About Dr. Susan Nathiel
Education and Training
After attending Earlham College and New York University, I earned my BA from NYU. I then earned a M.A and A.B.D in Clinical Psychology from the Univ. of Connecticut, and later a Ph.D in Family Therapy also from the Univ. of Connecticut.
I have training and experience in traditional therapeutic methods: psychodynamic, existential, CBT, systems, and so forth. I’ve also had post-graduate training in Gestalt therapy, as well as extensive training and supervision in family and couple’s therapy using a variety of approaches. In my work with couples and families I draw from family systems, structural, multi-generational and existential approaches.
I was also privileged to work with Carl Whitaker, (one of the founders of the field of family therapy) both in training and in bringing my own family of origin to work with him for a weekend.
I use EMDR and Somatic Experiencing in my work with individuals. Both of these approaches tap more directly into the workings of the brain and nervous system, and draw on recent research in resolving the aftermath of traumatic events. I also encourage the use of imagery and alternative narratives in working on negative patterns of behavior and thinking that are repetitive and difficult to change. See the links to those modalities.
Professional Affiliations
Center for Family Illness: I was a founding member of this organization, one of the first clinical groups to address the problems of chronic and life-threatening illnesses or disabilities and their impact on families. We offered psycho-education and education outreach as well as psychotherapy informed by sensitivity to the unique issues related to illness and its psychological impacts. This group was in formal operation from 1987-1992.
Connecticut Psychotherapists Guild: I was a founding member of this group, organized in 1995 in response to changes in the health insurance industry. We were committed to protecting privacy and choice in psychotherapy and educating consumers about privacy issues and health insurance practices.
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Connecticut Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Chieron Society for the History of the Behavioral Sciences
EMDR International Association
Somatic Experiencing Association
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a body-oriented trauma treatment developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. It has been extremely effective in treating PTSD and is recognized as a front-line modality for trauma by the American Psychiatric Association. It is used both with single-incident trauma (it was used extensively with survivors of 9-11) and with childhood trauma. It can also be useful in treating other psychological difficulties. It addresses the dysfunction of the right and left sides of the brain after trauma and aims to restore integrated functioning.
See www.emdr.com/general-information for more information.
Close WindowWhat is Somatic Experiencing?
This is a concept originated by Dr. Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger and In an Unheard Voice. His research and experience for over 40 years have enabled him to develop a special approach to physical and emotional trauma, based on core-level responses of the nervous system to traumatic events. “The body remembers” trauma, just as the mind does, and SE is a naturalistic therapy for addressing it. Peter Levine is an internationally recognized expert on trauma, stress consultant for NASA during the space shuttle development, and 2010 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy.
Somatic Experiencing has been taught internationally and is increasingly recognized as a valuable clinical approach. It has been used with good results with combat veterans, rape survivors, accident victims, and is also effective with the after-effects of medical and surgical procedures as well as such conditions as chronic pain.
See www.somaticexperiencing.com for more information.
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