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EMDR EMDR Therapy Mental Health Trauma Women empowerment Amanda Fludd • Black Trauma Therapist • EMDR intensive • EMDR intensives • EMDR Long Island • EMDR Lynbrook NY • EMDR New York • EMDR Therapy • high-achieving women • intensive trauma therapy • Kensho Psychotherapy • Nassau County therapist • therapy for women • trauma therapist Long Island • weekly therapy vs EMDR intensive October 8, 2026 By AMANDA FLUDD 0 Comments

EMDR Intensives vs. Weekly Therapy: What If You Gave Yourself More Time to Heal?

Because understanding what hurt you and finally moving differently are two different things.

Girl, How Long Are We Going to Keep Talking About the Same Thing?

You know the pattern. You’ve talked about it, journaled about it, prayed about it, and maybe even spent months unpacking it in therapy.

Yet somehow, the same situations still trigger you. The same doubts creep in. You’re still overthinking, overgiving, or carrying responsibilities that were never yours to begin with.

And just when you’re getting to the good stuff in therapy, opening up, or things are starting to come together, your therapist says, “Well, we’re almost out of time.” Until you come back again next week, barring any life crisis or holidays, we start again.

Sound familiar?

If I can be honest, sometimes you don’t need another week of talking around the issue. You need more time to actually work through it.

And if you’re anything like me, you appreciate getting to the heart of things. Not rushing the process, but getting intentional about what really needs your attention instead of getting lost in the background noise.

That’s where EMDR intensives come in.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy approach that helps your brain process distressing experiences so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity.

EMDR intensives give you dedicated time to work on specific experiences, beliefs, or emotional patterns without having to squeeze everything into a traditional weekly appointment. This time lets your nervous system stay in the therapeutic work without that weekly reset, life distractions, procrastination, and avoidance. It’s room to finally focus on you.

ASK ME DIRECTLY ABOUT AN EMDR INTENSIVE

EMDR Intensives vs. Weekly Therapy: What’s the Difference?

Weekly EMDR therapy and EMDR intensives both offer opportunities for meaningful healing. The difference is how we use our time together.

Weekly therapy gives you consistent support over time. You get to explore what’s happening in your life, build coping skills, and work through experiences at a gradual pace.

EMDR intensives offer longer, focused sessions where we intentionally set aside time for the work you’ve been wanting to do. The therapy happens in a condensed period of time, like a 3-hour block; typically, these treatments occur on a Friday or weekend. It’s an opportunity to address an old hurt, a belief that’s been holding you back, a feeling, or a trigger that keeps showing up in your life. One or two intensive sessions can match months of traditional weekly therapy.

Neither approach is better for everyone. It’s about finding what fits your life and your needs.

What If You Didn’t Have to Keep Carrying It All?

Think about the things you’ve learned to live with.

The need to be everything for everybody. The voice that tells you you’re not doing enough. The hurt you’ve tucked away because life kept moving. The triggers that catch you off guard, even when you thought you were past all of that.

Imagine creating space to work through those experiences instead of continually working around them.

Not because an intensive can magically erase your past or guarantee a faster healing journey, but because you deserve uninterrupted time to explore what’s been weighing on you.

“Sometimes what we need isn’t another thing on our schedule. It’s dedicated space to finally focus on ourselves.”

— Amanda Fludd, LCSW-R

An intensive can help you loosen the grip of old experiences, challenge beliefs you’ve carried for years, and start responding to life from a different place.

Less feeling like you’re constantly bracing for something.

More room to breathe, make choices, and show up as the woman you’re becoming.

And that is worth making time for.

So, What Actually Happens During an EMDR Intensive?

First, we’re not throwing you into hours of difficult memories and hoping for the best.

There’s intention and care behind the process.

Consultation. We start with a conversation to see whether an intensive is right for you.
Preparation. We prepare together, identify what you want to focus on, and choose a time when you can be fully present.
Your intensive. We practice grounding techniques, get comfortable with EMDR’s eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, and work toward your agreed-upon goals, with breaks along the way.
Closing and next steps. We help you feel grounded, reflect on the experience, and plan your next steps.

This is your time. We honor your pace, your needs, and your readiness throughout the process.

Sometimes the Work Is Worth Taking a Chance On

“I was so scared to do it.”

