Going Deeper Than CBT
NYC depth-oriented therapist Gabriel Bronner on going beyond CBT to heal complex trauma through somatic and unconscious shadow work.
In New York City, a lot of people who reach out to Arc NYC Therapy have already done CBT or other structured, skills-based therapy. They know the tools, they know their “negative thoughts,” they might even know their attachment style — and yet, they still feel pulled back into the same patterns.
We sat down with Gabriel Bronner, an EMDR and Psychoanalytic therapist at Arc NYC Therapy, to talk about what it means to go deeper: into unconscious patterns, attachment, abandonment, complex trauma, and one's sense of self.
“My clients usually haven’t failed CBT. They’ve outgrown it.”
“Most New Yorkers I work with have already done CBT,” says Gabriel.
“They’re smart and sensitive. The issue isn’t effort. It’s that their symptoms are tied to unconscious patterns — early experiences of abandonment, shame, or inconsistent caregiving — that CBT doesn’t always reach.”
From “fixing” thoughts to understanding patterns
Q: When someone says, ‘CBT helped, but I still feel stuck,’ what do you hear in that?
Gabriel:
“Often it means, ‘I can control my thoughts a bit, but my reactions and relationships haven’t really changed.’
Rather than targeting thoughts alone, he looks at patterns: choosing the same kind of partner, feeling panicked when someone pulls away, overworking or people-pleasing to feel worthy. These aren’t random; they’re often rooted in complex trauma and attachment wounds.
"Insight here isn’t just, ‘I’m anxiously attached.’ It’s recognizing the exact moment you abandon yourself — you apologize, shrink, perform, or stay quiet — to avoid being abandoned by someone else.”
“Depth work is less about correcting a thought and more about seeing the whole relational pattern you’re caught in,” Gabriel explains.
The unconscious, the body, and self-esteem
Q: You mention the unconscious a lot. How does that show up in session?
Gabriel:
For Gabriel, the unconscious isn’t mystical. “It’s everything you had to push down to stay connected to the people you depended on — anger, fear, needs, even pride,” he says. In Jungian language, some of this becomes the shadow: parts of you that were never welcomed, so they had to go underground.
The shadow shows up in the body and in one's sense of self: a tight chest when you set a boundary, a sinking feeling when someone sounds disappointed, the automatic belief, I’m too much or I’m not enough.
“For many New Yorkers with complex trauma, the shadow carries one message,” Gabriel says. “If I take up space, I’ll lose love.”
In session, he uses emotionally focused, experiential, and somatic therapy to notice these moments in real time. As someone talks, their shoulders might curl in or their voice get small. Instead of moving on, he slows down and asks, “What are you believing about yourself right now? Who did you learn that with?” That’s unconscious material — the shadow — becoming conscious.
What actually changes when therapy goes deeper?
Q: Over time, what shifts for people who do this kind of work with you in New York?
Gabriel:
“People don’t become perfectly regulated robots — that’s not the goal. What I see is more choice.
"Clients start catching themselves right before they self-abandon. They feel less driven by old fears of rejection, and their self-worth becomes less conditional on performance or keeping everyone else happy."
Many say, “I responded differently, and I didn’t have to white-knuckle it or recite a skill. It just felt more like me.” That’s when Gabriel knows the work has reached the deeper layers — attachment, the unconscious, the shadow, the body — not just the surface thoughts.
At Arc NYC Therapy in New York City, Gabriel works with people who’ve “done the tools” and are ready to understand the patterns and unconscious meanings underneath.
At Arc NYC Therapy, Gabriel works with highly sensitive people and others who have “done the tools” and are ready to understand the patterns and unconscious meanings underneath. If you’re a New Yorker who feels like CBT helped but not quite enough, this kind of deeper, relational, and somatic therapy may be the next step in healing from complex trauma.
Gabriel Bronner, LMSW
Vulnerability can be an uncomfortable word. It is defined as the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed either physically or emotionally. Some of us struggle with this more than others. As a clinician, I help people navigate this sometimes uncomfortable first step in order to access deep emotional knots that together, we will untie. It can be challenging, but this marks the beginning stages of the emotional healing process.
My favorite people to work with are kind, curious, and motivated. Many would describe themselves as “highly sensitive” or deeply feeling. On the outside they may look composed and capable, but inside they’re carrying a lot—anxiety, self-doubt, old shame, or a sense that they’re “too much” or “not enough.” They’re not just looking for coping skills; they want to understand why they feel the way they do, where their patterns come from, and how to relate to themselves and others differently.
In our work together, we pay attention to both the conscious story and the unconscious layers underneath it. I’m interested in the subtle shifts that happen in the room—tension in the body, changes in tone, the impulse to apologize, to withdraw, or to caretake. These moments often repeat earlier experiences in family, culture, and relationships. By noticing and making sense of them together, new ways of being can emerge: clearer boundaries, more self-compassion, and deeper, more authentic connection.
I have worked with a broad spectrum of demographics from adolescents, young adults and adults suffering from substance use disorder, depression, anxiety and trauma. I believe in utilizing a wide array of modalities including somatic, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic, which I personalize for each client as each one of us is unique.
My style is warm, grounded, and collaborative. I’m not here to judge or to rush you, but to stay alongside you as we explore both the known and the not-yet-known parts of your inner world. If you’re someone who feels a lot, thinks deeply, and is ready to go beneath the surface, I look forward to accompanying you in your process as we navigate uncharted emotional territory.