(Anonymous Parent of Patient)

To say that Dr. Greenfield saved our marriage and my life would not be an understatement. I felt so afraid, alone and hopeless. I came from humble beginnings and was used to dealing with difficult times, but this was more than I thought I could handle.
The amazing part was that Dr. Greenfield made me feel that I wasn’t alone and that there was not only hope for our marriage, but that it would be better than ever. This was not something I thought was possible. I thought my marriage was over.

Dr. Greenfield guided us both patiently through EMDR and Imago Relationship Therapy. He treated my husband for Internet addiction and social anxiety.

I was able to start the process of healing my own childhood wounds, and understanding my husbands wounds and addictions. We are now able to speak and hear what the other person really feels and needs with deep compassion and empathy. We are connecting on a level that was never possible before and continues to grow deeper every day. We are living a conscious marriage.

Dr. Greenfield is truly a compassionate and caring doctor. He also happens to know a tremendous amount about trauma, addictions, anxiety, brain science, human behavior and relationship dynamics.
I learn something new about myself and my relationship every time I see him. I will be forever grateful for this healing of my soul and so will my children and my children’s children.

– Anonymous Patient

My Life is changed now….

The girlfriend of one of my closest friends (whom my soon-to-be girlfriend was also friends with) was in a talent show at her school which my girlfriend also attends (they both sing), and she invited my friend and I to go see her and then go to a nearby diner with her and some of her friends afterwards. I met my girlfriend that very night at the diner and we instantly connected. Had I not gone through Dr. Greenfield’s program, I probably would have stayed home that night and played video games instead of going to the talent show and meeting her. I cannot express how grateful I am to Dr. Greenfield for having changed my life in such a positive way. I hope other teens and young adults can have as positive an experience in this program as I did.

~ Anonymous patient

Through EMDR, I have been able to let go of negative parts of me that I thought were fully engrained in who I was and discovered abilities to care, love and be empathetic that I didn’t think I would ever be able to truly experience.  For the first time in my life, I feel like a genuine and caring person with nothing to hide.  The shame, rage and anger are all gone.  They have been replaced by positive emotions and feelings.  The EMDR process is truly amazing.
~ Anonymous patient

Having achieved such remarkable results with Dr. Greenfield within just five months, I am sharing a brief summary of my experience with the hope that it may resonate and possibly motivate at least one person to schedule an appointment or explore the range of treatment options offered by Dr. Greenfield.

My Situation

I’m a “guy’s guy” in my early 50’s with a very decent and comfortable lifestyle by most measures. However, I have effectively coped with mild to moderate anxiety and depression for most of my adult life. The past year was particularly tough – a perfect storm of concomitant personal, work, marital and family related issues and stress. While unpleasant, I’m certain that my “storm” was probably similar to the everyday challenges that most people face. It was just more than I was capable of effectively handling at the time. I realized that I need to do something different and the first step was to reach out for help. With this realization, my goal was to simply return to my steady state of coping with the “normal” anxiety and depression to which I had been accustomed. Just to get past this rough patch and “back to normal”.

My Experience

Having achieved limited success with more traditional therapy several years ago, I was searching for something different. It had to be medication-free and preferably something that would deliver quick results. Based on these criteria and a fair amount of on-line research, I am blessed to have found Dr. Greenfield. During the course of five short months, I have not only wildly surpassed my modest, (almost laughable) goal of a “return to my normal state of anxiety and depression” but I have truly become a happy, engaged, enthusiastic and present human being. I have also learned a great deal about myself and the root causes of my previous state. With Dr. Greenfield’s guidance, these learnings are now linked with new thought processes, techniques and an outlook which will allow me to sustain and build on a foundation of greater peace, happiness and resilience.

~ Former patient

~ Concerned eighth grade student

My 16-year-old son turned into a “junkie” in just a few short months of creating a FaceBook page and exploring the social network world on the Internet.  Having been diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at the age of 6, he was challenged with difficulties with social skills and expressive language, and self-regulation.  We are involved in many social skills and behavioral programs and I thought FaceBook might be a way for him to socialize with others with common interests as our  neurotypical children and their friends do .  However, he withdrew from our family and school activities and became secretive and protective of his new life.   We were faced with severely limiting his time on the Internet and use of electronic devices, and shutting down his FB page after discovering inappropriate chats. He then fell into physical and emotional withdrawals, escalated into aggressive tantrums, and ended up threatening to kill me in my sleep if I didn’t give them back.  I felt like I had lost my son.  Even though I am a special education teacher in the Autism Program and already very familiar with behavior modification therapy and strategies, I found myself unsure how to detox him from the cyber world knowing we could not stay off the internet forever.