— Sandra Bullock, speaking about EMDR therapy on Red Table Talk

Even Sandra Bullock has spoken about being nervous to try EMDR.

And that makes sense. The idea of revisiting difficult experiences can feel intimidating, especially when you’ve spent years figuring out how to keep going despite them.

You don’t have to have everything figured out before beginning. You just have to be open to exploring what support could look like.

And sometimes, hearing from someone who has experienced EMDR themselves makes all the difference.

“Amanda Fludd literally helped me heal. I am so grateful. It was beautiful and profound.”

— Sara Jane Wellock, Google review of Kensho Psychotherapy Services

Healing is deeply personal. No two people experience it exactly the same way, but stories like these remind us that change is possible.

Three Questions You Might Be Wondering About EMDR Intensives

1. Is an EMDR intensive worth it if I’ve already tried therapy?

It can be. Especially if you’ve gained insight into your experiences but still feel stuck in the same emotional reactions.

EMDR works differently from traditional talk therapy by helping you process distressing experiences and their emotional impact. An intensive provides a longer, focused treatment window.

It’s not a guarantee of faster results, but it may be another way to approach work you feel ready to address.

2. Can I do an EMDR intensive if I already have a therapist?

Absolutely worth exploring! You may be able to continue seeing your regular therapist while working with an EMDR clinician on a particular concern.

With your permission, we can discuss how the work fits with your existing treatment and coordinate care when appropriate.

3. What happens after an EMDR intensive?

You might feel lighter, tired, reflective, or notice emotions continuing to surface. Everyone processes differently.

That’s why we prepare before treatment, incorporate grounding during the session, and discuss aftercare and follow-up.

You won’t be expected to figure out your next steps alone.

Want to Hear More About EMDR Intensives?

Sometimes hearing a real conversation helps you decide whether something is worth exploring.

Maybe It’s Time to Make Room for You.

You’ve made room for your career, your family, your responsibilities, and everybody else’s needs.

What would it look like to give yourself that same level of intention?

I’m Amanda Fludd, LCSW-R, trauma therapist and founder of Kensho Psychotherapy Services in Lynbrook, New York.

I work with women who are tired of being held back by old experiences, familiar patterns, and the pressure to keep it all together.

Through EMDR therapy and intensives, we create space to work through what’s been weighing on you, with care, intention, and a plan that fits your needs.

We offer in-person EMDR intensives in Lynbrook, Long Island, and virtual options for eligible New York residents. Even if you are not in NY, you can fly in, and we’ll curate a weekend healing experience for you.

Not sure which format makes sense for you? That’s exactly what the consultation is for.

You don’t have to keep making peace with patterns you’re ready to change.

BOOK YOUR EMDR INTENSIVE CONSULTATION

Kensho Psychotherapy Services | Lynbrook, NY
Written by Amanda Fludd, LCSW-R

Individual experiences vary, and EMDR intensives are not appropriate for everyone. Treatment recommendations are based on clinical assessment, readiness, and individual needs.

Podcast — Grace, Growth & Business: gracegrowthandbusiness.buzzsprout.com · About EMDR Intensives: amandafludd.com/therapyintensive · Contact: amanda@amandafludd.com

emotion regulation for black women image. black woman looking worried and looking outside her car

Mental Health Self-Care & Mental Health Therapy anger management • coping skills • emotional regulation • how to regulate emotions • Long Island therapy • Lynbrook therapist • managing emotions • therapy for emotional regulation September 22, 2026 By AMANDA FLUDD 0 Comments

What Is Emotional Regulation? Skills and Therapy Support

Have you ever had an emotion go from 0 to 100 before you had time to figure out what was happening? Maybe you got angry and said something you didn’t mean, shut down during a difficult conversation, or felt so overwhelmed you just wanted to get away from the situation.

We all experience anger, sadness, anxiety, frustration, and other difficult emotions. The challenge isn’t having these emotions. It’s knowing what to do when they show up.

We aren’t born knowing how to manage our emotions. We learn these skills through modeling, instruction, experience, and practice. Without those skills, emotions can feel like they take over quickly, leading us to react in ways that may create more stress, affect our relationships, or leave us wishing we had handled the situation differently.

That’s where emotional regulation comes in.

