Strengthening the Relational Field of Trauma Healing

~offered by horizon~

I am a trauma worker, a somatic therapist and a culture builder. I mentor EMDR therapists in the deeply embodied, open-hearted work of somatic trauma healing. And by this I mean our birthright ability to heal our individual and collective traumas, griefs, ecosystems and futures. And by this I mean healing in ways that are rooted in love, that unlock what is possible.

We are living in a time when we know SO MUCH about the relational field of healing. I practice EMDR because I know it to be an exquisitely beautiful trauma healing modality that consistently helps my clients to sustainably metabolize past traumas and griefs instead of reliving them. EMDR reminds us what our bodies already know (and what neuroscience continues to reaffirm), that we have an innate wisdom and a deep capacity for healing and transformation. This is both magic and science.

Liberation-Rooted EMDR
I work with liberation-aligned EMDR practitioners. Therapists and healers who understand that oppression is trauma and who want to practice in ways that create more safety with their clients. I help consultees to develop an EMDR practice that is anti-racist, queer/trans-affirming, neurodivergent affirming, fat/body positive, anti-ableist, anti-oppressive, magical and liberatory.

EMDR Certification 
Your EMDR Certification process is a journey of learning to practice open-heartedness, attunement and deep listening while working to reliably create the conditions of safety with your clients—all while cultivating a deep somatic understanding and intuitive practice of EMDR. As a dedicated student and practitioner of the relational neurosciences, I support consultees in cultivating a fluent understanding of what polyvagal theory and interpersonal neurobiology continue to teach us about creating the relational conditions for healing—so that the artistry of your EMDR facilitation shines through your heart and practice.

In our consultation work, and because healing happens in relationship, we will feel relationally for the practices and skills of EMDR that lead to healing, regeneration and true trauma metabolism for you clients.

Complex Trauma and Dissociation
I am a complex trauma specialist and have been practicing for over 21 years. I have advanced training and am experienced in supporting folx recovering from complex developmental (and historical) trauma, addictions, eating disorders and complex (structural) dissociation. As an EMDR therapist, I help clients learn to listen to the wisdom of their bodies out of a deep believe that our clients systems know the exact right way to heal. As an EMDR Consultant In Training, I will help you learn to do the same. With a truly intuitive understanding of EMDR in our bones, we find a softness that flows through our practice, inviting healing to follow.

I use and teach a non-pathologizing approach to conceptualizing treatment and supporting the trauma survivors we work with. I approach eating disorder treatment from a Body Trust, Body Liberation lens. And in the words of Dr. Gabor Mate, I believe in asking “not why the addiction, why the pain.” I believe all behaviors are an attempt at regulation and I seek to identify and treat the underlying trauma beneath any behavioral attempt to regulate.

quEerMDR
I am a queer fat femme who practices at the intersections of oppression, grief, trauma and liberation. My EMDR and trauma healing practice is deeply woven within liberatory practice culture and I come from a lineage of healers dedicated to justice for all people with a lived experience of oppression.

quEerMDR** is the way I have come to understand queer healing as it flows through the artistry of EMDR, using the fluidity, authenticity and vastness of queerness to invite healing and transformation. I consult with trans, nonbinary, femme and queer therapists on bringing their full selves into their healing practices and on powerfully supporting LGBTQIA+ clients in effective trauma healing. I also work with conspiring clinicians seeking to better understand and support their LGBTQIA+ clients.

~IFS & QTIFS Informed EMDR~
My practice is deeply informed by the wisdom of (Queer and Trans) Internal Family Systems* which teaches us to compassionately understand our client’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors and feelings as a response to systemic wounding and protection rather than the result of pathology. In this way, we help our clients work within their inner world by honoring and collaborating with their body’s protective system (parts) rather than fighting or overriding them. IFS is a beautifully queer healing lineage that invites the practices of deep witnessing, trust-building, nurturing and self-attunement (the relational practices of safety and love) to help us feel whole and free.

I am an IFS Level 1 Trained Therapist, currently working toward IFS Certification. I blend EMDR with IFS because I understand healing through the lens of parts, because bringing a parts lens to EMDR increases safety and effectiveness, and because both of these lineages—particularly when used together—offer us access to powerful healing. I offer consultation in IFS-Informed EMDR, so you can reliably help your clients to access the powerful healing that is their birthright.

IFS is an ego state/parts therapy modality. I also offer consultation in other ego state EMDR integrations and believe our clients systems are very wise in telling us what they need to heal. My influences in these workings are Virginia Satir, Bonnie Badenoch, Robin Shapiro, Resmaa Menakem, Janina Fisher, Jim Knipe, Joy DeGruy, Esta Porter, Jamie Marich and Deb Dana.

Consulting with an EMDR Consultant In Training
As an EMDR Consultant In Training (CIT) I am able to supervise 15 of the 20 hours required for EMDR certification. I receive guidance in my consultation practice (and ongoing support in my own EMDR practice) from the fabulous EMDR Consultant and EMDR Basic Trainer, Esta Porter.

Esta has accompanied me on my own journey of developing and trusting my EMDR heart and I am deeply grateful for her mentorship and teachings. I honor her teachers as well in this lineage of EMDR practice.

About My Practice
I have spent more than 21 years in a deep study of how healing happens, learning to undo oppression while learning to co-create cultures of justice and belonging. I have been mentoring and supervising folx in anti-oppressive, liberatory healing modalities for more than 15 years. My training has included intensive learnings in somatics, trauma healing, anti-oppressive practices, anti-racism, liberatory culture building, ritual and witchcraft. My therapy practice is a blending of liberatory healing practices rooted in the relational neurosciences, somatic wisdom, parts work, ancestral healing, magic and love. I accompany people in the deep work of making real what our souls know is possible.

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*QTIFS, Queer and Trans Internal Family Systems, is a beautiful, liberatory body of work, co-created and co-held by IFS therapists Sand Chang & Nic Wildes. You can learn more about their offerings here.

**quEerMDR is the way I have come to understand queer healing as it flows through the artistry of EMDR, using the fluidity, authenticity and vastness of queerness to invite healing and transformation. You can learn more about this offering through consultation and continuing education opportunities with me.