What I Offer

EMDR is a type of treatment that aims to reduce the impact of past distressing events on your present-day experience. While there are many protocols within this treatment, at its core EMDR is a compassionate, evidence-based, trauma-informed approach that works directly with your nervous system and brain’s organic memory processing system to help reduce that “gut punch” feeling that can come with remembering upsetting life events. Once we have established safety and sufficient resources, we will use techniques which involve bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or “butterfly tapping,” to help your brain “digest” memories that may not be fully processed. As memories process, so, too, can things in the present day that trigger those memories in the body, as well as stories we may have told ourselves about the future. I have completed basic and advanced trainings with this treatment and am in the process of becoming certification-eligible. 

DBT is a multi-pronged treatment that aims to help individuals repair their relationship with their emotions and how they connect with others. While I do not offer the full spectrum of this treatment - which includes weekly skills group, individual therapy, and phone coaching - my practice is informed by both the skills and basic principles of this treatment. If you wish to seek out specific programming such as a skills group that may complement our work, I am happy to provide resources and collaborate with other providers. DBT offers us a sort of “utility belt” of skills, including ways to increase mindful awareness of the present moment, survive crises without making them worse, learn what our emotions are trying to do for us, and feel more confident in asking for what we need and/or setting limits. DBT teaches us the value of the word “and” by helping us find a synthesis between two truths that seem to be at odds. 

Parts work teaches us that we all have a core Self who embodies the 8 C’s - Calm, Clarity, Compassion, Confidence, Creativity, Courage, Connectedness, and Curiosity. Because of the experiences we inevitably encounter throughout life, we all have an inner world comprised of “parts” who perhaps hold on to pain from the past, parts who protect these wounds, and parts whose job it is to “put the fire out” if a trigger slips past our defenses. This framework helps lessen the shame around behaviors we might have learned as a way to try to take care of ourselves.

Please note I am not a crisis intervention provider - I do not have on-call hours where I am available 24/7. Please see my resource page for crisis resources. That being said, I believe in speaking frankly about thoughts of suicide so that we can compassionately treat the drivers of these thoughts without fear of immediately resorting to crisis intervention such as hospitalization. I am trained in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality model which gives us the language we need for these honest and difficult conversations. 

Trans-inclusive care is central to my practice and worldview. I am able to provide letters in support of those seeking gender-affirming care including hormone treatment (HRT) and procedures such as top- and bottom-surgery. These letters are provided following an evaluation which can usually be completed over the course of one or two sessions and can be billed as a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation to your insurance, or covered by an out-of-pocket payment. We can decide what is most comfortable for you financially and in terms of your privacy.