So, What Is Emotional Regulation?

Simply put, emotional regulation means managing your feelings and responding in ways that are more helpful than harmful.

When emotions like anger, sadness, or anxiety show up, emotional regulation is knowing what to do with them. It can look like noticing what you’re feeling, giving yourself time and space to process it, and choosing how you want to respond.

That space can be the hardest part.

Let’s say you’re in a big argument with one of your closest friends. Your anger or frustration can go from 0 to 100 pretty quickly, and you may feel it in your body. Your energy starts rising. Your voice gets louder or even cracks a little. Your muscles tense. Maybe you cry when you’re upset. Your instinct might be to leave the situation, shut down, or react immediately.

All of this can happen fast.

Before you’ve had time to process what you’re feeling, you may say something you regret or respond in a way you didn’t intend.

When we don’t have the skills to slow that process down, our emotions can hit us hard and quickly get overwhelming. We may react in ways that aren’t helpful or aren’t consistent with what we actually want.

Learning to manage emotions doesn’t mean you won’t get angry with that friend, lose your cool, or struggle to shake off heavy feelings. It means building the ability to notice what’s happening, create space, and decide what you want to do next in that experience.

What Does Managing Your Emotions Actually Look Like?

If something makes me feel better, does that mean it’s helping me manage my emotions?

Not necessarily.

Everyone has different ways of dealing with difficult emotions. Some strategies help us create enough space to process what we’re feeling and respond more intentionally. Others give us short-term relief but create more problems later. They may feel like they’re helping us manage the emotion when we’re actually avoiding it.

When Coping Brings Relief but Creates More Problems

Some strategies may reduce emotional discomfort in the moment but aren’t useful to us over time. This might look like:

Using alcohol or other substances to numb what you’re feeling
Self-harm as a way to cope with overwhelming emotions
Withdrawing from difficult situations or immediately cutting people off rather than addressing what happened
Escalating to verbal or physical aggression
Spending hours scrolling or doomscrolling on social media to avoid what you’re feeling while other responsibilities get neglected

These behaviors can create temporary distance from the emotion, but they don’t necessarily help us understand or work through what’s happening.

Healthier Ways to Make Space for Your Emotions

More useful strategies give an emotion’s intensity space to come down. As the intensity decreases, you can better understand what you’re feeling and choose how you want to respond. Who doesn’t want that?

This might mean walking away from a heated conversation and returning when you’re calmer. It could mean getting adequate sleep so you’re less vulnerable to feeling overwhelmed or easily triggered. You might notice the thoughts that show up when you’re upset and write them down in a journal instead of reacting immediately. When you review those thoughts, you may realize they don’t represent what you actually feel or want.

Breathing exercises or meditation can also help you slow down and notice what is happening in your body. Check out this quick 90 second breath reset to help bring down reactions. And sometimes, you may need to bring what you’re noticing into therapy, where you have more space to understand the patterns underneath your reactions.

The goal isn’t to get rid of your emotions. It’s to experience them better without letting the intensity of the moment decide what happens next.

How Can Therapy Help You Manage Your Emotions?

Therapy can help you develop emotional regulation skills so you can make healthier decisions, communicate more effectively, and feel more connected in your relationships.

Many therapeutic approaches can support this work. One is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT can help you understand the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. You can begin to recognize what triggers strong emotional reactions, notice the thoughts that come up in those moments, and practice different ways of responding.

At Kensho Psychotherapy Services, our therapists use evidence-based approaches to help you better understand their emotional patterns and build skills for managing difficult emotions.

If your emotions regularly feel like they’re “too much,” you’ve been told you’re “too sensitive,” or it feels like your emotions control you instead of the other way around, you can learn skills to change how you show up in your life. If you’re looking for support, it might be time to book a therapy appointment and have a safe space to better understand your emotional patterns and practice new ways of responding. Are you ready? Because we are ready to support you.

Learning these skills doesn’t mean you never feel angry, anxious, sad, disappointed, or overwhelmed. It means getting better at understanding what you’re feeling, making space for it, and deciding what you want to do next. That is powerful.

Article written by Intern Illiana Townsend, with support from Amanda Fludd, LCSW-R

Kensho Psychotherapy Services provides psychotherapy in Lynbrook, Nassau County, and online throughout New York.

