Trauma and PTSD Therapists in 65804

You have a story. A very important and unique story. Sometimes your story keeps you stuck. It keeps you from being the best version of yourself. If your story involves trauma whether from sexual abuse, divorce as an adult or child, physical or verbal abuse, loss, relationship conflict, boundary confusion, religious confusion, natural disasters, accidents, etc, I can help you reprocess these memories and the negative things that you tell yourself. It takes a lot of strength to reach out and ask for help however, I will provide you a safe space to do just that.

I am a trauma specialist with over 10 years of experience working with the most difficult populations including Refugees; Children and Adolescent's in the Foster Care System; Military Personnel, and Athletes. My passion is using mindfulness and EMDR to help clients recover from trauma and negative experiences in an effort to live their healthiest, most whole and productive lives.

I enjoy working with children and adults, meeting with individuals, couples and families. Prior to joining the team at Synergy Counseling Center, I worked for a Community Health Center and an Indian Health Services Center in Alaska working across the lifespan. I approach therapy from an attachment-focused lens and believe we find healing through an integrated, wholistic approach to therapy.

All humans experience various transitional times during their lives. These times can be amazing and filled with so much happiness and hope, or they can be unbearable and blanket us in emotions we have no idea how to experience. Maybe you are experiencing mental health symptoms that you have not wanted to share with anyone else because you know you'll sound "crazy" or you have a place in the community where you can't be open about them.

Do you find that you don’t respond to stress the way you want to? You try to cope, but don’t have enough tools in the toolbox? Are you dealing with relationship stress? Or maybe struggling with unwanted habits? It’s common to find ourselves here at various points in our lives and it’s hard. What would it be like to feel calmer and stronger? To be able to look at situations without being clouded by past experiences. To be better able to make choices?

I have over 28 years of experience working with Individuals struggling with depression, trauma, anxiety, marital difficulties and family stressors. My goal is to help people find symptom relief and a life path that they find fulfilling.

The focus of what I offer is to invite and empower you to practice trusting the wisdom of your body. By doing this, a more secure and trusting relationship with yourself can begin to develop. In time, this can help you to navigate stressors and aid you in trauma recovery. A person generally finds relief, compassion, and an empowered sense of self from this process.

Life can sometimes feel overwhelming, and relationships like a constant struggle. We have a knowledge that it wasn’t meant to be this way and feel compelled to take the first steps toward wholeness but sometimes don’t know where to begin. Through compassion and empathy, I partner with clients to begin their healing journey. I seek first to understand their story, providing a safe and secure place to process the pain. It is my core belief that no problem is too messy and no challenging situation is without hope.

I use a person-centered approach that facilitates healing through providing empathetic support to assist in exploring past hurts, put a voice to their feelings, make sense of their world and help each person to make meaning out of their lives. She has experience working with adolescents and adults with a variety of issues including depression, ADHD, trauma and gender identity issues.

My clients are successful, highly-motivated professionals who find that certain areas of life are becoming unmanageable. I am a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT®) specializing in sex/porn addictions, partners of sex addicts, multiple addictions, trauma, abuse, and PTSD. I trained under Patrick Carnes at the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). Under Dan Allender I earned an advanced counseling certificate in trauma-focused narrative therapy. Addiction, abuse and trauma are viewed as symptoms rather than defining characteristics. I seek an approach to recovery that embraces positive, proactive, sustainable change.

Do you feel stuck or like failure is your normal? Do you have painful memories or nightmares of the past that still haunt you and wish you could just move past them? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment that resolves the body's response to trauma, phobias, or negative life experiences. Whether you are a survivor of a horrific trauma or you have experienced adverse life events, I’m here to help you move past those experiences and into a more fulfilling future. Most people can benefit from EMDR therapy, which is often coupled with CBT and other therapies.

I love creating a therapeutic space where people feel heard and accepted. My favorite part of my work is helping people understand themselves and their reactions so they can more fully embrace who they are. I also enjoy giving people practical tools to help them regulate their nervous system and feel less stressed. I am EMDR trained and Heart Math certified. As part of the Wellness Collective, you can have the ultimate self care day and enjoy a yoga class, facial, or acupuncture before or after therapy.

I am deeply committed to supporting individuals in processing and healing from past trauma. I understand the profound impact that unresolved wounds can have on one's emotional well-being, relationships, and overall success. Utilizing evidence-based practices, I walk alongside my clients to help guide them toward healing, empowerment, and reclaiming a sense of control over their lives.

Hoping to regain control of your life? Uncertain about what your future holds? Getting help from a trusted professional is an important first step! I would love to help if you are struggling with anxiety, obsessional doubt, fear, worry, panic, depression, intrusive thoughts, or the aftermath of trauma. I have experience treating a broad range of clinical problems and would love to help you get your life back! Many of my past and current clients are just going through a rough time and need additional support from someone outside their immediate circles. Others have a diagnosable disorder. Either way, I'd love to help!

Many of my clients enter therapy to address the feeling of groundlessness that can occur when things fall apart. It may be an episode of significant depression or anxiety, unresolved trauma, a life changing loss such as divorce or death, or a crisis of awakening and challenging previously held understandings of the self in the world. There are many paths that take us into therapy, and I walk that path with my clients to develop a better understanding and integration to adapt to life when we find ourselves at these challenging points.

Now accepting new clients! Addiction and trauma are linked. Unresolved trauma and attachment wounds need to heal. Be heard and validated without judgement. Allow your pain to be acknowledged. Regain a sense of sanity and heal from trauma and attachment failures. We all want to be seen, heard, and known. When working with me, a client-centered approach is utilized, meaning I will show unconditional positive regard and an empathetic understanding towards all clients. Together we will navigate the presenting issues while learning to incorporate new, healthy coping mechanisms and process through trauma.

Life can present us with many unwanted and unexpected situations. Sometimes, it can be a traumatic situation, or maybe you are dealing with a child who has become withdrawn, not speaking, and is not socializing with the family. Perhaps you have some past trauma that has not been fully explored or resolved, or anxiety about the future. Whatever the circumstances, counseling may be able to help. I have worked with clients of all ages and with many different issues, including anxiety, depression, and ADHD as well as with patients experiencing past and current trauma.

I look forward to working with clients whose life path may have created difficulties for them that has led them not be the best of who they can be. Each individual's path may have been sprinkled with physical or emotional abuse, neglect, assault, grief and loss, domestic violence, marital or parental discord or a myriad of other situations. Sometimes these life paths create in my clients a feeling of hopeless and loss of self-worth, sometimes these path end with someone needing to determine a plan to leave an unsafe living situation. Sometimes these paths lead to turning to substances and illegal drugs to cope with the internal turmoil and pain. It is my privlege to work with clients to help them identify and bring forth the best of who they are and what they want for their life, their family and their future through their own individual strengths.

I'm not your typical counselor... You won't find me busy looking at my notes and only paying attention half the time you're talking. My style is very conversational and I'll share about myself any time it's pertinent, or when asked. I don't believe in dragging counseling out because it's expensive so why waste your time and money? You've got a problem so let's get to fixing it! The bottom line is your quality of life: it's not where you want/need it to be, and it's my job to help you improve it. My primary office is in Springfield, MO with a secondary location in Chesterfield, MO a few days a week.