Three Approaches. One Objective.
Not every problem gets stuck in the same place.
Some patterns live in old memories that continue to influence the present.
Some show up through the body as tension, panic, numbness, or shutdown.
Some emerge through different parts of us pulling in opposite directions at the same time.
That's why I don't rely on a single approach.
EMDR, somatic therapy, and parts work each offer a different way of understanding and working with human experience.
Together, they allow us to work more precisely with whatever is keeping you stuck rather than forcing every problem into the same framework.
Below is a brief overview of each approach, how I use it, and why it can be helpful.
EMDR
What Does EMDR Actually Look Like One of the biggest misconceptions about EMDR is that it starts with trauma processing.
It doesn't.
EMDR follows a structured treatment process that includes assessment, preparation, resourcing, processing, and integration.
Before we begin deeper work, I want to know that you have the tools and support necessary to do it well.
Once we're ready, we identify specific memories, experiences, beliefs, emotions, and present-day triggers that seem connected to the issue we're working on.
Using bilateral stimulation—typically eye movements, tapping, or alternating tones—we allow the brain to do what it naturally does best: process information and make connections.
What It Can Help WithEMDR is one of the most researched trauma therapies available and is recognized as a first-line treatment for PTSD by organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
It is commonly used for:
Trauma & Complex trauma
Grief & Loss
Distressing life events
Shame & Negative self beliefs
Performance blocks & Fears
Anxiety related to past experiences & Phobias
Why I use EMDREMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured therapy approach designed to help the brain process experiences that remain emotionally unresolved.
When something overwhelming happens, parts of the experience can become isolated from the rest of your life story, remaining emotionally charged long after the event is over.
EMDR helps the brain process and integrate those experiences so they no longer have the same influence on the present.
The memory remains.
The way your brain responds to it changes.
Past, Present, FutureEMDR is not just about revisiting old memories.
The standard protocol works with three areas:
Past experiences that contributed to the problem
Present-day situations that continue triggering it
Future situations where you'd like to respond differently
The goal is to reduce the influence old experiences continue to have on your life today.
*Don’t worry, it doesn’t feel nearly as complicated when you’re actually doing it as it does when you’re learning about how it works.
SOMATIC THERAPY
Why I use Somatic therapyMost of us are taught to pay attention to our thoughts.
Much less attention is given to what the body is communicating.
Somatic therapy is an approach that helps us understand the information carried through physical sensations, movement, posture, tension, breath, and nervous system responses.
The body is constantly gathering information and reacting to the world around us—often long before the thinking mind catches up.
You may notice it as:
A tight chest before a difficult conversation
A knot in your stomach that tells you something feels off
A jaw that never fully relaxes
Feeling frozen when you want to speak up
A sense of urgency even when nothing is actually wrong
These responses are not random.
They are often meaningful signals from a system that has learned how to adapt, protect, and survive.
What It Can Help WithSomatic therapy can be especially helpful when your body seems to have a mind of its own.
Somatic therapy can be especially helpful when you understand something logically, but your body continues responding as though the threat is still present.
It is commonly used for:
Anxiousness & Chronic stress
Panic attacks
Hypervigilance, Bracing, Chronic tension
Dissociation & Disconnection
Burnout & Exhaustion
IBS & Stress-related digestive issues
Chronic pain & Medically unexplained symptoms
Difficulty identifying emotions
The Nervous SystemThe nervous system is designed to move.
When danger appears, your body automatically mobilizes energy to fight or flee. If it senses it cannot outrun or outfight the threat, it will freeze - until the threat (hopefully) passes.
In a healthy system, once the threat passes, that activation resolves and the body returns to balance. Animals do this on their own.
But with humans, that process often gets interrupted. The threat may be gone, but your nervous system hasn't fully registered that it's over.
So, the threat ends, but the activation doesn't.
The body keeps acting as though something still needs to happen.
You may feel:
constantly on edge
unable to relax
emotionally numb
exhausted but unable to rest
restless for no obvious reason
Somatic therapy helps the nervous system complete what never fully resolved and return to a state of safety, flexibility, and balance.
What Does it Look Like Somatic therapy is often much simpler than people expect.
We might be talking about a difficult conversation when I notice your foot starts bouncing, your jaw tightens, your breathing changes, or your shoulders rise.
Instead of pushing past those moments, we slow down and get curious.
What is your body trying to do?
Sometimes that means simply noticing and listening.
Sometimes it means exaggerating a movement, shifting position, standing up, moving around, or experimenting with what your body seems to be asking for.
There is no single exercise or formula.
The body often tells us where to go next if we're willing to pay attention.
The goal is to help your nervous system complete responses that may have been interrupted and restore flexibility where it has become stuck.
PARTS WORK
What's Up With PartsMost parts develop for a reason.
Some learned to keep the peace.
Some learned to stay vigilant.
…to be productive.
…to be independent.
…to become invisible.
…to be agreeable.
…to stay in control.
At one point, those strategies probably helped.
The problem is that they often continue operating long after the situation that created them has changed.
What once protected you can eventually begin limiting you.
Parts work helps us understand how those protective systems formed, what they are trying to accomplish, and whether they still need to be working quite so hard.
What It Can Help WithParts work can be particularly helpful for:
Self-criticism, Self-hate, & Perfectionism
People-pleasing & Difficulty holding boundaries
Emotional over-reacting & Over-thinking
Shame & Low self-worth
Relationship patterns that seem impossible to break
Procrastination & Self-sabotage
Internal conflict and Indecision
Dissociation & Check-out
It can be especially useful when part of you wants something and another part keeps getting in the way.
Why I use Parts WorkHave you ever felt completely certain you wanted something...
and then done the exact opposite?
One part of you wants to set a boundary.
Another part worries people will be upset.
One part wants intimacy.
Another wants to run.
One part wants to rest.
Another insists you should be doing more.
Parts work starts with a simple idea:
These aren't contradictions.
They're different parts of you trying to help in different ways.
Different parts hold different experiences, beliefs, emotions, and ways of trying to keep you safe.
And they don't always agree.
Parts work helps us understand those internal conflicts instead of treating them as signs that something is wrong with you.
What Does It Actually Look Like You may have heard of Internal Family Systems (IFS), one of the most widely known forms of parts work.
While I draw from several parts-oriented approaches, the goal is similar:
To understand the different parts of you rather than fighting against them.
In session, we might identify a critical part, an anxious part, a protective part, a younger wounded part, or a part that seems determined to stay in control.
Instead of trying to get rid of it, we get curious about it.
What is it afraid would happen if it stopped doing its job?
What is it trying to protect?
What does it need?
Often the parts causing the most problems are the parts working the hardest to keep you safe.
We don’t try to eliminate parts of yourself.
We help them work together more effectively.