EMDR Intensives:
Talking about it isn’t enough? If you want deeper relief, learn about EMDR Intensives at Kensho.

Struggling with overthinking? Watch my YouTube videos on quieting racing thoughts. Let us know what you find helpful.

Anxiety EMDR anxiety therapy • EMDR for anxiety • EMDR for Black women • EMDR intensive • EMDR intensive Long Island • EMDR Lynbrook NY • EMDR Therapy • Kensho Psychotherapy • trauma therapy September 10, 2026 By AMANDA FLUDD 0 Comments

What Is an EMDR Intensive? How It May Help With Anxiety

There are lots of different ways to heal, and one type of therapy that I don’t think is talked about enough is EMDR. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was originally developed to help people heal from trauma, but we are also seeing how EMDR may help people work through other concerns like anxiety, emotional overwhelm, and some of the negative beliefs we have about ourselves.

I think this is especially important for Black women because we can get really good at pushing through things. You may know all the coping skills, know that you are capable, and even understand where some of your patterns come from, but still have this feeling of I’m not enough or I have to get everything right.

Sometimes knowing something logically doesn’t necessarily change how it feels in your body or how you react when something triggers you.

There is also growing research looking at EMDR beyond PTSD. A 2026 meta-analysis looked at 40 randomized controlled trials with 2,064 participants and found that EMDR was associated with reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms (Ajele, Ramonkga, & Idemudia, 2026). The researchers also noted considerable differences across the studies, and EMDR’s advantage over other established psychotherapies remains less certain.

This research is important because people often hear EMDR and automatically think it is only for major trauma, when people may also be dealing with anxiety and emotional reactions that continue to get in their way.

What Is an EMDR Intensive?

An EMDR intensive is a more concentrated, focused way of doing EMDR therapy, and it can be a magical experience when done with a trained EMDR Therapist. Traditional EMDR might happen once a week or every other week, and sessions may be around 45–60 minutes. With an intensive, we have more time to really focus on the issue you came in to work on. I like to think of it like going to the gym. Yes, you can go to the gym for 45 minutes once a week and still see some results, but when you go consistently, or have the opportunity to take a focused class that asks more of you, maybe has more guidance, or is so dialed in to an area that you see better results.

It’s similar to what happens with an intensive. Instead of spreading the work out over many shorter sessions, you get a longer block of time to stay focused on the issue you’re trying to address.

At Kensho Psychotherapy, we might do several 90-minute sessions closer together, a three-hour intensive, six hours, or even create a more retreat-style experience over a few days. It really depends on the needs of the individual and what makes sense for them.

How Is an EMDR Intensive Different From Weekly Therapy?

One of the things I really like about the intensive format is that we don’t lose as much time to all the other fires that can happen in weekly therapy as you navigate life.

Maybe you couldn’t make therapy last week, something happened at work this week, or now there’s a family situation you need to talk about. All of that is important, but before you know it, you haven’t gotten back to the original thing you wanted to address, like why do I keep sabotaging my progress, the feeling of “stuckness,” despite being in therapy, or the fears that quickly activate as you step into challenging situations. Sometimes the busyness of life can become distractions.

With an intensive, we already know what we’re coming in to focus on, and we’ve taken the time to prepare you for the work. That gives us more uninterrupted time to stay with the issue instead of having to stop and come back to it another week and hope to spend some time on it.

That focused time is one of the things that makes intensives different from doing EMDR or traditional weekly therapy.

Can EMDR Intensives Help With Anxiety?

You may already know how to challenge an anxious thought, practice grounding, take a breath, or remind yourself that you’re capable. But when something triggers you, those tools can suddenly feel much harder to access.

EMDR may help us look at some of the experiences, emotional reactions, or negative beliefs underneath that response. For example, the anxiety you feel before making a mistake at work may be connected to a deeper belief such as If I get this wrong, I’m a failure, This will go horribly wrong, or I have to be perfect to be safe or accepted.

Sometimes you can’t affirm your way out of an emotional experience or tell yourself to stop being anxious or worried. Your system just won’t respond. It needs a heavy duty approach to work with the experiences and reactions connected to those beliefs driving your anxiety.

