Complex & childhood trauma
Harm that happened over years, not in a single afternoon — and the beliefs about yourself that grew up around it.
EMDR & Integrative Trauma Therapy · SeaTac, Washington
You are not broken.You adapted to survive.
And now it may be time to help your nervous system understand that it is safe to stop surviving — and start living.
- Modality
- EMDR, eight phases
- Sessions
- In person & telehealth
- Insurance
- Premera · LifeWise
Why you feel the way you do
If you have ever wondered
- Why do I react so strongly?
- Why can’t I calm down, or trust people?
- Why does everything feel like it’s too much?
It may not be a sign that something is wrong with you. It may be a sign that something happened to you — and possibly to those who came before you.
When something overwhelms your nervous system — abuse, neglect, loss, chronic stress — your brain and body adapt in order to get you through it. Those adaptations were intelligent. They worked.
The trouble is that they can keep running long after the danger has passed, because your brain never received the signal that it's over.
Always on edge
Your body kept the alarm switched on.
Shutting down in conflict
Going still was once the safest option.
Numb, anxious, or angry for no reason
There is a reason. It just predates language.
Struggling with trust and boundaries
You learned what closeness cost.
These are not failures. They are protective strategies that helped you survive.
“Healing is possible, because your nervous system is not stuck — it's elastic. It can stretch, recover, and find its way back to balance.”
MJ Valentine, MA, LMHCA
The core of the work
What EMDR actuallydoes
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing has more scientific support for treating trauma than any other non-pharmaceutical intervention. It is a brain-based therapy, not a talking cure — we are not trying to explain the memory away. We are helping your brain finish digesting it.
How the eight phases work- 01
We prepare
You learn tools to ground, breathe, and manage distress. Nothing gets opened before you can close it.
- 02
We target stuck memories
Usually the early experiences that quietly wrote your beliefs about yourself.
- 03
We process them
Using gentle bilateral stimulation, your brain reconnects to its own natural healing system.
- 04
We install new truths
Ones that feel true in your body — not just ones you can recite in your head.
What I work with
Trauma is not one story, so the work is not one shape.
PTSD & single-incident trauma
Assault, accidents, medical events, loss. The memory that your nervous system still treats as present tense.
Intergenerational patterns
The things that did not start with you. What was modeled, what was inherited, what stops here.
Anxiety, grief & life transitions
Divorce, identity shifts, caregiving, burnout. The seasons where the ground moves underneath you.
Where we meet
A third-floor room in SeaTac — or your own.
Some people need to leave the house to do this work. Others need to stay in it. Both are legitimate, and you can move between them as the work changes.
In person
Park Place Plaza19550 International Blvd, Suite 311
SeaTac, WA 98188Parking, the building, and what to expect
Telehealth
EMDR translates well to video, and I run it regularly. Open to anyone physically located in Washington State at the time of session.
This is your healing season.
I'm honored to walk with you. Start with a phone consult — no paperwork, no commitment, just a conversation about whether this is the right fit.