Tanya Neiman

I specialize in helping adults with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, trauma, and complex trauma.

** My practice currently prioritizes clients in the Mid-Hudson Valley and those in direct service and helping professions, such as therapists, teachers, first responders, veterans, healthcare workers, and essential and frontline workers. **

I'm a trauma and EMDR therapist and LCSW licensed in New York and Connecticut, with eight years of experience rooted in crisis work. I've worked with families facing hardship and people in corporate and executive careers, and I have experience in disaster mental health and in critical incident stress management for first responders. I understand people under the highest levels of stress, both personally through my own experiences, and professionally.

I don't believe trauma has to be something we simply live with, or something that defines us. When we look at ourselves through a nervous system lens, we start to see a nervous system that adapted to survive, and one that can learn to do something new.

A self-regulation approach asks, "How do I calm myself down?" A capacity approach asks, "How can I build a nervous system that doesn't need to be calmed down every time life gets hard?" That second question is where I work. I start with the body and emotional experience before cognitive understanding, which helps us reach what's hard to put into words, leading to real shifts.

You can't talk your way out of a nervous system that is responding the way it learned to. So while we do talk, the work goes beyond talking about what's wrong.

I use evidence-based approaches, including EMDR, Flash Therapy, somatic-focused techniques, and IFS/parts work, to address not only thoughts and behaviors but also the emotional and physical responses tied to them. The aim is to give your nervous system new experiences that contradict old patterns, then build on them until they become how you live.

I believe the best therapy is relationship-based. I work collaboratively, build on your strengths, and actively challenge traditional power dynamics in the therapy room. Therapy shouldn't be one-sided. It's a partnership where we're both engaged in the work. Sometimes that means slowing things down or gently challenging a story you've told many times.

Before starting therapy, I schedule a free 15-minute consultation to make sure we're a good fit.

Once we decide to work together, our first session is about getting to know you and what you would like to get out of therapy. Together, we look at recurring themes in your life and the areas where you feel stuck.

I'll ask about your history, your supports, how you have been coping, and other parts of your life. You don't need to tell me everything or relive the hardest moments in the first session. We go at a pace that works for you.