So yes, EMDR can help with anxiety, not just trauma or PTSD. It can also support people struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, overthinking, perfectionism, or similar negative beliefs about themselves.

Are EMDR Intensives for Everyone?

EMDR intensives aren’t for everyone. It’s a good idea to start with a consultation so a provider can help you assess where you are emotionally, what you want to work on, and whether this is the right approach for you. Remember, there is more than one way to heal, and we want to find what is right for you.

The good thing about intensives is that you don’t have to be in regular therapy with us to do an intensive.

For example, you might already be working with a CBT therapist and have really good tools for managing anxiety, but find that when you get triggered, it is still really hard to access those tools. An intensive may focus on some of the experiences or beliefs underneath that reaction and reduce the reactivity there. That emotional space the work creates often makes work with other providers or modalities more accessible. It’s a good adjunct to that work, if you will.

If you already have a therapist you trust, you don’t have to switch therapists to work with us. You can come to Kensho specifically for the EMDR intensive and continue working with your regular therapist afterward.

Have more questions? In the video below, I answer what people ask most before booking: whether an EMDR intensive is worth it, how it differs from weekly therapy, whether you can keep your current therapist, who it tends to be a good fit for, and why focused, dedicated time can work well for busy professionals working through anxiety, trauma, and patterns that keep getting in the way.

EMDR Intensives at Kensho Psychotherapy Services

At Kensho Psychotherapy Services, we offer EMDR therapy and EMDR intensives in different formats. We only schedule a limited number of intensives each month and start with a free consultation so we can learn more about what you want to address and determine whether an intensive may be a good fit.

We offer EMDR in person in Lynbrook, Nassau County, New York, and online for clients throughout New York State. We can also talk with you about a more customized intensive experience if you are traveling in to NY for the work.

If you’re curious about EMDR or feel like you’ve done a lot of talking and understanding but something still isn’t shifting, an intensive may be worth exploring.

Learn more about individual therapy and EMDR services at Kensho Psychotherapy Services: https://amandafludd.com/therapyintensive/

Contributor: Amanda Fludd, LCSW-R, EMDR Therapist

Reference

Ajele, K. W., Ramonkga, B. N., & Idemudia, E. S. (2026). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing outcomes in depression and anxiety: Evidence from a meta-analysis. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 20, Article 0033. https://doi.org/10.34133/jemdr.0033

Anxiety Therapy Anxiety • anxiety relief • anxiety therapy • coping skills • Mental Health • New York therapist • radical acceptance • self-compassion • Therapy July 30, 2026 By AMANDA FLUDD 0 Comments

Fighting Your Anxiety Can Make It Feel Worse— What to Try Instead.

Dealing with anxiety can be incredibly frustrating and feel like a major inconvenience in your life. It’s normal to find yourself thinking, “Why can’t I just relax?” or “Why can’t I stop being this way and just be normal?”

When we’re overwhelmed by anxiety, our knee-jerk reaction is often to become angry, frustrated, ashamed, or critical of ourselves for feeling that way. We start ruminating over what’s “wrong” with us, fearing our reactions, or wishing we could simply turn the anxiety off. The problem is that none of those responses make the anxiety go away, and it often makes it worse. That’s when many people unknowingly find themselves in a fight with their own anxiety

Why Fighting Anxiety Can Make It Feel Worse

Anxiety is hard enough on its own. What often makes it even harder is the fight that begins inside of you once it shows up. Instead of responding with curiosity, we often respond with criticism. We tell ourselves we shouldn’t feel this way, try to force the anxiety to disappear, or become frustrated that we can’t simply “calm down.” Before long, we’re no longer just dealing with anxiety, we’re battling ourselves for having it.

You might notice you’re caught in that fight if your inner dialogue sounds like:

“I should be able to handle this.”
“Why am I always like this?”
“This isn’t even a big deal.”
“I need to stop feeling this way.”

Or maybe it shows up in your actions instead. You avoid making the phone call. You stay inside because going out feels overwhelming. You procrastinate on the task you’ve been thinking about all week. You replay conversations in your head, search for reassurance, or spend hours trying to figure out why you feel this way. It all makes sense: you’re trying to feel better, but that’s why this fight is so exhausting. The more you argue with your anxiety, the more attention you give it. The more attention you give it, the bigger it begins to feel.