We live on the Central Coast of California, just outside the Silicon Valley.  I assumed I would surely find a therapist who specialized in helping kids and adults with technology addiction and/or virtual compulsive disorders.  Through my research I found Dr. David Greenfield, the most experienced professional in this area, and he was only on the other side of the U.S.  My son and I traveled back East for the week-long Intensive Therapy and returned home feeling more healthy and hopeful.

I found Dr. Greenfield to be warm, understanding and approachable while remaining clear and firm on the therapy plan.  He was able to give us specific, well-defined boundaries and strategies, which he has already found successful for others with this addiction.  Our treatment plan encompasses multiple facets of the neurological and emotional aspects of cyber addiction with the goal of self-management of Internet use for my son’s future.  As with any addiction, he is not cured but in recovery and Dr. Greenfield was especially helpful with preparing me for expecting the “loop-holes” and relapses, as well as with understanding the process of recovery. Dr. Greenfield helped him understand what’s going on with his body and brain and how to recognize triggers leading to unwanted behavior.

My “son” came home with me from The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction and our relationship is as intact as probably any teenager would be comfortable with.   Our therapy did not end when we left the Connecticut and we continue to work with Dr. Greenfield and his IT team as needed to support my son in facing his challenges.  I truly cannot thank Dr. Greenfield enough for helping our family; he is a true professional who actually cares.  I welcome the opportunity to listen to and share with anyone who may have questions about our successful experience at the Center and I can be reached through Dr. Greenfield.

I think I do not have a need for further consultation. My responsibility is to practice the art of good living through right action. I can’t thank you enough for your care and the support you gave to my parents at this important time of my life. I will let you know if the need arises in the future.
~ Former patient

~ Peter

Shock because I thought this was totally out of character for the man I loved and married. Anger because I felt that he had betrayed me by doing this and never sharing these problems with me. Doubt because I thought I knew him and now I found out that he had been living a secret life. Would I ever be able to trust him again?? Fear because I thought our wonderful, happy, supportive marriage was at serious risk.  Maybe I really didn’t know him after all.  I didn’t want to lose him yet I didn’t know how I could continue to be married to someone who was not honest with me.

I knew little about disorders such as his.  In the past I stereotyped these kinds of behaviors as weird and perverted without understanding the reasons that caused this type of distraction and confusion. Once I got over the initial shock and came to terms with my emotions, I reminded myself that I loved this man very much and I had made a lifetime commitment him.  I recognized that he needed me now and I would do anything I could to help him resolve these issues. I vowed to help my husband to find the best psychological help to work through these problems.  We found that Dr. David Greenfield was a widely respected authority in this type of addiction.

At this time I was still overcome with fear.  Could my precious husband ever overcome these bizarre addictions??  What did it all mean??  Were his problems so deeply rooted that they could not be resolved??  Would I ever know who he really is??  I experienced resentment because our life had seemed so happy and now it was so complicated, so uncertain, so frightening.

My husband began to meet with Dr. Greenfield weekly.  Several times we met with him together.  He was very honest with us saying that my husband had serious, longstanding issues to resolve.  However, while he acknowledged the seriousness of these issues, he never gave us the feeling that they would be impossible to address.

Through Dr. Greenfield’s guidance and the use of a process called EMDR^®, my husband was able to resolve issues that were rooted in the first 5 years of his life.  He had been a victim of sexual abuse by his oldest brother at age 3 and experienced the death of his mother at age 5.  These tragic events occurred through no fault of his, yet his life was negatively impacted by the residual effects for over 40 years. Using EMDR^®, Dr. Greenfield returned my husband to those events and he painfully relived them.  By doing so he is now able to view them from an adult perspective recognizing that these events were not his fault and storing them back in his mind in the proper context, thereby freeing him from the guilt, shame and anxiety that he had experienced for decades.

My husband is like a new person.  His self-esteem has improved dramatically.  He is focused on improving his skills and utilizing his numerous talents.  He is no longer distracted and tormented by thoughts and behaviors that he did not understand.  He is happy.

Throughout this period of time, Dr. Greenfield has been so caring and supportive to both of us as he helped us to resolve the most significant challenge of our marriage.  I thank God every day for guiding us to find Dr. Greenfield and for the visible difference in my husband as a result of his guidance and support.

In addition, I believe I have become a better person because I have come away from this experience with much more tolerance toward people who exhibit problematic behaviors.  I now wonder about the underlying cause of their behavior; I wonder if as a little boy or girl these people were victims of life-altering events such as those my husband experienced.  I pray that they, too, will find a Dr. Dave to give them their life back.”

With deepest gratitude,

~ Allison (not my real name)

Dr. Dave’s approach is to strengthen and preserve the marriage as opposed to finding fault in any one party.  At no time did he take sides on any issues, but encouraged us to discuss our differences so we understood each other’s viewpoint even if we didn’t agree. Dr. Dave taught us how to apply Imago to problem resolution and this has become a very powerful tool in discussing our feelings and concerns in a non-confrontational way.”