Dr. Elana Rimler
Dix Hills, NY
Tel: (631)759-5519
To Schedule An Appointment, Please Call (631) 759 5519 or email [email protected]. To Discuss a Clinical Case, Please Contact Dr. Rimler at (917) 833 5069
Dr. Elana Rimler
Dix Hills, NY
Tel: (631)759-5519
As your therapist, I will help you share your story to better understand how it may be presenting problems for you in the present, because as Maya Angelou wrote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”( I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
You may have patterns of handling relationships or experiences and want to get unstuck from your usual patterns. Sessions will feel collaborative, respectful and non-judgmental and will be focused on your treatment goals. You will find sessions to be practical, highlighting your/your child’s strengths. You will gain tools that you can apply to life’s many challenges.
Since a great deal of your growth will occur between your therapy sessions, I often create a program you can follow between your sessions to practice the skills you have learned. This may include trying a new relaxation exercise, an art project, a worksheet or a social experiment. When you work with me, you get a library of free therapeutic resources, including access to several skills based computer programs and games.
My niche is to work with people who have lost hope, have either few people rooting for them or people who just don’t know how to help them. While I have many of the same skills and training as my colleagues, what may set me apart is my “realness.” I welcome the opportunity to get to know you and the challenge to help you through whatever you are facing. I understand how difficult parenting can be and how parents often fear judgement and criticism.
If interested and when appropriate, you may meet one of my three rescue dogs who can join your session.
.
My therapy practice is called Lotus Psychology Practice because I find myself inspired by the lotus flower. It grows beautifully out of the mud. Many get stuck in the mud and fail to see their inner strengths and beauty. My treatment is evidenced based, but it will be uniquely tailored to you, your strengths and challenges.
Typically I receive feedback that my sessions are fun and creative and that my candor is refreshing. Patients often say that I am direct and practical, yet warm and comfortable to speak to. I weave technology into my work. This includes using a virtual reality system for relaxation training and exposure therapy when applicable. I also have therapeutic video games and video clips that I incorporate into my sessions to help provide education and a sense that you are not struggling alone in whatever you are going through.
Whatever you are facing, I am here to help you through it. I have flexible hours to help parents via telehealth after their kids go to bed. I can also see children virtually during the day to give homeschool parents a break.
I am a clinical psychologist who is licensed in the State of New York (#016965). I completed my M.A. and Ed.M. in Counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University and my Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at C.W. Post, Long Island University. I completed my pre- doctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center. During my doctoral training, I specialized in treating victims and perpetrators of violence, and had a second concentration in treating serious and persistent mental illness.
I am dedicated to continuing my education and regularly attend professional development training, but my true teachers are my patients who have taught me more about resilience and fortitude than any course I will ever take.
I was the recipient of a Head Start grant which afforded me the opportunity to conduct a clinical study on the Impact of providing parent training to fathers of Head Start children, utilizing the Incredible Years Program.
Oftentimes, I will use empirically validated treatments in my work, especially in my groups. What this means is that the treatment I conduct will have research to support that it works for the problem you have! The treatment protocols are merely ingredients we use in our sessions to make a recipe to better manage you/your loved one’s challenges. You/your loved one and I will provide the spices that season the recipe. It is important to find a therapist who “gets” you and knows how to personalize the treatment to meet your needs.
I worked throughout graduate school at a college an adjunct professor, a therapist, an academic counselor and coordinated many programs for freshman students.
While working in the public sector for ten years, I served as a Mobile Crisis Unit Psychologist and later as the Director of a Partial Hospital Program and led an Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Department, supervising an interdisciplinary team, and helping them manage patients in crisis. I chaired my hospital’s suicide awareness and prevention committee and led a work group on the implementation of empirically validated treatment, including the provision of group therapy. In addition, I filmed a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on suicide, appeared on international news reporting on an artist in residence program I developed and have presented my casework on dissociative identity disorder at hospital grand rounds.
I have conducted workshops for children and adults on the management of stress, the transition to college, laughter yoga and mindfulness and provided didactic clinical and wellness workshops for my employees.
I most enjoyed working with families, providing support, education and the tools they needed to help their family care for their loved ones who struggled with a mental health diagnosis as well as behavioral issues. Creating and implementing an animal assisted therapy program was one my most fun and rewarding career experiences and this is something I plan to incorporate into my current practice as well.
BTTI certified in treatment of OCD