Talk Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic modality that involves both neurological and cognitive processing. Using EMDR in therapy can help individuals process and integrate painful experiences, past traumatic events, or distressing thoughts/feelings by utilizing the same mechanism our brains use at night during REM sleep. In this sleep cycle, our brains naturally process and integrate the information we encountered that day and start the process of moving that information from short-term into longer term memory storage. However, when we experience distress or pain, our biological survival mechanism often kicks on, and this physiological and hormonal change in brains and bodies can impact the way our brains both process and store these experiences. By utilizing this neurological processing mechanism to target emotional pain or traumatic experiences, the distress paired with a painful feeling or memory is reduced as the brain reprocesses it. Another integral part of EMDR are relaxation and containment skills to de-escalate distressing thoughts, feelings and body sensations. These containment skills are used at the end of each processing sessions, as well as when needed outside of therapy as a coping mechanism to manage daily stressors, increase distress tolerance, and cope with a range of trauma symptoms. EMDR is only done in therapy with a trained or certified EMDR therapist once the treatment planning and prep work necessary to begin EMDR are completed.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a long-standing modality of therapy with a huge body of research support. CBT addresses the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By making changes to our thought patterns and internal narratives, our lifestyle habits or behavioral responses in situations, and implementing adaptive coping skills to aid with emotional regulation and processing we can alleviate mental health discomfort and improve daily quality of life. For those with trauma or more severe mental health distress, CBT often works best when paired with EMDR or another type of therapy that specifically addresses high levels of distress.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT) is an evidence-based therapy used to address trauma with children, teens and their parents/caregivers. TFCBT can help reduce emotional and behavioral concerns for kids and teens, and can improve overall family functioning. TFCBT involves teaching calming and coping skills to promote emotional and behavioral regulation, as well as cognitive processing of the trauma by building a narrative that is eventually shared with parents (within the confines of a safe and boundaried therapeutic space in sessions) to promote healing and allow the caregivers to perspective-take to better understand their child’s experiences and feelings while reducing parental distress about their child’s trauma. TFCBT is a structure, short-term therapy that is usually completed within 2-6 months, depending on client and family need.

You are the author of your story and you know yourself and your own life experiences best. I am here to help guide and facilitate the therapeutic process, but the direction of therapy, the modalities we use in session, and the counseling goals we are working towards are based on the changes you are hoping to make. You are always in the driver’s seat. I share insights, tools and information based on my education and professional experience, but it is never my job to decide what you should do or how to best live your life.

I firmly believe that even in our darkest times, humans have strengths and elements of resiliency that can give us the courage to face healing and make those hard but needed changes. Part of my role as a therapist is to help clients identify these strengths and tap into their natural resiliency as part of healing, growth and change-making.

Our heads our attached to our bodies, and no one exists in a vacuum. Although my primary focus is mental and emotional health, physical wellness can most definitely be a part of that too. In fact, many emotional responses also have somatic or physiological responses as well! (Ever felt those butterflies in your stomach when anxious, or been so sad your chest literally hurts? These are examples of somatic responses to an emotional reaction.) As a longtime resident of Bloomington, I have a network of referral sources in the area for physical wellness, medical concerns, and psychotropic med management.

I strive to be inclusive and open to all populations and people I work with. While it is impossible to totally separate oneself from their values and beliefs, I firmly believe that all parts of our identity are important, and I do ongoing work to unpack and acknowledge my own unconscious biases. I do not bring my personal opinions into sessions. Part of my person-centered approach is to always withhold my own value judgments about my clients’ identities, lives, circumstances and choices. LGBT+ affirmative.