Specialties

In my 25+ years I’ve supported children, adults and couples working through:

  • Trauma and PTSD
  • Anxiety and panic disorders
  • Depression
  • Personal growth
  • Stress management
  • Relationship issues
  • Grief and loss
  • Shame and fear
  • Family of origin issues


peace

"Our mind can heal from psychological trauma like our body heals from physical trauma."

-Michael Baldwin and Deborah Korn

EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an extensively researched, effective treatment method now widely recognized as a first line of treatment of trauma and other life distressing experiences.

By harnessing the body’s natural healing mechanisms, this approach can be used to address traumatic events in childhood or adulthood, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, problematic or compulsive behaviors and grief and loss. EMDR therapy stimulates the brain's intrinsic capacity to resolve emotional disturbance and obtain adaptive insights, much like what occurs spontaneously during dreaming REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

Based on the available theory and research, the process of paying dual attention to both the traumatic memory and to alternating bilateral stimulation (BLS) during reprocessing promotes an innate investigatory response in the brain that creates neurophysiological changes that are adaptive.

I am an EMDR Certified Therapist, which means I have completed additional consultation and training for several years beyond therapists who are EMDR trained.  


ACT

Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy

ACT is an action-oriented approach to therapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. The focus is on learning how to not avoid, dismiss, deny or avoid inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations.   

 ACT will help you learn strategies to live life more in the present and to be more focused on important values and goals, instead of being focused on painful thoughts, feelings and experiences.  ACT teaches you how to engage with and overcome painful thoughts and feelings through acceptance and mindfulness techniques, to develop self-compassion and flexibility, and to build life-enhancing patterns of behavior. ACT is not about overcoming pain or fighting emotions; it’s about embracing life and feeling everything it has to offer. 

 This approach offers a way out of suffering by choosing to live a life based on what matters most.  It has been proven to be helpful in dealing with struggles such as: 

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • PTSD
  • Substance abuse
  • Chronic pain
  • Eating problems and weight management

Psychological flexibility: How love turns pain into purpose | Steven Hayes | TEDxUniversityofNevada

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Please feel free to contact me!