Before you know it, you’re no longer just anxious… you’re anxious about being anxious

The Role of Radical Acceptance in Managing Anxiety

One skill that can help you respond differently is radical acceptance.

Radical acceptance means acknowledging what is happening in the present moment without trying to control it. It is the practice of recognizing, “This is what I am feeling right now,” even if you do not like it and want things to be different.

At first, accepting anxiety may sound counterproductive, but noticing what’s happening, giving it a name, deciding not to channel your energy into criticism, or what is out of your control, actually helps you to find the control button in your life.

Radical acceptance says I notice this thing happening to me, and I don’t have to be hard on myself for having this experience. It welcomes the experience as an opportunity for learning or adjustments. It doesn’t mean you agree with the experience, but it allows you to stop creatively running from it.

You might say:

“I feel anxious right now. I do not like this feeling, but I do not have to attack myself for having it.”

That response creates more space than telling yourself: “I cannot feel like this.”

Acceptance Does Not Mean Approval

As we said, accepting your anxiety does not mean that you enjoy it, or want it to remain in a way that continues to interrupt your life. You can accept that you feel anxious and still:

use coping strategies
leave an unhealthy situation
set a boundary
ask for support
book that therapy appointment to address it
work toward reducing your symptoms
make changes in your life

We are simply encouraging you to find your healing and stay in the moment without adding shame, blame, or an internal battle. That typically is what makes the experience of anxiety worse.

Coping Statements for Anxiety

Practicing radical acceptance can look like using coping statements, which help ground you in the present moment and remind you that you are in control and able to handle difficult situations and strong emotions. It won’t magically erase anxiety, but it can help you respond to it with more balance and self-compassion.

You might try:

“This feeling is uncomfortable, but I can get through it.”
“I can feel anxious and still deal with this situation.”
“I do not have to solve everything in this moment.”
“I cannot change what has already happened, but I can choose my next step.”
“Fighting this feeling is making it harder. I can relax and breathe and let it float away without judging myself.”
“I accept this moment as it is.”

Choose one statement that feels believable to you and practice it often. For example, saying, “Everything is fine,” may not help when you do not feel fine. Saying, “I feel overwhelmed, but I can take one small step,” may feel more honest and grounding.

How to Practice Radical Acceptance When Anxiety Shows Up

The next time you notice your anxiety increasing, try pausing before immediately attempting to push it away.

Start by naming what is happening: “My chest feels tight. My thoughts are moving quickly. I am worried that something will go wrong.”

Then separate what you are experiencing from the story your anxiety may be creating: “I am feeling afraid, but that does not automatically mean something bad will happen.”

Next, if you want deeper insights, ask yourself:

What is true in this moment?
What part of this situation can I control?
What am I trying to force or change right now?
What would be a supportive next step?

Your next step may be to take several slow breaths, step outside, write down your thoughts, delay a decision until you feel more grounded, or reach out to someone you trust.

We are not trying to be perfectly calm. Your goal is to bring the feelings down a few degrees and reduce any self-criticism for having a human emotional response. This will create more space for navigating the situation skillfully.

How Anxiety Therapy Can Help

Therapy is a good place to help you put all this together and improve the skills needed to navigate anxiety. It can be difficult to identify your anxiety patterns on your own, or consistently be skillful, especially when they have been present for a long time.

Therapy can help you better understand:

what situations tend to activate your anxiety
how anxiety shows up in your thoughts and body
whether past experiences are influencing current reactions
which coping strategies work best for you
how to respond without becoming overwhelmed by shame or self-criticism

At Kensho Psychotherapy Services in Nassau County, our therapists help clients explore the experiences beneath anxiety while developing practical ways to manage overthinking, physical tension, avoidance, and intense emotions.

Therapy is not only about learning how to calm down. It can also help you understand why certain situations feel so difficult and build a more compassionate, effective relationship with yourself.

Final Thoughts

Nobody enjoys feeling anxious. However, constantly fighting, judging, or criticizing yourself for having anxiety often makes the experience more intense.

Radical acceptance offers a different approach. It allows you to acknowledge what you are feeling without giving the anxiety complete control over what you do next.

You can feel anxious and still take care of yourself. You can feel uncomfortable and still make a thoughtful decision. You can accept what is happening in the present moment while continuing to work toward healing and change.

