Well+Being Holistic Mental Health
Emotional Health & Wellness Tips From The Therapy Couch And Other Places
Consider Couples Therapy Now Before Minor Concerns Become Bigger Issues Or Even A Crisis.
When you are experiencing distance, tension, or difficulty in your relationships, you may experience feelings of abandonment, rejection, a lack of empathy, anger, disappointment, hopelessness, shame, and other emotions. Most New York couples enter relationship counseling in some state of despair. Often, they have struggled for years, and in a last-ditch attempt to save the relationship, they begin couples therapy. At this point, communication has eroded, distance is the norm, and sex is nearly nonexistent. Reasonably high-functioning couples often begin therapy to navigate difficult circumstances, seeking guidance from a relationship therapist or coach. Couples counseling is typically sought by two people who are in a romantic relationship and are experiencing challenges they want to address together. These individuals are committed to improving their relationship, whether that’s through resolving conflict, improving communication, rebuilding trust, or working through other issues that may be impacting their bond.
As an experienced couple and relationship therapist with a private practice in New York, I have witnessed many challenges among successful, busy New York and NYC couples. Still, often, problems are rooted in the same recurring issues. In our counseling sessions, we focus on creating a safe environment for sharing thoughts, feelings, and emotions. We work on active listening skills, identify important patterns in your relationship, express individual needs, build empathy, set goals, and develop effective conflict resolution skills. Sessions are virtual. 60, 90, or 120 minutes, and we can meet online wherever in the world you happen to be.
No, EMDR Doesn’t Work For Everyone, And Here’s Why
EMDR Therapy, also known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a popular form of healing, powerful healing. As people become more comfortable talking about their mental health concerns, we see more people discussing EMDR, especially celebrities. What is EMDR? When something terrible happens to us, it is stored in our brain and nervous system in a different way than our everyday experiences. Memories and sensations show up when we are least expecting it, just like that, your day has been hijacked. EMDR therapy helps to make the memory less disturbing.
Research reveals that EMDR is a powerful therapeutic approach for resolving symptoms of PTSD and for processing trauma and negative experiences. EMDR has been extensively researched and is recognized as effective by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization for treating PTSD. Many individuals experience significant symptom reduction and improvement in their overall well-being after undergoing EMDR therapy.
The Unique Challenges Of High-Functioning Couples In Couple Counseling
Marriage and couple therapy enjoys a high success rate for couples who want to improve their relationships, and New York City has some of the most intelligent, talented and high-performing people in the world. They also bring to relationship counseling unique challenges and struggles. Successful individuals tend to be independent, highly-focused and self-sufficient. These individuals are accustomed to handling their problems on their own and require a high degree of autonomy. They are also not immune to struggling with anxiety, depression and relationship problems. Sometimes their lives look ideal from the outside, and yet they struggle greatly. You may be tempted to idealize the successful couples that you know, imagining that they have it all figured out. I can tell you that as an experienced New York City couple therapist, the high-functioning couples that I encounter have their own unique challenges that bring them to couple counseling. Mostly, these couples grapple with navigating conflicts, balancing individual with couple needs, communication issues and maintaining intimacy. Of course there are other challenges that successful high-functioning couples face, so let’s have a closer look.
How to Activate Your Vagus Nerve for Better Sleep, Stress Recovery, and Mental Health
As a psychotherapist with advanced training in neuroscience and mind-body medicine, I often hear from my New York City clients that they’re struggling with chronic stress, anxiety, depression, or insomnia. Many of them have already tried everything—from melatonin and prescription medications to meditation apps—but continue to feel stuck in the same frustrating cycle: they can’t sleep, they can’t relax, and they feel chronically depleted.
The long-term impact of disrupted sleep and chronic stress is well documented in both neuroscience and mental health research. And what many of my clients don’t realize is this: the nervous system itself holds the key to deep restoration—and it starts with something as simple and profound as your breath.
What Is Psychophysiologic Insomnia?
You might be surprised to learn that many people suffer from what's called psychophysiologic insomnia, also known as "learned insomnia." This type of sleep disruption often begins with a few stressful nights but soon becomes a habitual pattern where the body starts to anticipate stress at bedtime. The result? Heightened arousal, anxiety, and conditioned sleeplessness.
Many clients turn to medication, and while this can help in the short term, it’s often not a sustainable long-term strategy. In therapy, I focus on evidence-based lifestyle changes to regulate your nervous system and restore the brain’s natural sleep cycles—without dependence on medication.
Nurse, Heal Thyself
(by Kim Seelbrede, originally posted on urbanzen.org)
The Healing Power of Self-Care for Nurses: A Reflection on Urban Zen Integrative Therapy at the NSNA Convention
As delicate snowflakes danced across the Utah sky, a sea of passionate and ambitious nursing students gathered in Salt Lake City for the 59th Annual National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) Convention. Beneath the buzz of clinical discussion and future-focused enthusiasm, a quieter and more essential invitation was extended to these frontline caregivers: to pause, to receive, and to restore.
In a serene space known as The Sanctuary—generously provided by Johnson & Johnson as part of their Campaign for Nursing’s Future—student nurses were welcomed into the calming embrace of Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT). It was here that many of them experienced, for the very first time, the profound impact of receiving care instead of providing it.
Nurses, Self-Neglect, and the Culture of Overgiving
The nursing profession is one of devotion, long hours, emotional labor, and unrelenting resilience. Nurses are celebrated as compassionate givers—but rarely taught the parallel art of receiving. In fact, many nurses internalize the idea that self-care is indulgent, or worse, selfish. As burnout and compassion fatigue become chronic conditions within the field, a new conversation must emerge: How do we care for the caretakers?
