Terrorism, Trauma, Vulnerability and Resilience – Trying to Make Sense of it All

by Veronica Vaiti, LCSW-R

An inconceivable, horrific violent event happens. We are startled, Paris Attackfrightened and move to band together, rise up to face the wickedness of it all, hearts heavy searching for what we can do whether its hands on support or sending prayers and a vigil from far away. The need for connection and support is inborn and in times of crisis it’s hard to ignore and a necessity for healing.

The attacks in Paris, random stabbings in Israel, shootings in Mali, or insert name of yet another school … Read More

Reclaiming Psychological and Emotional Freedom

by Veronica Vaiti, LCSW-R

Reclaiming psychological and emotional freedomEven though we live in a “free” country I question how truly free many of us experience ourselves to be. Being a therapist, I spend many hours of my days sitting and listening to different people who don’t exactly feel so free in life.

I hear people express how they feel trapped by debt, financial worries, social pressure and social stigma. They feel hindered by anxiety, fear, anger and depression, and imprisoned in dysfunctional or abusive relationships or personal disillusionment. Everyone it seems is dealing with … Read More

Why Do I Feel SO Guilty and How Do I Get Over It???

by Veronica Vaiti, LCSW-R

The topic of grappling with guilt is an all too familiar one for a lot of people and it is a recurring theme  in sessions with many of my clients and quite frankly, one I’ve wrestled with myself.   Guilt is a powerful and simultaneously wretched emotional state, one we are at once all too eager to rid ourselves of yet can’t seem to climb out from underneath its weight. Like most uncomfortable and unwanted feeling states, if we tend to it with care and curiosity, the … Read More

Understanding The Phenomena of Mass Murder Shootings and Social Isolation

by Veronica Vaiti, LCSW-R

The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December of 2012 has left many of us dumbfounded and heartbroken. In the discussions following the deadly shooting contributors from the medial and mental health field devoted ample time to trying to provide a rational explanation for such an irrational act. According to figures extracted from Mother Jones, since 1982 there have been 62 mass shootings in the USA, twenty five of those shootings have occurred since 2006.  These numbers indicate that the mass shooting incident rates … Read More

Managing Your Feelings During The Holidays

by Veronica Vaiti, LCSW-R

The holidays are finally here!!! Time to break out your jingle bells and celebrate, right? Not so fast. For many people, instead of looking forward to a big bag of gifts and joy, many experience the holidays as a mixed bag of misery and despair, a syndrome we at NYC Therapy Group refer to as, “holidepression“. We describe Holidepression as a syndrome in which an individual, couple or family experiences one or more of the following feeling states that is triggered by the holiday … Read More