Kensho Psychotherapy Services offers anxiety therapy and mental health counseling for adults and teens navigating overthinking, stress, trauma, relationship concerns, and longstanding emotional patterns. Our practice is located in Lynbrook, New York, and we offer online therapy to clients throughout New York State if you can’t make it in person.

To learn more about anxiety therapy or schedule a consultation with Kensho Psychotherapy Services, click Book Appointment.

This piece was written with the help of Mental Health Intern Illiana Townsend, who is passionate about helping others better understand anxiety and develop healthier ways of responding to it.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you believe there is an immediate danger to yourself or someone else, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does accepting anxiety make it worse?
Accepting anxiety does not mean focusing on it or encouraging it to grow. Radical acceptance can help reduce the additional stress caused by fighting, judging, or fearing the anxiety itself.

Can therapy help me understand what triggers my anxiety?
Yes. Therapy can help you identify situations, thoughts, body sensations, and past experiences that may contribute to anxiety. A therapist can also help you develop coping strategies that fit how anxiety specifically shows up in your life.

Do you accept insurance for therapy?

Yes. Kensho Psychotherapy Services accepts several insurance for therapy, including Aetna, 1199SEIU, Oxford, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Cigna, Northwell Direct, and Lyra EAP. We also welcome private-pay (self-pay) clients.

If you’re unsure whether your insurance is accepted or have questions about using your benefits, we’d be happy to help you understand your options before scheduling your first appointment. Contact us at 347-868-7813 or click HERE, and we’ll guide you through the process.

EMDR Therapy Therapy Black Therapist in NYC • Black Women & Mental Health • EMDR Therapy • overthinking • Therapy for Anxiety • trauma therapy April 1, 2026 By AMANDA FLUDD 0 Comments

Why Old Wounds Still Hurt (Even When You Thought You Moved On)

Life spoiler alert.

You can be doing well in your life—career, family, responsibilities—and still find yourself reacting in ways that don’t make sense… aka, acting an emotional fool.

You get triggered.
And suddenly it feels big, emotional, and hard to control, like the world has wronged you, or you’re the one in the wrong and now don’t deserve the best out of life.

It’s like a full throwback moment—everything activating at once like Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
Your thoughts, emotions, old beliefs, overwhelm… all combining like:

“By your powers combined… we are your childhood wounds.”

All of that… from one moment.

Not because what just happened was that serious…
But because something deeper got activated.

When It’s Not Just About What Happened

Here’s what most people don’t realize:

When you’re triggered, you’re not just reacting to what’s happening in that moment; instead, it could be that your mind is reaching for the difficult things you carry that no one sees, but your brain still remembers.

Your reactions have deep stories.

Something in the moment feels familiar, like the tone of a supervisor, the judgmental look of your partner, the way someone responded, or even the feeling of being dismissed. And before you can catch what is happening, your nervous system connects to those older experiences, and unexpected things resurface.

It’s subtle, but powerful.

All of a sudden, it’s not just about the conversation you’re having. It starts to feel like something bigger is at stake. Like you’re not safe. Like you’re about to be embarrassed. Like you’re not enough, your needs don’t matter, or you don’t belong.

And that’s the part that catches people off guard.

Because on the outside, the moment might seem small. But internally, your body is responding to something that feels much more significant. Your brain is pulling from a stored memory—not just the present moment.

That’s a trauma response, friends, and it’s happening more than you realize. That’s why your reaction can feel so strong, so fast, and sometimes even confusing.

How Most People Handle Triggers

Most people fall into one of two patterns:

1. Avoidance

“I don’t want to go there.”
“I’m not dealing with that.”

You avoid the conversation, the feeling, or the person. Sometimes you may even freeze, where you lose your thoughts or words, disconnect from the moment and hardly feel present in your body, or get so overwhelmed with panic, you can’t show up the way you want.

And honestly—this makes sense, because triggers are uncomfortable. However, when you avoid the trigger, you also avoid the healing connected to it.

2. Confronting (but without support)

Some people say:

“I’m ready. I just need to deal with it.”

And that matters.

But going back alone can feel overwhelming or lead to reliving the experience rather than resolving it. You really need a good set of resources to help you emotionally and with the logistics of resolution.

