Dr. Patricia Hunter

Psychologist

Dr. Patricia Hunter is a psychologist and psychoanalyst based in New York City. While working with abused children, she became curious about how trauma can impact a person's life. Interested in how our minds store memories in the unconscious, she became an interpersonal/relational psychoanalyst. Understanding that trauma is passed down from generation to generation, she wanted to know how that happens, and  earned a  Certificate in Couples and Family Therapy at NYU. She currently teaches Object Relations (the study of how character is shaped by the relationships we form, beginning in infancy)  at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis. Skilled in  EMDR, IFS and AEDP, she helps her clients, both individuals as well as couples,  feel safe enough inside, to  open themselves to the world of feelings, so fundamental to our sense of who we are and what we want. She appreciates the need for defenses, supports the use of them when necessary, but also encourages patients to feel more vitality and more depth, more aware of their deeper selves, past the surface of day to day functioning to where meaning resides.  During the past few years, Dr Hunter has presented her work about political beliefs, dissociation, and couples therapy,  at national and international conferences.

Beyond TraumaDiscovering JoyAdmiring Age

“While many of us work hard to earn the right to be comfortable and avoid challenge in later adulthood, this strategy runs the risk of sending our brains the message that they no longer need to keep growing this is the worst message you can give to an organ of adaptation.”

– Colarusso
2008
Contact me by calling 917.306.4167 or online

Growing and Flourishing

"When individuals reach old age, the aging stereotypes internalized in childhood, and then reinforced for decades, become self stereotypes that contribute to unnecessary and tragic emotional and cognitive decline." Becca Levy

People can get down on themselves as they age, and develop bad habits that become ingrained. Self-statements like "I am no longer attractive" - "I have no memory anymore" - "It's hell to get old."- "I am no longer sexy"- "I have nothing to look forward to but death." can start out a little bit at a time and build on themselves until you become them! And this is unnecessary in this day and age of modern medical miracles. These statements can be modified by speaking with someone who 'gets' you, and eventually helps you, to understand yourself. Dream work and EMDR can awaken your mind, and your unconscious can begin to dream new dreams and become more supple, more creative, more energized. Yes it's true that we slow down a little as we age, and I am not suggesting we stop the process, but rather grow and flourish through it. How we think about ourselves make a gigantic difference in how we conduct our lives. Let's help you to develop new ways of thinking, and behaving, that empower you and help you master your environment, rather than letting the negative prejudices undermine your attitude. In doing so you can transform your present and future, whether it involves days, years, or decades.

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