Drop-In EMDR Group for Workplace Trauma in NYC
Move beyond burned out and frozen in your healthcare job in Denver, NYC, or Maine
You are in a role that has you supporting others and engaging with their traumatic experiences. Maybe you’re a therapist, a social worker, case manager, nurse, psychiatrist, researcher, or in policy or non-profit management. Your position involves connecting with traumas and that can take a toll, even among the most resourced of us. That toll is seen in symptoms of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, or burnout.
Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue
After some time, you have noticed the following impacts of burnout on your wellbeing:
- Disconnection from your coworkers, clients, or family and friends
- Irritable with your loved ones
- Hoping someone will no-show or cancel an appointment
- Sleep disruptions: sleeping more or fewer hours than usual; having nightmares
- Difficulty concentrating in meetings or sessions
These are all signs that you may have experienced workplace trauma and are correlated to compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is similar to burnout but specifically affects those in helping professions (Mathieu, 2011). Those working directly with people who have experienced acute and chronic traumatic stress are at greater risk of developing symptoms related to secondary trauma (van Dernoot Lipsky & Burk, 2009). As many as 50% of social workers experience at least one symptom of traumatic stress with as many as 15% meeting PTSD criteria (Bride, 2007). Others have found similarly high rates among nurses and physicians (Deriglazov, Lamaova, & Kernova, 2025; Kotera, et al., 2023).
EMDR for Workplace Trauma
Group EMDR protocols were developed specifically to support healthcare workers with symptoms of vicarious trauma. Group EMDR addresses recent events and is highly effective in mitigating the effects of vicarious trauma and improving job satisfaction.
See also: G-TEP and G-REP, developed by Elan Shapiro
Virtual Group EMDR to Address Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue for Burnout and Workplace Trauma: Open to Professionals in Maine, New York, and Colorado
Healthcare professionals are likely to experience workplace trauma and vicarious trauma and my goal is to offer you convenient and impactful therapy to help you move past those experiences. These virtual groups are open to social workers, doctors, nurses, and other high-achieving, burned out professionals in NYC, Colorado, and Maine.
This group grew out of my decade of working in non-profits in NYC and Denver, CO and supporting therapists, social workers, and medical professionals. I have experienced burnout and compassion fatigue, as have many of the professionals I have supported. My offer comes from my passion for the meaningful work we do. We all know that we need to care for ourselves to find sustainability in this work. My desire is to offer meaningful care to mental health and helping professionals.
I am offering these virtual groups and your individual intake sessions at a steep discount to make this accessible to people at all levels of community-based organizations.
The Offer: Healing in Just Two meetings
- 1 individual intake session ($225 for 90-minute individual session): Intake session focusing on assessing appropriateness of a short-term group to address your symptoms. The goal of these groups is to focus on secondary trauma and burnout, not pre-existing trauma. This intake is 90-minutes to provide enough time to assess readiness for group EMDR and support with resourcing and orientation to the group EMDR protocol.
- Drop-in group EMDR ($68 per 90-minute group), Fridays from 4pm – 5:30pm Eastern Time
- Six participants max per group
- Privately process recent traumatic events related to work, burnout symptoms, and negative beliefs that interfere with your work. Processing is private, without sharing among group members.
- One processing session: YES – A single session of the group recent event protocol can bring immense relief. You will not share what you’re processing out loud with the group. Each participant brings a work-related event that is impacting your capacity at work and/or personal life. Your processing is held internally and kept private. I will be there to support you with grounding, reconnecting with your internal resources, and to offer next steps for further support, if necessary.
- Once you complete intake, you are welcome to drop-in to any future groups. Just let me know.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
I want to recommend this to friends and colleagues, but I’m worried about joining with people who know me personally. Is this a problem?
I get it – the social work field where you live is small, and this is true of other helping professions in your area. My question to you would be, are you comfortable with your friends or colleagues knowing that you’ve experienced burnout, compassion fatigue, or vicarious trauma? With that being the focus of the group, attendance in the group would disclose that you are experiencing one of these. Beyond that, there are no concerns about confidentiality because you are not sharing what you’re processing. During your intake sessions, I will ask about your work, your role, and your comfort with other people from your agency or school being in attendance so that I can support with avoiding conflicts as best as possible.
What is your experience with facilitating group EMDR?
I have facilitated group EMDR in a community mental health center and I have completed training in group EMDR protocols and recent event EMDR protocols. Group participants find significant relief within a single 90-minute group and have expressed appreciation for being able to drop in as needed. As you know, this work is hard and unpredictable. Participants have expressed appreciation knowing they can find relief at the end of the week, no matter what life has thrown at them.
Is this covered by insurance?
As many therapists know and have experienced, therapy is becoming more expensive as therapists struggle with insurance credentialing and reimbursement. That has driven up the price we all pay for quality therapy. These sessions are private pay, however they are steeply discounted to be accessible to people in community-based organizations. EMDR therapy typically costs between $150 – $350 per hour in NYC and Denver. I want people to be able to afford this group who will most benefit, so I’m offering a single, 90-minute intake session for $225 and 90-minute group sessions for $68 per group. You drop-in to groups at the frequency that works for your needs and schedule.
There are a couple of benefits to paying out of network as well. One is that it keeps therapy out of your medical record. While mental health care is becoming more widely accepted as an important part of self care, it is still stigmatized in certain fields and communities. People also have real concerns about how their diagnosis or mental health treatment might impact their professional growth. Being out of network offers discretion and privacy.