Most memories are processed and stored in the frontal lobe of the brain where they can be understood. Traumatic memories, however, are stored the limbic system. The limbic system signals our fight-flight-freeze response. This may prepare our body by raising heart rate, tensing muscles, dilating pupils, even disrupted digestion.

The bilateral stimulation used in EMDR helps to move memories to the frontal lobe. It does not erase memories but allows us to think of them without somatic/distress responses. During the reprocessing phase of EMDR, positive beliefs of self are installed to replace the negative self-beliefs that often result from traumatic events and adverse childhood experiences.

Brainspotting can be used to treat PTSD, anxiety, depression, addiction, physical pain, or chronic illness. Born from EMDR, Brainspotting also uses bilateral stimulation and eye position to connect memories stored in the limbic system to the frontal lobes. It synthesizes relational therapy and direct access to the brain through the visual field to essentially rewire the brain!

With new neural pathways established, clients can live in the “here and now” with more adaptive beliefs and responses.

Therapy should not look the same for every person. I will likely not look the same throughout different periods of a single person’s life. Treatment is tailored to fit the unique needs and strengths of client, couple, or family.

My training in Psychodrama, Relational Trauma Repair, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and Somatic Experiencing, allows us to use a wide variety of tools as we collaborate on throughout the healing process.

As humans, we learn quickly that we can escape emotional or physical discomfort experienced in the body. As we grow into adulthood, our list of strategies for detaching from the body tends to grow. From dissociation to gambling, alcohol or drug use, sex, shopping, media, food, self-harm…the list goes on.

As a certified yoga teacher, I can help guide clients in a new relationship with their bodies. Learning to be with sensations rather than numbing or distracting from them can be a game changer for individuals who have found that their detachment strategies are creating new stressors.