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Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor E. Frankl
I am a psychotherapist and certified coach originally from New York City, now based in Arizona. My work is informed by more than three decades of experience in the public and private mental health sectors in New York, as well as four years providing trauma-informed psychotherapy and coaching in Montreal and Ontario, Canada.
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I specialize in the treatment of complex trauma, narcissistic abuse, addictive disorders, and the lifelong process of self-actualization. At the heart of my work is a commitment to honoring the integrity of the healing journey while helping clients cultivate lives grounded in authenticity, creativity, meaning, and purpose. My goal is not simply symptom reduction, but to support lasting transformation that allows individuals to thrive.
My therapeutic approach integrates psychodynamic and behavioral perspectives with coaching psychology, hypnosis, Gestalt techniques, Jungian psychology, 12-Step philosophy, parts work, and other contemplative and spiritually informed practices. Treatment is always individualized, drawing upon the modalities most conducive to each client's healing and growth. My longstanding involvement in the arts has profoundly shaped my clinical perspective. I view healing as an inherently creative process—one that invites us to reclaim the inner resources necessary for wholeness. This philosophy inspired my development of therapeutic theater, including The Sistah Tribe Phoenix Project, and continues to inform my work with artists, writers, and individuals navigating creative blocks or periods of stagnation. |
I have particular expertise in the treatment of narcissistic abuse and Complex PTSD and am certified in Dr. Karyl McBride's Five-Step Recovery Model for adult children of narcissistic parents. When appropriate, treatment may incorporate referrals to complementary resources such as bodywork, psychopharmacology, psychodrama groups, or therapeutic workshops. As an ordained interfaith minister, I also welcome the exploration of spiritual concerns as part of the therapeutic process for clients who wish to include this dimension in their work.
"The paradoxical journey of life contains both great joy and debilitating suffering. Recovery and growth involves sharing one's suffering and joy with a witness who can hold a sacred space with humanity and insight. This holding environment lends itself to stripping away illusions so as to unlock the truth, and to ultimately explore the questions concerned with larger meaning. Together we can enter those places most feared for the purpose of healing and actualization. This process of self-reclamation reveals it is our greatest pain that may contain a deeper purpose. We discover that this journey is designed to realize one's potentials; to know who we are and what we may be. We come to recognize that psychological growth and spiritual development are not dissimilar, but rather facets which constitute the whole of who we are."
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A Clinician's Journey from Complex Trauma to Thriving: Reflections on Abuse, C-PTSD and Reclamation is an anthology of articles by Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW. Written for survivors and clinicians this collection was inspired by Rev. Heller's unrelenting struggle with recovering from complex ptsd rooted in systemic and generational child abuse, and her commitment to devoting her life to helping others similarly afflicted. Spanning the trajectory from abuse, complex trauma, addictions, the relational quest, recovery and treatment, and ultimately thriving creatively and spiritually, this assortment of writings offers a comprehensive assessment of the healing process and the triumph of reclamation.
 Laura Farrell @ OC87 Recovery Diaries
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Women on the Edge by Sheri Heller is a collection of short stories about five women whose lives are plagued by cruelty, deprivation, oppression and violence. Through inhabiting the raw, complex lives of these women we discover the absurdity, the tragedy and the resiliency of the human condition. We also come to recognize that what is often deemed 'madness' is a descent into darkness where unbearable truths are confronted. Available at these stores 
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An Orphan's Memorial to her Dying Mother // Full Interview & Animated Short at OC87 Recovery Diaries. Sheri's journey of recovery was told through an animated film short created by OC87 Recovery Diaries curator/filmmaker Glenn Holsten and animator Paul Fierlinger. Part of a one hour OC87 mental health special this short was aired on PBS.
CREDENTIALS
