Education and Work Experience

I’ve been in the field of psychology for 25 years. I hold a Bachelors degree in Child Development and Family Studies and I received my Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy in 1990. I was licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 1993. I have worked in a variety of  inpatient and outpatient mental health/substance abuse settings and have maintained a private practice since 1993. Ten years ago, my husband and I opened The Bodhi House, Sober Living Environment where we developed high standards for sober living and integrated mindfulness recovery principals and yoga within our sober living home. Over the past 25 years, I have developed expertise in the following areas:

Clinical Orientation

Mindfulness, neuroscience and positive psychology are at the heart of my work. Whether I’m working with individuals, couples, or with EMDR, I start by creating a collaborative, secure relationship providing a cushion of support upon which to do the work of change. From this place, the brain feels safe to brave the explorative process, and go beyond default defenses or “comfort zones” into new possibilities. I adhere to the Positive Psychology theories building upon what’s working. From there I teach how to further create internal and external resources (coping strategies) that will contribute to feelings of resilience and empowerment.

Trauma of any kind has an impact on the brain in the form of self- doubt, negative identities, mood imbalances, and not feeling fully “there” or alive. I use EMDR and other modalities to help resolve past traumatic experiences. The mind is elastic and vast, and heals from psychological trauma just like the body heals from physical trauma. By the end of treatment, the brain keeps what lessons are valuable and usable, and leaves the rest behind.

I teach couples how to have meaningful conversations, using mindfulness and inquiry skills, while editing out right/wrong thinking. This makes the relationship a place where they find connection, safety, and strength…ultimately soothing the limbic brain of both. I use EMDR in couples’ sessions to address unresolved individual and couple’s traumas. Couples become less triggered by their partner, and therefore less defensive. The relationship optimally becomes a valuable co- creation verses a battle zone.

In addition to my practice, I am also a yoga teacher. Yoga’s experiential practice involves both the mind and the body. Therefore, the changes that result are not just mental, they are embodied and integrated into the nervous system which tends to have a more lasting effect. The “medicine” of meditation and movement calms the central nervous system and opens new pathways, answers and perspectives. I teach yoga classes and couple’s yoga locally.

Professional Organizations

EMDRIA Eye Motion Desensitization Reprocessing International Association (emdria.site-ym.com) and
Parnell Institute (parnellemdr.com)

Additional Information

MF
200 Hour Yoga Teacher

Years in practice
25 years
Licensed 1993

EMDR Status
Completed EMDRIA Basic training 2017

Populations Served
Older Adolescents
Adults
Couples

Specialty Areas
Mindfulness
Yoga
Relationship Misattunement
Addiction-chemical and behavioral
Depression and Anxiety
PTSD

Languages
English

AF EMDR Qualifications
Finished Part Three, Basic training May 2018
Trainer: Laurel Parnell

Trainings

2018

EMDR Basic Training: Part 1, 2 & 3-Advanced Clinical Workshop and Refresher Course-Trainer: Laurel Parnell, Ph.D

The Couples Conference, Oakland CA

Memory Reconsolidation, the Flash Technique & EMDR, Philip Manfield, Ph.D

Neuroscience & Yoga in the Treatment of Complex, Developmental, or Repeated Trauma, VYNE Education, Irina Diyankova, Ph.D, RYT-200

2017

First Annual Parnell Institute Innovations in EMDR Conference. Trainer Laurel Parnell, Ph.D

Perplexing Challenges in Couples Therapy: Lies, Infidelity, Unrelenting Hostility, and Self-Absorption. Trainers Ellyn Bader, Ph.D, and Pete Pearson, Ph.D

EMDR Basic Training, EMDRIA Trainer Gerald Puk, Ph.D

RYT 200 Expand Your Power, Baptiste Institute

2016

New Frontiers in Trauma Treatment, Trainer: Bessel A van der Kolk, M.D.

The Couples Conference

Core Mindfulness & Anxiety, Gerry Grossman Seminars

Adoption, Gerry Grossman Seminars

Law and Ethics, Gerry Grossman Seminars

Imago: Getting the Love You Want, A workshop for Couples. Trainers: Ralph Butcher, MFt and Mindy McHugh, MFT

The Immune System: The Mind-Body Connection: Who Gets Sick and Who Stays Well: Trainer: Institute for Brain Potential, Margaret Kemeny, Ph.D

2015

Understanding Metabolism: Mind-Body Connections: Stress-Related Eating, Mood, Cognition and Sleep. Trainer: Institute for Brain Potential, Aric Prather, Ph.D

2014

Law and Ethics, Gerry Grossman Seminars

Developing Positive Emotional Habits, Institute for Brain Potential, John Preston, Psy.D

Pathways to Successful Aging, Institute for Brain Potential, John Arden, Ph.D

2013

Understanding the Gut Brain: Stress, Appetite, Digestion, and Mood, Institute for Brain Potential, Merrily Kuhn, Ph.D

Calming the Overactive Brain, Institute for Brain Potential, Bill Sieber, Ph.D

2012

Memory, Institute for Brain Potential, Loren Frank, Ph.D

How the Brain Forms New Habits: Why Willpower Is Not Enough, Institute for Brain Potential, Jodie Trafton, Ph.D

I can be reached at

707-696-6138