I'm a naturally intuitive and empathetic person, so part of who I am as a therapist is genuinely enjoying listening to people talk about their lives. My main goal is to create a safe space for you to explore your feelings - snarkiness, self-deprecating humor, cursing, etc. is all welcome and accepted. Over time, I'll help you make sense of your experiences and start to see and understand yourself with more compassion.
I'm also a neuroscience nerd, so another part of who I am as a therapist is helping you understand how your brain works and the how and why of what we’re doing in therapy. We'll talk about subpersonalities, neuroplasticity, memory networks, and more...but don't worry: I have an extensive library of articles, videos, and memes to help explain things.
The most important part of who I am as a therapist is believing that therapy isn't just where you learn how to “deal with” mental health problems, but that for those who are ready, therapy can provide real healing. Using IFS-Informed EMDR, I help clients “reconsolidate” trauma memories, allowing you to experience transformational and lasting change.
The things that compel someone to go to therapy for the first time - unwanted behaviors, thoughts, emotions, or even psychosomatic symptoms - are driven by underlying (and sometimes unconscious) “emotional learnings.” Emotional learnings define the way we view ourselves, others, and the world in general.
We all develop our core emotional learnings in childhood, but if we experience something particularly impactful or possibly traumatic later in life, those learnings can change, or grow stronger, or we may even develop new ones. So whether they develop in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, negative emotional learnings are common when we experience trauma, but they can also happen from experiences that, on the surface, don’t seem like that big of a deal.
So it doesn't matter if they are from a major trauma or not - IFS-Informed EMDR therapy can help you to process these impactful experiences and then actually “overwrite” your negative emotional learnings, completely transforming how you view yourself and others, which is what makes it possible to experience lasting change.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. IFS stands for Internal Family Systems.
Both EMDR and IFS are evidence-based therapies for treating trauma. IFS-Informed EMDR integrates the two, changing the underlying negative core beliefs that are causing emotional and relational problems in a way that collaborates with our natural psychological defenses rather than trying to just push past them.
In my experience, this combination creates the most efficient process and is especially effective when working with developmental and complex trauma.
Another name for “emotional learnings” is “implicit memories.” EMDR and IFS each use different techniques to accomplish a process called memory reconsolidation, which addresses impactful experiences that have gotten “stuck” in the brain’s memory networks. Most therapists use either EMDR or IFS, but IFS-Informed EMDR integrates the two:
- it uses the standard EMDR treatment protocol for re-processing memories by desensitizing the old experience (takes the “charge” out of how the experience is stored in the brain) and installing new, positive cognitions (re-stores the experience in the brain’s memory networks with a positive belief attached to it)
- it also incorporates the concepts of “parts” from IFS: it accesses the calm, compassionate leadership of our true “Self” in order to gain permission from “protectors” to connect with the “exiles” who are stuck in the past so they can release the negative emotions and beliefs they are holding
Ah, the naiveté of an 18-year-old having an “epiphany” about what she wants to do with her life…. Yes, that was me. A month into my first semester of college and already changing my major. I was going to be a therapist! Interestingly, I never wavered in that desire, though my plan to get there and what I expected that to look like definitely changed. Looking back now, I think the most naive part of my epiphany was that I decided I wanted to be a therapist before I had ever worked with one.
Not to worry… my life fell apart less than a year later and my butt was sitting on a therapist’s couch just a few months after that thanks to a friend who was willing to say to me, “Tara, I think you’re depressed. I think you need to talk to someone.”
It’s the other side of a screen now, but you know what I mean.
I’m certainly not going to claim that “I know how you feel” or “I’ve been where you are,” but what I will tell you is that I have personally experienced what can happen when you commit to working on your “stuff.” It was messy, and hard, and honestly took a few tries before I found the right therapist and the right kind of therapy to really start seeing the changes I was hoping for.
But I think it has been worth the effort. Seeing how much I changed as a person, and how so many areas of my life improved is a big part of what drives the work that I do - I truly feel honored witnessing my clients' transformations as they too experience a profound kind of healing and growth.
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, Richmont Graduate University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, University of Colorado - Boulder
EMDR Therapy Basic Training, EMDR Institute of Dr. Francine Shapiro
Trauma in the Developmental Context, Richmont Graduate University
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Intensive Course with Dr. Richard Schwartz and Dr. Frank Anderson, PESI Inc.
IFS-Informed EMDR, Bruce Hersey at emdrifs.com
Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C), Postpartum Support International
Approved Gottman “Bringing Baby Home” Educator, The Gottman Institute
Certified Happiest Baby Educator, Happiest Baby Education Association
Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant, Center for Pediatric Sleep Management
TeleMental Health Training Certificate (THTC), Telehealth Certification Institute
Guidelines for a Safe, Ethical, and Contained Online EMDR Practice, Trauma Focused Counselling
Teletherapy for Perinatal Mental Health, Postpartum Support International
Using EMDR Therapy in a Telehealth Format, Trauma Specialists of Maryland
Colorado LMFT: MFT.0001712
Georgia LMFT: MFT001719
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, Richmont Graduate University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, University of Colorado - Boulder
EMDR Therapy Basic Training, EMDR Institute of Dr. Francine Shapiro
Trauma in the Developmental Context, Richmont Graduate University
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Intensive Course with Dr. Richard Schwartz and Dr. Frank Anderson, PESI Inc.
IFS-Informed EMDR, Bruce Hersey at emdrifs.com
Certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C), Postpartum Support International
Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant, Center for Pediatric Sleep Management
Approved Gottman “Bringing Baby Home” Educator, The Gottman Institute
Certified Happiest Baby Educator, Happiest Baby Education Association
TeleMental Health Training Certificate (THTC), Telehealth Certification Institute
Guidelines for a Safe, Ethical, and Contained Online EMDR Practice, Trauma Focused Counselling
Teletherapy for Perinatal Mental Health, Postpartum Support International
Using EMDR Therapy in a Telehealth Format, Trauma Specialists of Maryland
Colorado LMFT: MFT.0001712
Georgia LMFT: MFT001719
For those who are always feeling stressed or on edge, getting panic attacks, avoiding social situations… or those who feel down, hopeless, have no energy or motivation… or a combination of both.
For those heartbroken from a breakup or divorce, striking out in the online dating scene, or who can’t figure out how to make a relationship last - but want to have a successful long-term partnership.
For those experiencing prenatal or postpartum depression/anxiety, infertility, pregnancy/infant loss, or generally trying to adjust to being a parent and its impact on your life and your identity.
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