Reasons to try something different

Services Offered

EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based, extensively researched therapy designed to help the brain process and resolve experiences that continue to create distress in the present. Many symptoms of anxiety, low self-worth, emotional reactivity, relationship difficulties, and trauma can be linked to experiences that were never fully and effectively processed by the brain.

EMDR helps the brain reprocess these experiences so they no longer feel as emotionally overwhelming or disruptive. While EMDR will not erase bad memories, the emotional intensity felt when thinking of those experiences often decreases significantly, allowing you to recall past events without experiencing the same level of fear, shame, anger, sadness, or discomfort that once accompanied them.

EMDR can be effective for both single-event traumas and more complex life experiences, including childhood adversity, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, grief, betrayal, anxiety, panic, medical trauma, and negative beliefs about oneself. Treatment is focused on resolving the root causes of distress rather than simply managing symptoms.

EMDR is used by therapists around the world. EMDR helps the brain resolve what has become stuck, allowing the past to feel like it is truly in the past.

I am not a traditional talk therapist. My approach focuses on helping the brain and nervous system resolve what has become stuck so that lasting change can occur at a deeper level.

Traumatic experiences can continue to affect how you think, feel, and respond long after the events have passed. You may find yourself struggling with anxiety, low self-confidence, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, or feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve you.

Trauma-focused therapy helps identify and resolve the experiences that continue to influence your present-day life. Rather than spending years simply talking about problems, treatment focuses on helping the brain and nervous system process unresolved experiences so they no longer create the same level of distress.

Using evidence-based, neuroscience-informed approaches, therapy can help reduce emotional reactivity, improve self-worth, increase resilience, and create lasting change. Whether you are coping with childhood experiences, grief, betrayal, a difficult relationship, a single traumatic event, or chronic stress, treatment is tailored to your unique needs and goals.

LENs -Low Energy Neurofeedback

LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System) is a gentle, non-invasive form of neurofeedback designed to help the brain and central nervous system function more efficiently. Rather than requiring active training or concentration, LENS works by reading the brain’s electrical activity and delivering a very low-frequency feedback signal—less powerful than the emissions from a cell phone.

This feedback acts much like a mirror for the brain. When the brain receives information about its own activity, it has the opportunity to recognize patterns that may be inefficient or dysregulated and naturally recalibrate itself toward healthier functioning.

Many individuals seek LENS Neurofeedback for concerns such as anxiety, stress, attention and concentration difficulties, ADHD, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), sleep disturbances, mood concerns, and the lingering effects of trauma. Because each brain is unique, responses vary, but many clients report feeling calmer, more focused, and better able to manage daily challenges.

LENS Neurofeedback can be used alongside EMDR and psychotherapy to support emotional well-being, nervous system regulation, and overall brain health.

Why Talk Therapies Do Not Always Work

Today we know more about the brain and why some experiences become ‘stuck’ and continue to trigger us in current day living. Studies conducted by top trauma researchers, psychologists and psychiatrists show why traditional talk therapies are ineffective in resolving trauma, which is defined, not only by catastrophic and life altering events, but also the humiliations and personal upsets that impact how we feel about ourselves, others and react to situations.

In short, traumatic memories stay stuck in regions of the brain that are nonverbal, unconscious and subcortical. They are not accessible to the conscious, understanding, thinking, nor reasoning parts of the brain. This brief explanation provides the justification for why we continue to feel anger, sadness, guilt, shame, resentment, discomfort when thinking about a past experience. Furthermore, it provides the explanation for the eyes welling with tears, the stomach tightening or the shoulders tensing when triggered. The beliefs we buy into about ourselves “I am defective, I can’t trust, I am not good enough, I can’t succeed, I am worthless, I am powerless”, etc. continue to be felt and impact our self-confidence, our relationships with others, our ability to perform in the world. Talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapies rely on that conscious, reasoning part of brain to gain insight, consider alternative perspectives and learn new coping strategies to better manage feelings, negative thoughts and anxieties. Because these therapies are not able to access underlying feelings, thoughts, issues that are not immediately in your conscious awareness and therefore, are not effective in changing those feelings and beliefs no matter how much one “deals with” or understands what happened to create them.

For more information, if interested, I recommend the books The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D. and Trauma and Memory, by Peter Levine, Ph.D.

HOW DOES THE PAST EFFECT ME TODAY

When a disturbing event happens and if that event does not get effectively processed the event becomes trapped and frozen in the brain, nervous system and bodies. Therefore, the memory of that event get triggered in the present erupting the same feelings, emotions, physical sensations and irrational beliefs that were associated with the event.

