Meet Sylvia Bercovici, Ph.D., MFT
Welcome
I received my doctorate from UCLA in anthropology, with an emphasis on cross-cultural psychology. My training as an anthropologist gives me cultural and evolutionary perspectives on human emotions and behavior.
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​I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Extensive training in family therapy allows me to see the individual as part of a family system that is internalized and held in the nervous system of the individual, sometimes as traumatic experiences and painful memories, greatly affecting how the individual perceives him/herself cognitively, emotionally, and physically.
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A current major focus of my therapy practice is developmental trauma, which I treat using the widely acknowledged method of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). I am an Approved Consultant with the EMDR International Association.
EMDR complements and is compatible with Mindfulness Meditation in which I was trained by the University of Massachusetts’ Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program.
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Psychotherapy Services
THERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS
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Depression
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Anxiety and panic attacks
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Major, single-incident, physical or emotional trauma
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Developmental trauma due to early abuse, neglect or deprivation, due to a dysfunctional family system such as a narcissistic family system
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Life transitions (educational, work/career, marital, or age-related changes)
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Relationship issues
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Grief and loss
THERAPY FOR COUPLES
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Marital/partnership counseling
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Child-rearing issues
SPECIALIZED THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for the treatment of trauma, particularly DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA.. Visit http://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
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INTEGRATIVE SOMATIC THERAPY for trauma and emotional dysregulation (anxiety and panic).
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MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
RELEVANT CREDENTIALS:
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I received training in Jon Kabat-Zinn's MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION in a program by the University of Massachusetts Medical School
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​I am a CERTIFIED EMDR practitioner and an APPROVED CONSULTANT withj the EMDR Internation Association (EMDRIA.COM)
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I have completed a three-tier training by DR. KARYL MCBRIDE (author of WILL I EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH) in treating individuals who have been affected by relationships with narcissistic individuals or narcissistic family systems. See her therapist directory: https://willieverbegoodenough.com/sylvia-m-bercovici-phd/​
Perspectives on Self Healing
Contemporary post-industrial life has separated us from our original connections to the earth and intimate human groups—resulting in much of our psychological and emotional symptoms and disorders. From ancient sources of wisdom to the most recent knowledge in neuroscience, we are discovering the tremendous powers of the human mind, particularly that of the mind's capacity to heal itself.
​​​I have come to understand the importance of including the body in any kind of psychological and emotional healing. It is now universally understood that the mind and body form a continuum and that they cannot be separated from each other. And what is of equal importance is that each individual can learn how to access and work with their brain/body experiences in order to regulate and heal negative emotional patterns and trauma.
As an anthropologist, psychotherapist, and meditator, I have studied this self-healing mind over the years, and I am able to offer various modalities that enhance its potential. These include individual therapy, EMDR, integrated body therapy, and MINDFULNESS meditation.
