want to meet you where you are, no matter the circumstances. The good, the bad, the ugly—you can lean on us through it all, expressing your fears, sharing your story, and exploring your pain without fear of judgment.
Whether you’re bursting at the seams for someone to talk to or you’re not quite sure how to approach this, we want to help. Using a range of holistic, evidence-based therapeutic methods, we’ll tailor a flexible treatment plan centered around your goals, feedback, and evolving needs for trauma counseling.
What Does Trauma Treatment Entail?
To get started, we’ll first discuss current triggers and symptoms, looking at how they show up in daily life. As you grow more comfortable, we can gently introduce the painful events, experiences, or relationships that have shaped who you are and how you’re coping. Some of the things we can work on include:
Addressing the impact of trauma on your emotions, beliefs, and behaviors
Understanding the body’s stress response patterns (fight/flight/freeze/fawn)
Learning how trauma can show up as tension, panic, overwhelm, or numbness
Developing grounding techniques, emotional regulation strategies, and coping tools
Acquiring special accommodations, waivers, or resources for work or school
Although we do not have a psychiatrist on staff, we maintain close relationships with psychiatric providers and can quickly refer you for additional support if desired. Some of our trauma/PTSD therapists even offer walk-and-talk sessions while others are able to provide in-home counseling sessions—options unique to Zen + Zest Therapy Services.
What Kind Of Tools Do We Use In Trauma Counseling?
Although every case is unique, our trauma counselors can draw from a spectrum of therapeutic modalities to tailor a treatment plan for each individual, regardless of their age or situation:
Solution-Focused and Strengths-Based Therapy Models
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), including Trauma-Focused CBT
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Mindfulness-Based Therapy Approaches
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
While these strategies often have shared goals, each modality has its own strength, purpose, and focus, including:
Grounding + Self-Regulation
Mindfulness + Body Awareness
Cognitive Restructuring + Emotional Processing
Distress Tolerance + Stabilization
Relationship Maintenance + Boundary Setting
Strength-Building + Future-Planning
Together, we’ll figure out what treatment options work best for you, using your feedback to guide sessions and adjust things as we go. That way, you’re an active participant in your own healing journey and not just along for the ride.
You Don’t Have To Carry This Weight Alone Anymore
Trauma can feel permanent, but with the right support, your brain and body can heal. It is possible to feel safe again, to trust again, and to reconnect with your own emotions without fear. Although healing trauma doesn’t erase the past, it can absolutely free you from being defined by it. The version of you that feels calmer, lighter, more confident, and more in control is within your reach—we’re just here to connect you with that person.
Still Have Questions Or Concerns About Trauma Therapy?
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This is a very common fear and completely understandable. Because trauma “re-programs” our brains to avoid revisiting anything that feels difficult or risky, even exploring our pain in order to heal can seem dangerous.
Although avoidance provides short-term relief, trauma treatment gives you an enduring sense of safety. It gives you power. It gives you definitive control over how you think, feel, and live your life. That said, in our sessions, we’ll always prioritize your safety, moving at a pace that feels comfortable so you’re reprocessing the trauma, not reliving it.
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Your previous experience doesn’t mean therapy can’t work for you. More than likely, it just means you and your therapist at the time didn’t resonate and connect well. That’s why we strive to create an environment where you’ll feel respected, understood, and empowered every step you take. You don’t have to trust the whole process or make any huge commitments; just give yourself a chance to heal, and consider working with a therapist who truly gets trauma.
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Therapy is an investment in YOU—one that places you in control. You decide how often we meet, how long treatment lasts, what we work on, and how fast we move, ensuring the time you spend in therapy is effective and meaningful.
Our goal is to help you reduce the emotional “cost” you’re already paying in the form of self-doubt, sleepless nights, strained relationships, and difficulty functioning. At Zen + Zest therapy, working with a trauma counselor isn’t about talking; it’s about actively creating change.
If You’re Ready For Change, We’ll Help You Make It Happen
We know you’re hurting right now, but the pain of the past does not have to continue dictating your life. Set up your free, 20-minute consultation—or schedule your first appointment—by calling (518) 227-0449 or using our contact page and learn how trauma counseling can help you live with a greater sense of safety, freedom, and internal peace.
Zen + Zest offers online and in-person counseling services in Greenwich Village, NYC, and Farmingdale, NY, with convenient virtual trauma therapy sessions across New York State.
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208 NY-109 Suite 201, Farmingdale, NY 11735
80 University PL #4F, New York, NY 10003