What many nurses are not taught in school—but urgently need—is the practical, embodied experience of self-care. Not a buzzword, not a spa day, but a deep nervous system reset. A return to being rather than constant doing. This is the heart of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy model.
Creating a Healing Environment for Healing Professionals
Inside The Sanctuary, student nurses were guided through gentle restorative yoga poses, supported by skilled Urban Zen Integrative Therapists offering Reiki, essential oil therapy, and mindful breath awareness techniques. The results were immediate, visible, and profound. Stressed shoulders softened. Eyes welled with tears of release. Breathing slowed. Presence returned.
As one nurse quietly shared, “You’ve inspired me to take time for myself—to breathe and rest. I didn’t know how to do this.” Another student confided, “I feel blessed to have met you today. I’m finally able to be ‘in’ my body.”
These reflections speak to a deep and unmet need in the nursing profession: the need to feel safe enough to slow down and reconnect with the body. The need to be more than a set of hands. To feel held, witnessed, and restored.
Why Nurses Need More Than a Reminder—They Need a Roadmap
Nurses are often told to care for themselves, yet few are taught how. The Urban Zen Foundation responds to this gap with a practical and nourishing self-care curriculum that blends Eastern healing traditions with Western science—designed by healthcare professionals, for healthcare professionals. This model includes:
Breathwork to regulate the nervous system
Restorative movement to release tension
Aromatherapy to shift emotional states and stimulate the limbic system
Reiki to restore energetic balance
Mindfulness practices to create calm and improve focus
These are not just self-care techniques. They are professional survival tools. When nurses are given permission and guidance to nourish themselves, they show up more fully—not only for patients but for their own lives.
Reclaiming Wholeness in a Fragmented System
The burnout crisis in healthcare is not simply about long hours and heavy caseloads—it’s about disconnection. Nurses have been trained to override their own needs for the sake of others. This disconnection from the self is unsustainable. Without intentional practices of reconnection, even the most skilled and passionate caregivers will feel depleted.
Our time in Salt Lake City was a call to action. As healthcare professionals and advocates, we must do more than remind nurses to take care of themselves—we must equip them with the knowledge, experiences, and embodied tools to make that care accessible and sustainable.
Try A Little Mindfulness In Your Daily Life
How Meditation and Mindfulness Support Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional Healing: A Holistic Psychotherapy Perspective
Many of my clients in New York City come to therapy and wellness coaching seeking relief from persistent symptoms of anxiety, depression, addiction, disordered eating, and emotional overwhelm. Increasingly, they are drawn to holistic practices like meditation and mindfulness—natural tools that help regulate the nervous system, improve mood, and promote emotional resilience.
Motivated by both personal curiosity and promising research, these clients are looking for therapeutic strategies that support healing without relying solely on medication. For individuals seeking integrative, non-pharmaceutical options, meditation and mindfulness practices can be powerful complements to psychotherapy.
The Science Behind Mindfulness And Mental Health
Over the past decade, peer-reviewed studies and neuroscience research have shown that consistent mindfulness and meditation practices lead to positive changes in brain function and structure. These changes include:
Decreased activity in the amygdala (the brain’s fear center)
Increased gray matter in areas related to emotional regulation
Improved connectivity in regions associated with focus and executive functioning
Reductions in cortisol levels and blood pressure
Enhanced immune system response and resilience to stress
For clients struggling with panic disorder, generalized anxiety, or mild to moderate depression, mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to reduce emotional reactivity, increase present-moment awareness, and support behavioral change.
A Therapist’s View: Why Mindfulness Belongs In Mental Health Care
As a psychotherapist trained in both traditional and integrative modalities, I have long encouraged interested clients to incorporate mindfulness, meditation, and body-based practices into their healing process. Especially for those who prefer a non-medication route, a multi-modal treatment approach can include:
Lifestyle Changes To Reduce Chronic Pain, Inflammation And Depression
Understanding the Link Between Depression, Inflammation, and Mind-Body Healing
As a holistic psychotherapist in New York City, I frequently work with high-functioning professionals, creatives, and individuals navigating emotional and physical symptoms that overlap. Many clients come to therapy reporting concerns such as fatigue, low energy, insomnia, body aches, loss of interest in daily activities, reduced libido, social withdrawal, and appetite changes.
While these symptoms often resemble depression, the underlying cause isn’t always psychological. Chronic inflammation and physiological stress can also manifest as mood changes and emotional distress. At Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness NY, I take an integrative approach—helping clients address emotional pain while exploring contributing physical and lifestyle factors.
What Is the Connection Between Depression and Inflammation?
Emerging research reveals a strong, bidirectional relationship between inflammation and depression. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, chronic inflammation can contribute to depressive symptoms—and depression itself may activate inflammatory processes in the body.
Inflammation plays a role in several chronic health conditions, including:
Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease
Metabolic syndrome
Rheumatoid arthritis
Multiple sclerosis
Asthma
Psoriasis
Chronic pain syndromes
These conditions are also associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety.
What Causes Chronic Inflammation?
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury, trauma, or infection. However, when inflammation becomes chronic or systemic, it can create a cascade of physical and emotional health problems. Contributing factors include:
Chronic stress and elevated cortisol
Poor diet and blood sugar instability
Hormonal imbalances
Food allergies and intolerances
Environmental toxins
Hidden infections
Sleep deprivation
Over- or under-exercising
If you experience persistent depressive symptoms, pain, or fatigue—and lab markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) are elevated—it may be time to address inflammation as part of your wellness plan.