Dr. Pria Alpern

11/25/2025

“Thanksgiving feels like a lie. That feeling sits under so many conversations I hear in my office, in my DMs, and in my own community each November. A holiday built on the illusion of gratitude becomes a pressure cooker for people whose stories simply don’t fit the script. We’re told that Thanksgiving is about connection and family, but the truth is far more complicated. For anyone who has untangled themselves from toxic family systems, the holiday doesn’t feel warm and fuzzy. It feels like a performance.”

11/25/2025

“Aggression has a bad reputation in our society. Even in trauma therapy, the word is often linked to harm or hostility. But the root of the term goes back to agredi, which means to move toward. It reflects an impulse meant to support life and agency. For many trauma survivors, that impulse has been quashed or buried beneath years of shame. What looks like collapse on the outside is often the body’s reflexive remembering that moving forward costs too much and threatens survival.”

11/21/2025

The next trauma study grp at the Manhattan Center for Trauma Studies is on 12/12 (zoom)! We will be discussing a chapter from Ogden’s book on sensorimotor psychotherapy. Join us!

Trauma Study Group w/Dr. Pria Alpern *This study group focuses on Ogden’s Chapter 8: Principles of Treatment from Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy.

11/19/2025

New up on my Substack “Animal metaphors have long been used to mark certain bodies as less human. Linguist Deborah Cameron calls these words “tools of social control” because they work to enforce gender norms through humiliation and fear (Cameron, 1992). In our culture, women are disproportionately targeted with insults tied to body size, appearance, and sexuality. “Quiet piggy” is a calibrated message to every woman listening to be small, be silent, and aesthetically pleasing. If you are not, you will be punished.”

10/31/2025

Starting November 1, millions of Americans will not receive their usual SNAP (food-stamp) benefits because of the federal shutdown. If you’re affected, know this isn’t your fault and resources are still available. If you’re not, this is your moment to act: donate, volunteer, spread accurate info, and call your reps.

✨Find your local food bank: feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank
✨Dial 2-1-1 for local assistance.
✨Repost to spread awareness.

10/28/2025

How did you know that EMDR was working for you?

10/15/2025

Therapists deserve community, too.
The MCTS Membership is designed to help you stay connected, inspired, and supported in your trauma work with access to consultation, a therapist directory, a full resource library, and live learning events.

Join now with FIRSTMONTHFREE for your first month free (limited to the first 100 members).
🔗 Link in bio.

10/08/2025

Regulation isn’t only about breathing…it’s about giving your body a way to find itself again.

Try one of these:
1️⃣ If you feel collapsed push into something solid.
2️⃣ If you feel numb bring sensation to your skin.
3️⃣ If your heart is racing find your feet.

Each strategy helps your nervous system locate stability again, through contact, pressure, and presence.

10/02/2025

Shame is old survival wiring firing in a modern world

10/01/2025

Your body is like a vault. It keeps the records even when your mind can’t. That’s why trauma doesn’t just “go away.” It shows up as tension in your shoulders, panic that makes no sense, or a stomach that knots up at the smallest trigger. Healing means helping your body feel safe enough to finally file those scattered papers away and to finish what never got completed back then.

✨ Your body remembers. But it can also release.

09/29/2025

“As a trauma psychologist, I want to confront an uncomfortable truth: pregnancy loss is not just a medical event. It is a rupture that travels across physical, psychological, and existential domains. And when that loss is life-threatening, as in an ectopic pregnancy, the psychological impact is compounded by the chilling proximity of death.”

08/24/2025

✨Registration is open (go to my beacons 🔗 to reserve your spot)!

EMDR Basic Training (Virtual)
Training Dates
Part 1: Dec 5-7, 2025; Part 2: Feb 6-8, 2026
✨EMDRIA-approved Basic Training with Dr. Pria Alpern: 50 hours combining lecture, practicum, and consultation to build competence in the eight phases of EMDR therapy (ASWB ACE + NY State approved for 40 Contact Hours). Payment plan available