Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling Services Review

In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining good mental health is very important for overall well-being. 

Counseling clinics play a vital role in supporting individuals through life’s challenges and providing the necessary tools and guidance to achieve mental wellness. 

Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling stands out as an exemplary clinic dedicated to offering compassionate and effective mental health care to individuals of all ages. 

In this article, we will explore the wide range of services offered by Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling and how they can assist you in your journey toward better mental health.

About Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling

Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling is a dedicated counseling center located in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn, New York. 

This center provides a safe and confidential environment where clients can address and work through issues that negatively impact their lives. 

Their compassionate staff welcomes individuals from all diverse groups, including those with mental health diagnoses, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the underprivileged.

The center offers support for a variety of specific and general problems, ranging from particular mental illnesses to sources of life stress. 

The clinicians at Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling provide specialized care through various therapeutic approaches. 

They work collaboratively with clients to set attainable therapeutic goals and implement effective interventions.

As an outpatient mental health center, Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling is committed to making mental health care accessible and affordable. 

They accept most major health plans, ensuring that their services are available to a wide range of clients.

Mental Health Services Provided By Life In Progress

Life in Progress offers a variety of mental health services, such as:

1. Individual Therapy

Life In Progress offers individual therapy, where clinicians work one-on-one with clients in a safe, caring, and confidential environment. 

They offer personalized strategies and skill-building approaches, aimed at helping clients manage symptoms and implement effective coping skills. 

This approach ensures that each client receives the support they need to develop long-lasting improvements in their mental health and overall well-being.

2. Couples Therapy

Couples therapy at Life In Progress is designed to help partners maintain and establish healthier and more fulfilling relationships. 

This service focuses on improving communication and conflict resolution skills, helping couples reconnect and overcome past hurts. 

Whether dealing with minor disagreements or significant relational challenges, couples therapy can provide the tools and support needed to strengthen and enhance the relationship.

3. Child Therapy

Life In Progress also offers specialized therapy for children experiencing different behavioral and psychological symptoms.

These may include anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), irritability, school refusal, academic problems, difficulty making friends, school anxiety, social anxiety, and trauma. 

Their clinicians work closely with both the child and their family to address these issues, providing support and interventions to promote a healthier emotional and psychological state.

4. Family Therapy

Family therapy services are designed to assist family members in improving communication, identifying dysfunctional behaviors and patterns, and learning healthy conflict-resolution skills. 

This approach helps families develop more adaptive ways of relating to each other, creating a supportive and harmonious home environment. 

By addressing the family unit as a whole, this therapy aims to enhance relationships and resolve conflicts effectively.

5. CBT for Insomnia

Life In Progress also provides cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, helping clients understand the underlying causes of their sleep difficulties. 

This therapy addresses the three different factors—predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating—that contribute to insomnia over time. 

Clients will learn techniques to improve their sleep patterns and overall quality of life, tackling the root causes of their insomnia and developing healthy sleep habits.

6. Treatment for Perinatal and Postpartum Mood Disorders

The clinic offers treatment for perinatal and postpartum mood disorders, supporting women experiencing depression, anxiety, or other mood-related challenges during and after pregnancy.

Their clinicians provide compassionate care and evidence-based treatments to help mothers navigate this critical period, ensuring both their well-being and the well-being of their children.

7. Treatment for Grief and Loss

Services are also available for individuals dealing with grief and loss, helping them process their emotions and find healthy ways to cope. 

This therapy aims to support clients through one of life’s most challenging experiences, fostering resilience and emotional recovery.

8. Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment Services

Substance abuse and addiction treatment services are available at Life in Progress.

Clinicians work one-on-one with clients to develop individualized treatment plans, providing crisis consultations and ongoing support to promote daily stability. 

Clients are assisted in connecting to self-help programs and receive guidance toward an abstinent lifestyle, helping them achieve long-term recovery.

9. Anger Management Classes

Life In Progress provides anger management classes designed to help individuals understand and control their anger. 

These classes teach clients how to recognize triggers, develop healthier responses, and implement strategies to manage anger effectively. 

By learning these skills, clients can improve their relationships, reduce stress, and enhance their overall quality of life.

Therapies In Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling

Life in Progress also offers the following therapies:

1. EMDR therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy approach designed to help individuals process and resolve traumatic memories and emotional distress. 

Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR focuses on the brain’s natural healing processes. 

It utilizes guided eye movements, or other forms of bilateral stimulation, to help clients reprocess disturbing memories and reduce their emotional impact. 

EMDR therapy can particularly help those who have experienced trauma. It is also used to treat anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, addiction, performance anxiety, and chronic pain.

In an EMDR therapy session, the therapist first takes a detailed history and helps the client identify specific memories to target. 

During the reprocessing phase, the client focuses on a distressing memory while simultaneously following the therapist’s finger movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. 

