Services & Modalities
Having recovered from anorexia and bulimia, I felt pulled to show others that it is possible to actually fully recover. This led me to becoming a therapist and working with not only eating disorders, but trauma, couples and families. I feel honored to have witnessed healing in individuals and families which was brought about because one person had the courage to show up and get help with healing from their eating disorder. While I am fully trained in EMDR, Brainspotting and the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM), I know that the most important component for healing is having someone who has been there and can walk with you and guide you on your journey into the light.
When working with couples or people in committed relationships, there are a few basic ways that I practice. I have found that there are three fundamental areas from which relationship problems arise.
The first is communication. I help people improve their communication using two basic platforms. These are, the *Four Fold Way (Show up; Pay attention; Say the truth, without judgment and Don’t be attached to the results) and LUV (Listen, Understand and Validate).
The second is a lack of polarity in the relationship. Everything in nature has an equal and opposite other- Day and night, light and dark, death and life, winter and summer, etc.. In relationships, the needed polarity is masculine and feminine (who holds each energy is not gender specific). The third is a lack of education about the fundamental, biological differences between males and females.
*The Fourfold Way was created by anthropologist Angeles Arrien.
Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event. Some experiences, like the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD. Symptoms usually begin early, within 3 months of the traumatic incident, but sometimes they begin years afterward. Symptoms must last more than a month and be severe enough to interfere with relationships or work to be considered PTSD. The course of the illness varies. Some people recover within 6 months, while others have symptoms that last much longer. In some people, the condition becomes chronic.
The Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) is a neuro-biologically based, affect-focused trauma treatment model which facilitates targeting of traumatic experiences by bridging the most primitive aspects of the person and their brain (midbrain/brainstem), to their purest, healthiest parts of the self.
Brainspotting (BSP) is a talk therapy that reveals a client’s unprocessed traumas through fixed eye positions. Specific eye positions each link to their own “brainspot,” an area of the mind that retains thoughts and emotions. Clients fixate on troubling brainspots to uncover hidden mental challenges. Brainspotting a relatively new way to treat many traumas and mental challenges. In addictions, brainspotting is used to expose hidden wounds that trigger the habit. For this article, we’ll highlight the role of brainspotting in addiction recovery. Brainspotting might be a good fit to work in tandem with your other therapies. In some programs, you might find yourself in BSP as you engage in CBT or DBT. Brainspotting can help recovering individuals if they:
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Had trouble reaching a significant breakthrough in previous therapies.
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Are entering addiction therapy for the first time.
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Feel intense anxiety, depression, or other emotions that don’t improve.
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Have relapsed on multiple occasions due to overwhelming situations.