Livia Perez, PSYD, MS, LMHC, LCMHC
Dr. Perez is a psychologist, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Certified Therapist and Consultant, and a Certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (TF-CBT).
Dr. Perez specializes in EMDR and TF-CBT to treat different traumas including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. She also treats grief, abandonment, health, and combat trauma. She provides EMDR and hypnotherapy for the treatment of pain, depression, and anxiety. Her practice also includes transpersonal psychology, cognitive restructuring, and consciousness shifting for personal empowerment, love, happiness, and goal achievement.
In 2010, she completed her Master of Science in Psychology from Carlos Albizu University. Subsequently, she provided psychotherapy to sexually abused children and adolescents for six years at Kristi House in Miami. In 2013, inspired by one of her patients, she attended her first EMDR training and opened her private practice in the same year. Dr. Perez has completed several trainings in EMDR, clinical hypnosis, and other specialized trauma trainings. In 2021, she completed a Doctoral Degree with concentration in Health Psychology at Albizu University.
During the doctoral program, Dr. Perez continued working in her private practice and completed rotations in the medical field including Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Hospital, and the Design Neuroscience Center. At Jackson Memorial Hospital, she completed her one-year rotation at the Rehabilitation Unit conducting biopsychosocial clinical intakes and individual psychotherapy to patients with spinal cord injury, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other degenerative conditions. At University of Miami Hospital, she completed her one-year rotation conducting neuropsychological evaluations to geriatric populations participating in two studies: DETECT PAD (Pre-Alzheimer’s Disease) and AIM (Precision-Based Computerized Assessment for the Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment). At the Design Neuroscience Center, Dr. Perez completed an eight-month rotation conducting neuropsychological evaluations as well as individual and group psychotherapy to patients with traumatic brain injury and a variety of other neurological diseases.
Dr. Perez’s doctoral dissertation focused on treating trauma with EMDR in spinal cord injury patients.
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Trainings Completed
Licenses and Certifications
Livia Perez, PSYD, MS, LMHC, LCMHC
Dr. Perez is a psychologist, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Certified Therapist and Consultant, and a Certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (TF-CBT).
Dr. Perez specializes in EMDR and TF-CBT to treat different traumas including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. She also treats grief, abandonment, health, and combat trauma. She provides EMDR and hypnotherapy for the treatment of pain , depression, and anxiety. Her practice also includes transpersonal psychology, cognitive restructuring, and consciousness shifting for personal empowerment, love, happiness, and goal achievement.
In 2010, she completed her Master of Science in Psychology from Carlos Albizu University. Subsequently, she provided psychotherapy to sexually abused children and adolescents for six years at Kristi House in Miami. In 2013, inspired by one of her patients, she attended her first EMDR training and opened her private practice in the same year. Dr. Perez has completed several trainings in EMDR, clinical hypnosis, and other specialized trauma trainings. In 2021, she completed a Doctoral Degree with concentration in Health Psychology at Albizu University.
During the doctoral program, Dr. Perez continued working in her private practice and completed rotations in the medical field including Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Hospital, and the Design Neuroscience Center. At Jackson Memorial Hospital, she completed her one-year rotation at the Rehabilitation Unit conducting biopsychosocial clinical intakes and individual psychotherapy to patients with spinal cord injury, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other degenerative conditions. At University of Miami Hospital, she completed her one-year rotation conducting neuropsychological evaluations to geriatric populations participating in two studies: DETECT PAD (Pre-Alzheimer’s Disease) and AIM (Precision-Based Computerized Assessment for the Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment). At the Design Neuroscience Center, Dr. Perez completed an eight-month rotation conducting neuropsychological evaluations as well as individual and group psychotherapy to patients with traumatic brain injury and a variety of other neurological diseases.
Dr. Perez’s doctoral dissertation focused on treating trauma with EMDR in spinal cord injury patients.
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Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor
North Carolina Licensed Clinical Mental
Health Counselor
Florida Qualified Supervisor MHC
EMDR Certified Therapist
EMDR Consultant
TF-CBT Certified Therapist
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), developed by Francine Shapiro, is an evidence-based treatment and highly regarded as a trauma resolution method. EMDR activates the information processing system of the brain, and it works on several channels looking at images, beliefs, sensations, and feelings associated with the negative content related to the trauma. EMDR is named after the eye movements; however, other types of bilateral stimulations (BLS) such as auditory stimulation and tactile stimulation have been found by other researchers as effective in helping the patient to process distressing memories and emotions.
CLINICAL HYPNOSIS is a procedure during which a mental health professional guides the patient to experience changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior. When the patient is being hypnotized, he/she is not asleep. In hypnosis, the patient is always aware and observing. Hypnosis puts the patient in a state that holds great potential for healing by giving the patient access to the subconscious mind. Clinical hypnosis has been demonstrated to have a wide range of benefits in decreasing distressing symptoms and eliminating them. Hypnosis has been used in the treatment of pain, depression, anxiety, phobias, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and many other psychological and medical conditions.
TRAUMA is an emotional response to an event such as an accident, natural disaster, war, abandonment, illness, sexual, physical and/or emotional abuse. Trauma is terrifying and overwhelming. It is the perception of a direct threat to the individual’s life or well-being. Trauma leaves unprocessed memories, thoughts, and feelings which may impact the level of functioning of the individual who experienced the traumatic event. Trauma can cause flashbacks, recurrent thoughts, nightmares, hypervigilance, fears, anxiety, sadness, guilt, among other symptoms. It can also show up in our bodies in chronically constricted tissue, short breathing, and strong tension.
PHYSICAL PAIN can be a stressful experience and may trigger symptoms of anxiety and depression. Physical pain may erode the individual’s quality of life by changing their work and/or study routine, family dynamics, relationships, etc. If the physical pain is accompanied by a traumatic experience such as a car accident, the individual may suffer complex discomfort. This complex discomfort is associated not only with physical pain but also with the psychological distress of the traumatic experience. When an individual seeks psychological intervention to alleviate the symptoms described above, the traumatic experience and related issues will be addressed in therapy. If a medical condition that triggers pain is accompanied with temporal or permanent disabilities, the individual’s stress may increase due to limitations and other consequences. These disabilities can also be processed during the psychological interventions. These same patients may also feel very vulnerable and build negative beliefs about themselves. It is extremely important for the individual to not identify with the pain, medical conditions, or disability, but instead learn how to implement positive coping skills to overcome and manage limitations.
TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents impacted by trauma and their parents or caregivers. TF-CBT is highly effective at improving youth posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and many other trauma’s impacts such as affective, cognitive, and behavioral problems. TF-CBT is also effective in improving the participating parent’s or caregiver’s personal distress about the child’s traumatic experience, effective parenting skills, and supportive interactions with the child.