For example, suppose you were a child of divorced parents living with your mother and you had exciting plans for the day you were to be with your father. You recall how you were waiting by the door, ready to go, in anticipation only to learn that your father is not going to come. As a child, you do not rationally and maturely consider the reasons – all you know is that someone special did not show up for you and you feel you are not important to them, definitely not a priority and that perhaps you DON’T MATTER at all.

Now, in adulthood your spouse minimizes a birthday or your boss overlooks your efforts. That old message – that seed planted in childhood – is trapped and those irrational beliefs of “I DON’T MATTER” are once again triggered along with all of the feelings and emotions of that childhood event, often making it difficult to function or cope with the world around you.

While EMDR & BSP cannot erase memories, it can facilitate a reprocessing of the disturbing memory so that you can recall the event without the upset (feelings of sadness or rage, a knot in your stomach, a tear in your eye). Once these past experiences are effectively resolved the actions or behaviors of others will no longer be a reflection of you and the old belief of I DON'T MATTER will no longer feel true. In other words, your past pain will be resolved and cease to negatively impact your present, leaving freedom to live better now and in the future.

Outcomes

Childhood Bullying

After only two EMDR sessions, this client was surprised to experience how “easy” and quickly he could resolve the feelings of vulnerability of not being able to fight back.

Cheating Spouse

EMDR assisted wife in alleviating the intrusive thoughts about her husband’s affair and resolving the feeling of “being less than…”

Nightmares

After two sessions of EMDR, the client reported no return of a nightmare he has experienced since childhood.

Fear of Flying

Intense fear of flying jeopardized her relationship with a husband who loved to travel. After EMDR, the client is not only able to travel but is excited about the plans she and her husband have to fulfill her dream of visiting Ireland.

Physical Abuse

With three months of EMDR, this client was able to recall the physical childhood abuse by her mother without feeling the anger she has carried for decades. The client is now able to have a relationship with her mother because she “chooses to do so.”

Surgery

A client was anxious and scared about an upcoming surgery on her hand, fearing anesthesia, loss of her hand and everything going wrong. At the end of just one EMDR session, she was seeing humor in her fears and made it through surgery without incident and minimal anxiety.

Traumatic Childhood

A client had to care for a dying parent while having unresolved feelings of fear and anger as a result of a traumatic childhood that continued into adulthood. In two sessions the client reported that she was able to be more present and caring toward the parent and was even able to hold the parent’s hand as she passed away. She was also able to actually mourn her loss without interference of pain, anger and fear.

Depression

After EMDR therapy to resolve three traumatic life events, a client was able to make plans to host a holiday dinner for the first time in years without the recurrence of suicidal and clinical depression. As an additional result of EMDR, her psychiatrist of six years encouraged a decrease in her medications. She also reports that her fingernails have returned to normal (anxiety had caused dents and ridges).

Anxiety

A client who was highly anxious over an upcoming job interview reported that after one EMDR session, not only was she free of anxiety, but also even got lost in route and still didn’t worry.

Robbery

A client and coworkers were held up at gunpoint, experienced physical aggression and had their lives threatened. After six EMDR sessions, the client was able to return to work, finally sleep with the lights off and interact outside of the home with a greatly reduced fear of being in public amongst strangers.

Child’s Suicide

A client reported that after five EMDR sessions he no longer saw the image of his child, positioned on the couch having committed suicide, as horrific. While he could do nothing but focus on the horror of that memory before, he now reports that happy memories are overtaking that image. At the fifth session he reported that he had not cried in three weeks.

Crying all of the time

A significantly depressed client cried throughout her first few sessions and reported that she cried in every session with other therapists. After EMDR resolved past experiences, the client stopped crying and began to express a broader range of emotions. She also reported that she began to clean her room again, desire a social life and was able to identify accomplishments and talents.

Guilt

A client had been carrying around shame and guilt for 30 years after witnessing a crime without taking action. After three EMDR sessions, the client was no longer able to access the memory with great detail and stopped having the flashbacks he had experienced for the past twenty years. He embraced the fact that he was young and any action he took could have been life threatening to him.

Performance Enhancement

A client had a job interview that entailed presenting herself in front of a panel. Her EMDR session focused on her ability to present herself clearly, competently and as she wanted to be perceived. She won the job over two other highly qualified candidates. And, the client (who is a perfectionist) reports she is now feeling comfortable and confident doing the best she can do without needing to be perfect.

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