About Jennifer
I believe in everyone’s natural ability to grow toward wellness, to build emotional resilience, to gain insight and perspective, to change, heal, and find peace. What you can expect from me is empathetic understanding, compassion, honesty, confidentiality, and a willingness to journey with you toward self-discovery and emotional healing—in ways that make sense for you.
I work with clients struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, substance and alcohol abuse, low self-esteem, trauma, grief, codependency and interpersonal conflict, stress management, and life transitions. I also work with artists, writers, musicians and other creative people who feel creatively blocked or held back from their potential. I also have more than 15 years of experience working in the field of alcoholism, with extensive knowledge about 12-Step recovery programs.
I take an integrative therapeutic approach and recognize the mind-body connection to mental health. I use bilateral stimulation during each session. BLS calms the nervous system and supports both hemispheres of the brain to work together. This allows the brain to make connections and process emotions, leading to greater insight, stress reduction, and new, healthier neural pathways. I incorporate other techniques to calm the nervous system while helping clients shift deeper emotional patterns and responses. I am an EMDRIA trained EMDR therapist and use bilateral stimulation to help clients with trauma and difficult emotions. In addition, I incorporate elements of behavioral therapy, solutions-based therapy, parts work, narrative therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). We’ll work together to determine your needs and the best way to navigate the challenges you face. You are not alone, and you don’t have to do it by yourself. I welcome the opportunity to meet you to discuss your treatment goals and ways that we might work together.
About EMDR
Most of the time our brains can process upsetting events or traumatic experiences on our own, even if it takes weeks or months. But approximately 30% of the time, our brains have trouble fully integrate what happened, which effects the way we experience the world. PTSD can occur after a traumatic event, but sometimes it can occur years later from the cumulative effect of repeated disturbing experiences or dysfunction. Big T and little t trauma can effect our brains in similar ways. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (through eye movement, tapping, or audio stimulation) to help clients fully process stuck or “frozen” memories that trigger us because they were “misfiled.” EMDR alleviates the symptoms of trauma and lowers our activation from old wounds. EMDR helps the brain to “refile” disturbing memories and events to the part of the brain where it should’ve been process and helps the brain reframe the incident with adaptive thoughts. Originally developed to help soldiers with PTSD, EMDR has been found to be effective in treating anxiety, depression, phobias, addictions, compulsive behaviors, depression, eating disorders, and chronic pain. EMDR has been researched extensively and recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the Department of Defense and Veteranst Affairs, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress as an effective treatment for trauma. We can talk about For more information about EMDR, visit www.emdria.org .