Therapeutic Approaches: How I Work
Have you tried therapy before but didn't feel you were achieving the depth of insight, growth, and healing you desire?
I offer holistic services that go beyond mere symptom management and traditional talk therapy approaches, aiming to facilitate a more profound healing experience for you.
Working together, we'll delve into the roots of your concerns and develop an individualized treatment plan to begin regulating your nervous system. My goal is for you to experience authentic and enduring levels of healing in your life.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
I am trained in Polyvagal Informed-EMDR and am passionate about using this body-based modality to help my clients heal from trauma.
EMDR is one of the top evidence-based modalities for trauma processing and resolution. It utilizes bilateral stimulation to facilitate the reprocessing of distressing memories. This therapeutic approach aligns with theories on how the brain naturally processes trauma during REM sleep through eye movement bilateral stimulation.
Polyvagal Informed-EMDR integrates insights from polyvagal theory, highlighting the role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating emotional states and responses to stress. By considering the interconnectedness of thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, Polyvagal Informed-EMDR provides a holistic healing experience.
Because EMDR is a trauma modality, it requires resourcing and preparation before beginning treatment. Assessing readiness for trauma work is crucial to ensure that clients have sufficient internal and external resources to engage in the process without becoming overwhelmed or re-traumatized. For this ethical reason, I do not start EMDR treatment with clients without conducting a thorough assessment.
I received my PV-EMDR training from Rebecca Kase and Jessica Downs at Kase & CO. To learn more about EMDR, visit EMDRIA.org. To learn more about Polyvagal Theory, visit Polyvagal Institute.com.
Brainspotting Therapy
As a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner, I deeply believe in the brain and body's innate healing capacity.
Brainspotting is a body-based therapy for trauma healing and nervous system regulation. It aims to diminish the emotional intensity and distress associated with traumatic experiences.
The therapeutic approach of Brainspotting involves identifying "brainspots" in the visual field. This enables access to unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain—the area activated during stress responses. Through precise eye positioning and bilateral stimulation, profound neurobiological healing occurs, releasing traumatic stress from the body.
Because Brainspotting is a trauma modality, it requires resourcing and preparation before beginning treatment. Assessing readiness for trauma work is crucial to ensure that clients have sufficient internal and external resources to engage in the process without becoming overwhelmed or re-traumatized. For this ethical reason, I do not start Brainspotting treatment with clients without conducting a thorough assessment.
I received my Brainspotting training from Lisa Larson and Kelly Larson at The Pacific Trauma Center. I recieved individual consultation from Kelly Larson to qualify for my certification hours. To To learn more about Brainspotting, visit Brainspotting.com or check out my blog post: What is Brainspotting?
Somatic Experiencing (SE) Therapy
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a therapeutic approach used for trauma, stress-related disorders, and PTSD. When someone faces a life-threatening or unsafe event, their body responds somatically to the stress. SE helps release unresolved traumatic stress stored in the body, tackling the root cause of many trauma symptoms.
In contrast to traditional talk therapy, which begins with cognitive exploration, SE focuses on where trauma resides in the body. Research shows that healing trauma on a lasting level must involve reconnecting with the body and regulating the nervous system. Furthermore, SE improves distress tolerance and can benefit individuals stuck in fight/flight or freeze/fawn stress responses. Additionally, it helps regulate the nervous system and enhances emotional self-regulation.
To learn more about Somatic Experiencing, visit SomaticExperiencing.com.
Traditional Talk Therapy
At my core, I practice Humanistic Therapy, which means I take a holistic view of healing and strive to understand you through your unique life experiences. Throughout treatment, I emphasize personal growth, self-actualization, emotional intelligence, and gaining a deeper understanding of yourself. Therapy through a Humanistic lens involves me practicing active listening, asking open-ended questions, offering reflections, and holding space for you to experience your emotions. I welcome you just as you are and will meet you with acceptance, empathy, and warmth.
In addition to Humanistic Therapy, I integrate aspects of Narrative Therapy into treatment. Narrative Therapy believes that as you grow and develop, you accumulate life experiences that shape narratives around your identity, worth, and value. It empowers you to explore alternative and more adaptive life narratives. To learn more about Narrative Therapy, visit my blog What Is Narrative Therapy?
Lastly, I also incorporate aspects of Psychodynamic Therapy into my practice. Psychodynamic Therapy focuses on exploring your unconscious thoughts and beliefs to increase insight into your behaviors. It involves exploring and working through unresolved childhood experiences to allow for more expansion and freedom in your life.
Parts Work Therapy (IFS)
Parts Work Therapy (also known as Internal Family Systems) is an evidence-based and non-pathologizing approach to trauma therapy. This approach is strength-based and believes everyone has the inner resources available for transformational healing.
The central idea in parts work therapy is that we all have an “inner world” made up of parts. These parts hold emotions, perceptions, and belief systems that impact how we view ourselves and the world around us. For example, some of us may have a part that gets anxious in social situations or a part that drinks alcohol to numb the pain from a traumatic childhood.
Furthermore, parts work therapy believes there is a protective intention behind every part of yourself. You can create a more integrated internal system by exploring the motivation behind your thoughts and behaviors with curiosity and self-compassion. This approach can help you experience greater emotional regulation and bring a sense of inner harmony and balance into your life.
To learn more about Parts Work Therapy, visit IFS-Institute.com
Inner Child Healing and Shadow Work
Inner Child Healing is a transformative process centered on addressing and navigating unresolved traumas and challenges from childhood. This involves witnessing past wounds and reconnecting with the inner child who still carries the pain. The heart of Inner Child Healing lies in cultivating compassion, validation, and nurturance for the younger parts of yourself. It can also involve reparenting your inner child and meeting any of your unmet emotional needs.
Shadow Work is a profound psychological and spiritual process that revolves around acknowledging and integrating the concealed and suppressed facets of yourself. The term 'shadow' encompasses suppressed thoughts, desires, characteristics, emotions, and lingering past traumas residing in the subconscious. Engaging in Shadow Work involves bringing these 'shadows' into conscious awareness through a non-judgmental and shame-free approach. It's viewed as a dynamic process rather than a fixed destination, aiming to foster self-discovery and self-acceptance.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy
As an LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist, I validate and support my clients on topics related to sexuality, gender identity, gender expression, and more. As a queer and bisexual-identified person myself, I understand how important it is to find a therapist who welcomes and accepts you just as you are. I hope to create a safe space where you can live more fully, authentically, and freely yourself, and truly come home to the wonderful you.
Therapy can help you unpack, navigate, and work through challenging situations you have gone through. Common topics that I help my LGBTQIA+ clients with in therapy include processing past trauma, exploring their gender identity or sexuality, sharing their identity with friends and family, working through any internalized transphobia or homophobia, increasing self-esteem, working through bi-erasure, increasing pride, working through grief and loss, and reducing anxiety and depression. You deserve to live wild, free, and perhaps, if the shoe fits- a bit untamed.
