Dr. Steven S Shapiro, PhD

I have been seeing Dr. Shapiro for a few years, off and on. I have had difficulty sticking with therapy when I am severely depressed. I seem unable to access the emotions necessary for good therapy. In the times when I do go, for at least a year at a time, I make peace with early childhood memories of abuse. In only one session I have been able to raise painful memories "from the dead" ie in forgotten incidents and give them a proper burial. Literally and emotionally. I have conversion disorder, a physiological state that sometimes lead to mimic a stroke, a heart attack, blood clots, ie major symptoms that have brought me into the ER more times than I can count. They always find nothing wrong, the incident passes and I'm given a clean bill of health. The psychological diagnosis explains a lot and makes therapy a matter of life or death. My work with Dr Shapiro hits at the core of the childhood trauma that causes this conversion disorder and has helped me immensely. Even in time when… my attendance lapses, I am able to say to myself "What would Dr Shapiro say or do in this situation? Sometimes hard to guess, but always fruitful on some level. I highly recommend him and his approach ( AEDP) . You can look it up on the internet. It has been a lifesaver for me!!! Good luck with your search for a good therapist. You probably have just found the one who is "worth his weight in gold". He is expensive, and takes no insurance, but I travel a long distance, from Elkton MD to Malvern, PA just to see him. Now, with access to him over the telephone it's even easier, though not as satisfactory as an hour trip in which I access the pain and trauma of my childhood, and bring my broken self to his therapy. Like most survivors I have a great persona that easily covers over those incidents. We call it "my razzle dazzle number" and have been able to get beyond the vast coping skills to the underlying fear, grief, loss, and then ultimate forgiveness. Wow!