Why You Go From 0 to 100 So Fast

This is the part that’s hard to understand.

Why do I feel like this?
Why did I react like that?
This wasn’t even that serious.
Why can’t I handle this better?

It’s the moment panic creeps in before a meeting.
When it suddenly feels like people are against you.
When you look up and realize it’s been years since you’ve moved toward what you actually want.

And you can’t quite explain how you got there.

Your body responded. Quickly. Quietly. Automatically.

But it wasn’t random.
It was your system pulling from something deeper—an older imprint, a familiar feeling, a moment your body hasn’t fully let go of yet.

So no, you’re not doing too much. You’re responding to more than what’s visible. And when you begin to understand that, something shifts. The question moves from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What is this connected to?” That’s where healing begins. That’s where you start showing up not just as the version of you that copes, but as the version of you that feels grounded, clear, and fully in control of herself again.

Why EMDR Therapy Can Help

And this is the work.

Not just understanding yourself, but actually having the space and support to work through what’s underneath those reactions so they don’t keep showing up the same way.

Because insight alone doesn’t always change the response. You can know exactly why you feel the way you do and still find yourself reacting the same way in the moment.

EMDR therapy helps your brain process what’s been stored, so those triggers don’t hit as hard or take over as quickly. You’re not just talking about it. You’re actually helping your system understand and release it. This is the freedom so many of our clients experience.

When you begin to answer that deeper question, things don’t land the same. You feel more grounded, confident, clear, and more like yourself again.

If you’re ready for that kind of work, we’d love to support you.

Work With Us – Kensho Psychotherapy (Lynbrook, NY)

At Kensho Psychotherapy, we specialize in working with high-functioning adults who feel:

Stuck in overthinking
Emotionally overwhelmed
Reactive in ways they don’t fully understand

We offer:

📍 Located in Lynbrook, NY
💻 Virtual therapy available across New York State

We currently have in-person and virtual therapy openings available.

If you’re ready to stop managing the same patterns and actually work through them, you can reach out to get started.

Common Questions

Who is EMDR therapy for?

EMDR is helpful for individuals dealing with anxiety, trauma, overthinking, self-sabotage, perfectionism, emotional triggers, and patterns that feel hard to break—even when you understand them logically.

Do you offer regular therapy or only intensives?

At Kensho Psychotherapy, we offer both. Many clients work with us for anxiety, stress, relationship challenges, and life transitions through ongoing therapy or choose intensives for more focused work. EMDR is where healing can happen in a shorter period of time.

Do you only work with women?

We primarily work with high-functioning women—especially Black and Brown professionals—but we also see men, couples, and some teens and young adults navigating anxiety, identity, and life in the practice. It’s best to give us a call, and we can discuss your situation and best fit.

Where are you located?

We are based in Lynbrook, NY, and serve clients across Nassau County, Valley Stream, and nearby NYC. We also offer virtual therapy throughout New York State.

Do you accept insurance?

Kensho Psychotherapy accepts insurance for ongoing therapy, including plans such as Aetna, 1199, Northwell Direct, Oxford, UHC, Optum, Cigna, and Lyra. We also work with clients who choose to pay privately.

EMDR intensives are not covered by insurance due to the specialized format and extended session times. These sessions are designed to go deeper in a shorter period of time and are offered as a private pay service.

Current EMDR Intensive rates:

$300 for 90 minutes
$600 for 3 hours
$1200 for 6 hours or a full-day intensive

If you’re unsure what makes the most sense for you, we’re happy to walk you through your options when you reach out.

Want to Learn More First?

If you’d rather understand how EMDR Intensives work before reaching out, you can watch the full video where I break this down in more detail.

👉 What Happens When Your Past Has A Grip On Your Present

If you are ready to book a therapy appointment, just leave your details HERE.

Amanda Fludd is a licensed trauma therapist, executive coach, and the founder of Kensho Psychotherapy in Lynbrook, NY, where she works with high-functioning women navigating anxiety, overthinking, and emotional overwhelm. Her work blends trauma-informed therapy with practical, real-life insight to help clients move beyond coping and into clarity.

She offers EMDR intensives through Kensho Psychotherapy, while her team also provides ongoing therapy for anxiety, stress, relationships, and life transitions.

Book now!!