Dr. Sera Lavelle is the founder of NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy and its sister practice, Soho Integrative EMDR, as well as the CEO and co-founder of Bea Better Eating. As a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Lavelle specializes in the use of hypnosis and integrative therapy to address emotional eating, eating disorders, anxiety, ADHD, infertility, and relationship challenges. Her innovative approach has been featured in Elle Magazine and Allure, where her work has been celebrated for helping hundreds of individuals overcome challenges related to emotional eating. What sets Dr. Lavelle apart is her deep understanding of the underlying psychological factors that contribute to these struggles, allowing her to effectively utilize hypnosis and other therapies as powerful tools for lasting change.
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Dr. Sera Lavelle is the founder of NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy and their sister company, Soho Integrative EMDR, as well as the CEO and co-founder of Bea Better Eating, an innovative app designed to help people rewire their thinking around food using principles of psychology. As a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Lavelle specializes in treating emotional eating, eating disorders, ADHD, relationship issues, and challenges related to pregnancy and infertility. Dr. Lavells serves as the Director of Operations at NY Health Hypnosis, and while she no longer accepts new patients, she serves as a mentor to other therapists in terms of eating issues and passionately advocates for individuals struggling with eating issues.
Bea Better Eating, the app she co-created, leverages cutting-edge psychological techniques to help users overcome emotional eating and build healthier relationships with food. Through a combination of mindfulness, hypnotherapy, and cognitive strategies, Bea empowers users to reprogram their thought patterns, providing a transformative and accessible tool for lasting change.
Dr. Lavelle’s expertise is backed by an impressive academic foundation, including dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Psychology from The Ohio State University, a Master’s degree in Psychology from New York University, and both a Master’s (MA) and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Derner Institute at Adelphi University. Her extensive research and clinical experience focus on attachment, personality, and relationships, including her dissertation on the complex dynamics of betrayal and relationship repair.
With additional training from the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR) and an APA-accredited Internship at Interfaith Medical Center, Dr. Lavelle has honed her skills in treating a wide range of mental health issues. Her work is deeply informed by her understanding of societal pressures related to race, ethnicity, and gender, and she has taught courses on Gender & Sexuality, Aging, and Cross-Cultural Psychology as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University and Brooklyn College. Through her clinical work and advocacy, Dr. Lavelle is committed to helping people overcome emotional and psychological barriers to leading healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Dr. Sera Lavelle’s passion for helping individuals with emotional eating is deeply rooted in her academic research and a holistic understanding of the mind-body connection. Her journey began while pursuing her Master’s degree at NYU, where she contributed to groundbreaking research at Adelphi University. This research demonstrated that unconscious exposure to fearful stimuli could be just as effective as real-life exposure in curing phobias. This discovery—showing that fears like spider phobias could be treated without overwhelming negative reactions—sparked her interest in blending evidence-based therapeutic techniques with mindfulness and hypnotherapy to address both conscious and unconscious barriers to healing.
Her exploration of holistic practices expanded further during a transformative volunteer trip to Cambodia, where she was introduced to meditation and alternative healing methods. These experiences motivated Dr. Lavelle to integrate mindfulness and hypnotherapy into her clinical practice. She later completed comprehensive training in hypnosis at the NLP Center of New York, equipping her with tools to address not just behaviors but the unconscious dynamics driving them. This understanding of the unconscious mind, coupled with her passion for helping people struggling with food issues, has shaped her unique approach to emotional eating.
Dr. Lavelle doesn't see eating disorders as categorically different from everyday struggles with food, but instead, a matter of degree. From her experience, most food issues stem from psychological challenges, such as internalized societal pressure and perfectionism, rather than a mere lack of education in nutrition. She believes emotional eating is often a response to these deeper psychological conflicts, and her approach is centered on addressing the emotional roots behind these behaviors.
Dr. Lavelle has helped hundreds of individuals overcome challenges ranging from emotional eating to anxiety, ADHD, infertility, and relationship struggles. Her holistic approach combines traditional therapeutic methods with mindfulness and hypnotherapy, treating the whole person rather than focusing solely on symptoms.
Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Lavelle is a frequent speaker on the intersection of psychology and technology, discussing how advancements like AI can support mental health. She has been featured on numerous podcasts to share her insights on emotional eating and her integrative therapeutic approach. Dr. Lavelle is also a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, remaining dedicated to staying at the forefront of her fields by regularly attending lectures and training.
