Therapy for Anxiety, Trauma, and Sleep Difficulties in New York City

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For some people, sleep problems begin after a clearly overwhelming experience. For others, they emerge gradually, after years of coping, adapting, or holding things together. Anxiety, hypervigilance, and panic can keep the mind alert long after the day has ended. Even when exhaustion sets in, the nervous system may not feel safe enough to rest. In these moments, sleep becomes the place where unresolved emotional patterns show themselves most clearly. Rather than treating sleep as a problem to fix, therapy offers a way to understand what sleep difficulties may be communicating about your inner life.

From a psychoanalytic and trauma-informed perspective, symptoms are not meaningless interruptions. They are signals of. When emotional experiences exceed what we can bear alone, they can disrupt perception, memory, and the ability to settle into rest.

In therapy, we work carefully to understand:

• what may be contributing to anxiety or panic

• how earlier experiences continue to shape emotional responses

• why familiar coping strategies may no longer be working

• what is needed for a greater sense of inner steadiness to return  

This work unfolds gradually and thoughtfully, without pressure to move faster than feels safe.

From a psychoanalytic and trauma-informed perspective, symptoms are not meaningless interruptions. They are signals of. When emotional experiences exceed what we can bear alone, they can disrupt perception, memory, and the ability to settle into rest.

• what may be contributing to anxiety or panic

• how earlier experiences continue to shape emotional responses

• why familiar coping strategies may no longer be working

• what is needed for a greater sense of inner steadiness to return  

This work unfolds gradually and thoughtfully, without pressure to move faster than feels safe.

When appropriate, I integrate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) as part of the therapeutic process. EMDR can be especially helpful when anxiety or sleep disruption is connected to experiences that remain emotionally charged, confusing, or difficult to articulate.

Trauma here is not understood narrowly. The goal is not to erase the past, but to reduce its hold on the present, allowing greater flexibility, clarity, and openness to life.

This approach is often a good fit for people who:

• are capable and responsible, but no longer feel at ease in their own lives.

• struggle with insomnia, anxiety, or panic that feels out of proportion or hard to explain

• have tried practical or medical solutions without lasting relief

• want to understand why they feel the way they do, not just manage symptoms

• are seeking private, depth-oriented therapy rather than quick answers

Many people begin therapy because sleep has become unmanageable and discover that addressing what lies beneath allows rest, steadiness, and a fuller sense of living to return.

You don’t need to know exactly “what’s wrong” to begin. People often arrive through one concern, only to discover it’s connected to something deeper.

You can explore more about the areas I work with here:

• Sleep Difficulties - When insomnia, restless nights, or sleep anxiety are the first signs that something feels off.

• Anxiety & Panic - When worry, vigilance, or panic begin to narrow your inner and outer life.

• Trauma & EMDR - When past experiences — recent or long-standing — continue to shape how you feel and function.