Staff

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor(LMHC) , Board Certified Sex Therapy (CST) in the State of Florida, as well as a Masters Addiction Counselor (MAC) & Sexual Recovery Therapist (SRT) practicing as a psychotherapist in Jacksonville. My education and professional background in both the mind and the body gives me a unique and effective approach to counseling. I work to provide clients with tailored treatment plans that can be integrated into their daily lives. I have completed my Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology from International Institute of Clinical Sexology in Miami Florida.

EMDR is a therapy that is designed to help people heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences by activating the client’s own natural healing. EMDR has been accepted as a therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is a recommended treatment for trauma in the Practice Guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense, SAMSHA, the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, and the World Health Organization. However, EMDR is considered an experimental therapy for all other indications, based on the current state of the published research on EMDR.

To read more about EMDR or research supporting the efficacy of EMDR, please visit the website. The description below is an excerpt from the website of the EMDR Institute, Inc. (2011). http://www.emdr.com/general-information/what-is-emdr/what-is-emdr.html

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can causes intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

In addition to treating past traumas, I work with individuals to implement here-and-now behaviors and thought processes to improve their ability to self- soothe and experience life with more mindfulness. Getting professional advice on how to get back to the basics of engaging in activities that you enjoy or need is also a critical part of the healing journey.