Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Sera Lavelle, is an expert in using hypnosis and integrative therapy for emotional eating, eating disorders, anxiety, ADHD, infertility and relationship issues. She has been featured in Elle Magazine and Allure and has helped hundreds of people overcome their difficulties. The difference in Dr. Lavelle’s approach is that she fully understands the psychological reasons that people struggle in their daily lives and therefore can use hypnosis as an effective tool for change.
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Dr. Sera Lavelle is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in treating eating disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), relationship issues, and a variety of issues related to pregnancy and infertility. She obtained a dual degree of Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from the Ohio State University, with a minor in Eastern Philosophy. Her interest in the mind-body connection is not only due to her interest in eastern philosophy, but also from a research perspective. During her time at Ohio State, she spent two years as a neuroscience research assistant focusing on how hormones affect behavior and how stress effects the body, contributing to a scientific paper on how sunlight affects hormonal changes in animals.
Dr. Lavelle holds a Master Degrees (MA) in Psychology New York University (NYU) and both a Master (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Clinical Psychology from the Derner Institute of Psychology at Adelphi University. Her research involved issues of attachment, personality, and relationships. She wrote her dissertation on the complex effects of emotional and sexual betrayal on relationships, and how people navigate the difficult decision as to repair or leave a relationship after betrayal.
Dr. Lavelle completed her Externship at the esteemed Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), where she gained an in-depth understanding of behavior from a psychoanalytic perspective. She completed her APA-accredited Internship at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where she saw the depths of mental illness during rotations in the inpatient acute care unit, the mentally-ill substance abusers unit, and outpatient care for those who were previously hospitalized.
Dr. Lavelle is particularly interested in issues of race, ethnicity, and gender, and how these issues impact individuals and society as a whole. She has served as adjunct professor at Adelphi University and Brooklyn College, having taught courses on Gender & Sexuality, Aging, and Cross Cultural Psychology. These experiences guide her work, as she believes many personal and internal struggles are at least partially created by society. She is an advocate for those struggling with issues related to pregnancy and fertility, as well as those struggling with issues related to self-esteem and emotional eating.
There are many aspects of Dr. Lavelle's education that led to her interest in the unconscious mind and mind-body connection, and how they connect with research and evidence-based approaches. While obtaining her Master's Degree at NYU, she assisted research at Adelphi University demonstrating that unconscious exposure to fearful stimuli produced similar cure rates as real-life exposure. In other words, if a person is phobic to spiders, you can actually cure their phobia in a way that doesn't produce such a negative reaction and also works on a deeper level. This is what sparked her interest in working from both a conscious level using therapy techniques, and unconscious level using techniques such as mindfulness and hypnotherapy.
Dr. Lavelle's interest in the unconscious and mind-body connection flourished in the summer between her master's degree and Ph.D, where she learned about meditation while traveling throughout southeast Asia as part of a volunteer trip to Cambodia. Upon returning and starting in her clinical psychology program, she actively sought alternative methods such as mindfulness and hypnotherapy in order to complement her academic training. She received her certification in hypnosis from the NLP Center of New York, where she obtained basic, intermediate and master's level training in hypnosis. Her dual emphasis in psychology and hypnosis enables her to understand the underlying dynamics that prevent change and help her clients to integrate change into a variety of aspects of their lives.
Dr. Lavelle started NY Health Hypnosis in 2007 and has helped hundreds of people overcome their difficulties. Dr. Lavelle is a member of the American Psychological Association as well as the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, which is a division of the APA devoted to exchanging scientific information, advancing appropriate teaching and research, and developing high standards for the practice of hypnosis. She works with a broad range of issues and is a member of several organizations dealing with psychology, hypnosis and holistic medicine. In order to provide the best integrative therapy available, Dr. Lavelle is devoted to ongoing learning and regularly attends lectures and training in psychology and hypnosis in order to be the most up-to-date in research, techniques, and best practices in psychology and hypnosis.
