The work behind the work.

EMDR is the most rigorously researched approach to trauma processing currently in clinical use. Originally developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro and now formally trained through the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) curriculum.

My training follows the EMDRIA-approved basic-training pathway, which covers the full eight-phase protocol — history-taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. EMDR is not a quick fix or a single technique; it is a structured, paced process that requires a working relationship before active processing begins.

I use EMDR with women working through trauma, anxiety responses that don't match the present situation, low self-worth, and stuck reactions in relationships.

AEDP is an attachment-based, emotion-focused approach developed by Diana Fosha at the AEDP Institute. It centers on the idea that transformation happens when clients are accompanied with attunement and warmth into the emotional experiences they've spent years working to avoid.

Where EMDR works through structured protocol, AEDP works through deep relational presence. The two complement each other — AEDP creates the emotional safety that makes EMDR processing possible, and EMDR resolves the implicit memory that talk-based work alone cannot reach.

IFS is a parts-based model developed by Richard Schwartz that treats the mind as a system of distinct "parts" — protectors, exiles, the inner critic, the wounded child — each carrying its own history and purpose. The work is not about getting rid of any of them; it is about getting to know them and unburdening what they have been carrying alone.

For women in particular, IFS often surfaces parts that have been working overtime — the people-pleaser, the perfectionist, the part that keeps things together for everyone else. Naming them shifts the relationship. The work that follows is the relief of letting those parts step back.

Somatic therapy works with the body — breath, posture, sensation, micro-movement — as a real part of the therapeutic process. Patterns of tension and nervous-system activation that talk therapy cannot always reach become visible and workable when we slow down and listen to what the body holds.

In sessions, this might look like noticing where in your body a memory shows up, or learning to feel what regulation actually means rather than only thinking about it. Nothing is forced; the body sets the pace.

For children and for adults who find traditional talk therapy hard to access, expressive modalities — sand tray, miniatures, drawing — open a different path to the same work. Trained through standard clinical pathways for both modalities.

In Florida, every Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) begins as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern (RMHCI), completing a defined number of supervised clinical hours under the qualified supervision of a fully licensed clinician. This is not a training-wheels period — it is the structured pathway to independent licensure mandated by Florida Statute Chapter 491.

My qualified supervisor is Karin Witte, LMHC #MH13488. Regular supervision means a fully licensed clinician reviews my clinical work — case conceptualization, treatment planning, ethical decisions, complex situations — on an ongoing basis. For a client, this translates to two trained minds working on their case rather than one.

Florida law requires the full title — "Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern" — to appear in every bio, profile, and disclosure. You'll see it consistently on this site for that reason.