Your Experience As A Helping Professional in NYC
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 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 of vicarious trauma and 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 Vicarious 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
Skye Ross Offers Virtual Group EMDR to Address Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue
These groups grew out of my decade of working in non-profits in NYC and Denver, CO. 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: What Does The 6-Week EMDR Group For Helping Professionals in NYC Include?
- 1 -2 individual intake sessions ($92 per 55-minute session): Intake sessions focus on completing assessments. This process ensures that this group is appropriate for you. The goal of these groups is to focus on secondary trauma, not pre-existing trauma.
- 6 weeks of group EMDR ($68 per 90-minute group)
- Six participants per group
- Two weeks of resourcing: In these first two weeks, we will focus on orienting you to the group protocol, resourcing and preparing for EMDR. At the start and end of each group, you will rate your level of stress and discomfort, but you are not expected to share details.
- Four weeks of processing: You will not share what you’re processing out loud with the group. Each participant brings a work-related event that impacts their capacity at work and/or their personal lives. Some of you may process the same event for all 4 weeks and others may move on to process other events. 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 as necessary.
Contact me with questions about group EMDR and other offerings for vicarious trauma and burnout
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 in NYC is small, and this is true of other helping professions in the city. 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.
- Do I have to pay up front?
- No, you will not pay up front. However, this offer is most effective when you commit to attending all six groups. You will get the most relief from processing at least one event as fully 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.
- Is this covered by insurance?
- As many of us 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. I want people to be able to afford this group who will most benefit, so I’m offering up to 2 individual intake sessions for $92 each and 90-minute group sessions for $68 per group.