This process is repeated until the memory becomes less emotionally charged. 

Sessions typically last 60 to 90 minutes, and the number of sessions required can vary depending on the complexity of the trauma and the individual’s response to treatment. 

Clients can expect to experience a reduction in the intensity of their traumatic memories, leading to improved emotional well-being and overall mental health.

2. Virtual Reality Therapy

Life in Progress offers virtual reality therapy, a cutting-edge approach designed to treat various phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through gradual exposure. 

It helps clients overcome fears related to public speaking, driving, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, school or social anxiety, heights, trains, bridges and tunnels, needles, and medical procedures. 

Using state-of-the-art virtual reality technology, therapists create realistic scenarios that prepare clients to face these situations in real life.

Virtual reality therapy at Life in Progress provides a safe and controlled environment where clients can navigate stressful or anxiety-provoking situations from the comfort of the office. 

This method allows for incremental exposure, making it an effective and less intimidating way to address fears and anxieties. 

The therapy is suitable for kids, teens, and adults, ensuring that individuals of all ages can benefit from this advanced treatment.

Life in Progress also offers the possibility of arranging home visits for virtual reality therapy, ensuring accessibility and convenience for clients who may have difficulty traveling to the clinic. 

3. Hypnotherapy Treatments

Life In Progress offers specialized hypnotherapy treatments for emotional and behavioral disturbances. 

This therapeutic approach leverages Ericksonian Hypnosis, a well-regarded technique that taps into the vast potential of the unconscious mind. 

By guiding clients into a trance-like state, clinicians help them access new inner resources and foster inward attention and positive suggestions.

Hypnotherapy at Life In Progress is versatile and can be used to address a variety of issues. It is effective in treating anxiety, phobias, and substance abuse, including vaping and tobacco use. 

It also helps with sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction, impulsive behaviors, bad habits, pain, insomnia, self-esteem issues, confidence problems, and relationship difficulties.

The pricing for hypnotherapy sessions is structured to cater to individual needs. The initial intake session is priced at $150, and follow-up sessions are $120 each. 

For clients interested in package deals, they offer a Smoking Cessation Package for $450, including four sessions, and a Weight Loss Package for $550, including five sessions. 

These packages provide a comprehensive approach to specific issues but are not covered by insurance.

4. Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Life in Progress Mental Health Counseling also offers Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), a cutting-edge, evidence-based psychotherapy designed to help clients rapidly overcome trauma. 

ART has been extensively studied and proven effective in treating a variety of psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety, abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and more.

ART works by reprogramming the way the brain stores traumatic memories and imagery. 

It integrates elements from existing evidence-based modalities and utilizes memory visualization techniques, enhanced by eye movements and memory reconsolidation. 

This process allows new information to be incorporated into existing memories, facilitating rapid recovery.

One of the notable benefits of ART is its ability to help individuals overcome their traumas without the need to disclose details, often requiring fewer sessions than traditional therapies. 

This approach has been proven effective in treating a wide range of conditions, including PTSD, depression, dyslexia, grief, phobias, anxiety, addiction, pain, and symptoms following a stroke.

Please note that ART services at Life in Progress are not covered by insurance. 

5. Group Therapy

Life In Progress offers a couples’ support group to address relationship issues such as recurring conflicts, disconnection, infidelity, intimacy problems, and stress from extended family dynamics. 

For individuals healing from unhealthy relationships, their trauma-focused group provides a safe space to address anger, distressing thoughts, flashbacks, fear, guilt, shame, and trust issues. 

Participants can freely communicate and connect with others who have similar experiences. 

The clinic also offers a support group for parents to discuss and learn positive discipline techniques, age-appropriate child development and improved parent-child interactions.

Adults wanting to learn new coping skills can join a group that provides a validating environment to learn skills for controlling negative emotions, tolerating pain, and gaining confidence. 

They also have a weekly group for young adults addressing general and social anxiety, coping skills, peer pressure, stress management, self-esteem, and self-image. 

It meets via Zoom on Mondays from 5-6 pm for eight weeks, starting September 13th. The cost is $60 per session, with a discount to $50 if prepaid.

Supporting LGBTQ+ members, another group addresses discrimination, healthcare challenges, violence, parenting, marriage, conversion therapy, housing, and acceptance. 

This LGBTQ+ group runs on Mondays, with sessions in English from 6-7 pm and in Russian from 7-8 pm.

Last but not least, they have a weekly group focusing on the underlying causes of struggles with weight due to binge eating and other disordered eating habits. 

Sessions are held on Tuesdays from 6-7 pm in English and on Sundays from 11 am-12 pm in Russian.

Exercises for Releasing Tension and Trauma

Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling provides several innovative exercises to help clients release tension and trauma. 

One such method is Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®), a somatic practice designed to address stress, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD. 

TRE® involves a series of simple stretches that induce mild shaking in the legs, which helps activate the body’s natural vibration mechanism. 

Clients lie down and let these vibrations move through their bodies, promoting a return to a state of balance without the need for verbal exploration of their trauma. 

This technique is appreciated for its soothing effects and can be performed at home at the client’s convenience. 

Individual sessions are available online for a personalized experience, while group sessions offer a supportive environment for shared practice. 

The clinic offers a free initial consultation that helps tailor the sessions to individual needs. Clients should note that TRE® is not covered by insurance.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is another technique offered, which utilizes memory visualization and eye movement to facilitate the reconsolidation of traumatic memories. 

As discussed earlier, it allows individuals to process their trauma with fewer sessions and without discussing the traumatic details, providing a streamlined approach to healing.

In addition to TRE® and ART, Life In Progress also offers EMDR therapy for trauma, known for its effectiveness in addressing and resolving traumatic experiences. 

They also provide The Flash Technique, a rapid and focused approach designed to help individuals address specific trauma quickly and effectively.

Want to know more about mental health counseling services, check these out:

1. Southtowns Mental Health Counseling: Personalized Support
2. Breakthrough Mental Health Counseling Review
3. Gemma Mental Health: Nurturing Your Emotional Well-Being

The Flash Technique (FT): Reducing Trauma and Distress

Life In Progress Mental Health Counseling offers The Flash Technique (FT), a novel therapeutic approach aimed at alleviating the distress associated with traumatic or troubling memories. 

Unlike traditional trauma therapies, FT is designed to be minimally invasive, allowing clients to address their trauma without directly engaging with the distressing memory or discussing it.

During a session, the therapist first helps the client identify a specific traumatic memory. 

The Flash Technique operates on the principle that unresolved traumatic memories contribute significantly to various non-physical symptoms. 

Once the traumatic memory is identified, the client is guided to focus on a positive memory, image, activity, piece of music, or visualization. 

Throughout the session, the client intermittently shifts their focus by blinking, which facilitates the processing of the traumatic memory without requiring them to verbalize the distressing experience. 

This method enables clients to process their trauma in a less intrusive manner, promoting healing without the need for confrontation of their traumatic past.

Top Clinicians Serving At Life In Progress

Life in Progress Mental Health Counseling has a team of qualified mental health professionals dedicated to providing top-notch care. 

The clinic’s diverse staff is proficient in a variety of therapeutic modalities and speaks multiple languages, ensuring culturally sensitive treatment for a broad range of clients.

Some of the clinicians are mentioned below:

• Lorraine Litovsky, LMHC: A Russian-speaking counselor adept at helping clients navigate anxiety, depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, and social skills issues. 

• Michael Matasci, LCSW: Specializes in working with families and children, utilizing play therapy to foster emotional growth and healing.

• Julisa Joseph, LMSW: Employs a client-centered, culturally affirming therapeutic style that integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). 

• Christine Zaychik, LMHC: Is trained in EMDR, LGBT, hypnotherapy, ART, TRE, and perinatal mood disorders, with a focus on anxieties, trauma, grief, and phobias.

• Britney Sandiford, LMHC: Is a Spanish-speaking, culturally sensitive counselor trained in LGBT+ issues. 

• Anna Hanson, PhD, LCSW: Has expertise in PTSD, anxiety, depression, OCD, grief, and relationship issues, and also addresses binge-eating disorders.

• Ruslan Zukin, LMHC: Is a Russian-speaking mental health and substance abuse counselor focused on the LGBTQ, minority, and underserved populations. 

• Melanie Btesh, LMHC: Specializes in CBT and works with both children and adults.

• Elizabeth Rozovsky-Geiger, LMSW: Has expertise in treating eating disorders and body image concerns using CBT, Intuitive Eating, Positive Psychology, and HAES (Health at Every Size).

• Tricia Sewell, Therapist: Has experience in treating anxiety, trauma, dual diagnosis, relationship issues, self-esteem issues, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. 

• Danielle Solovyeva, LMSW: Is trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction, functional family therapy, EMDR, CBT, psychodynamic therapy, and motivational interviewing.

• Natalia Leider, LMHC: Focuses on the limbic system, mindfulness-based techniques, EMDR, and traditional cognitive talk therapy. 

• Ekaterina Bobrova, Therapist: A bilingual Russian-speaking therapist, uses a culturally sensitive approach to address the needs of LGBTQ+, immigrant, and refugee communities.

• Galina Savinkin, LMSW: A Russian-speaking therapist, assists people of all ages and backgrounds in gaining perspective, resilience, peace, and self-love. 

Additional professionals are listed on their website.

Address & Contact Information

Address:

2615 East 16th Street,

Brooklyn, New York 11235,

United States

Phone: 718-305-1471

Email: [email protected]

Hours: Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 am – 08:00 pm

You can also contact them by sending a message through their website.

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