TRAUMA RECOVERY & EMDR THERAPY

You can heal.

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION & REPROCESSING

You may be affected still by deeply upsetting experiences (trauma) that happened a long time ago without realizing it. You may wonder why sometimes you react so strongly to certain things that happen. The good news is that you can heal.

Commonly referred to as EMDR, this treatment reorganizes troublesome memories that can lead to negative beliefs about ourselves and interfere with daily functioning. When we experience an overwhelming, painful, or fearful event, that experience can become “frozen” in our bodies and minds. This is the brain’s way of coping with really difficult memories which creates patterns of avoidance or overreaction.

Once negative thoughts about yourself are identified in therapy, a past or present target is chosen to be the focus of the EMDR session and your therapist facilitates stimulation of both sides of your brain using eye movements, tapping, or auditory sounds. This stimulation gives your brain enough distance to process painful material. Memories are stored in a more adaptive part of the brain which allows for finding new meaning and positive beliefs about yourself.

Studies have shown EMDR to be a more efficient form of treatment for PTSD than talk therapies or CBT. Research has also shown it to be effective with anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, substance abuse, and complicated grief. It’s also now being used to address gender dysphoria or trauma related to gender transition-related experiences.

EMDR is a powerful tool for recovery. It’s also true that bilateral stimulation was not invented by Dr. Shapiro. African and Indigenous peoples, as well as other peoples around the world, have been using these healing practices forever.

Tavi utilizes ancestral healing practices such as drumming and dancing in trauma recovery work with BIPOC people. The therapist you choose may also have other trauma recovery methods to offer as well.

READY TO START HEALING?

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

After working with you, I’m as confident in my gender as it’s possible to be.

I believe you held a sacred role in my life.

She/Her
LMSW, Gender Therapist

Gianna Rico

I am a queer, cis-gender, femme human that uses she/her pronouns. I spend my personal time honoring my body through intentional movement, connecting with nature, filling my living space with too many plants and cats (it’s only 3 but I swear it feels like more sometimes!), and reading the endings of books before I even start them.

I center my care around building a safe and strong therapeutic relationship with each individual that I work with. I firmly believe that human connection and support can be the first step in healing and exploration. I draw from a broad variety of techniques and approaches and, in the true spirit of collaboration, always encourage my clients to let me know how best I can support them. As a queer, body-positive, and sex-positive clinician, I believe that therapy should be a place to celebrate and discover the complexities of being a human.

Areas of Interest: I enjoy working with clients who may be experiencing issues surrounding shame, self-esteem, body image, grief, depression, anxiety, 2SLGBTQ+ concerns, relationship struggles, and life transitions. This includes children and adolescents navigating the gender spectrum.

I have a particular interest in working with those who may be carrying a child or thinking about conceiving. Taking that step can feel scary and particularly polarizing in our binary filled world. I am here to hold and honor your space.

I am certified in Perinatal Mood Disorders and Anxiety. There can be many challenges postpartum and I don’t want you to feel alone in that period of your life. I’d love to share the tools I have with you.

Another area of specialty is in Religious Trauma. Many people, especially those of marginalized identities, have experienced abuse or trauma by religious leaders, in religious settings, and by harmful religious messages. I’m here to help you navigate a path to recovery and your relationship to the faith you grew up in and your feelings today.

When working with me you can expect a laid back and gentle approach fueled by my genuine curiosity to get to know you. My sessions are casual, interactive, and always affirming. In my space, there’s no pressure to act a certain way – I’m here to be with the true you.

Individual sessions: The first session is $150 (Code 90791). Sessions after that are $140 (Code 90837). You will receive monthly superbills (special receipts) in case you want to submit them to your insurance or FSA for reimbursement. If you have out of network benefits, you will end up paying out of pocket likely $40-$100 per session.

Supervisor: David Avruch, LCSW-C

She/Her or They/Them
LCPC

Kendra Smith

I have over 20 years of experience being a therapist and counselor educator. I have a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies. Additionally, I have specialized training and experience in Multichannel Eye Movement Integration, mindfulness, clinical supervision, and distance-based counseling. I am licensed in both DC and Maryland so can see people who live in either of these locations.

When not working, I fill my time with fiber arts, exploring thrift stores, reading, and hanging with my cat and dog. I’m white and non-binary. My pronouns are she/her or they/them.

Culturally Affirmative Therapy with Deaf and Hard of Hearing People: I have extensive experience working with Deaf community and am familiar with Deaf culture. I’m bilingual in English and American Sign Language and one of my joys is assisting Deaf and hard of hearing individuals with life transitions, trauma recovery, and relationship challenges.

Healthy Relationships: One area of interest for me is in assisting people who want to improve their relationships. Whether you want support in parenting, building friendships, improving romantic partnerships, or finding connection with, and as, elders, I’m here to provide encouragement, feedback and support in understanding relationship patterns and styles. We can work on this individually, or in couples or family configurations.

Anxiety and Trauma: Anxiety can show up as worry, repetitive thoughts, irritability, tension, stomach pain or nausea, and a number of other ways. Trauma can manifest as having nightmares, staying alert and on edge, reliving past events, chronic illness or pain, dissociation or numbing, difficulty in various types of relationships, along with other symptoms. It can sometimes feel like there’s no hope for changing these things or living without them. I believe you can find relief from anxiety or trauma responses and am here to offer possibility of a new way of being and concrete healing strategies.

Parents of Trans and Gender Expansive Individuals: Parents usually want to be supportive and affirming but sometimes aren’t sure how. They may want information, resources, or a place to process their own emotions as changes take place. I’m here to help parents adjust and maintain a close relationship with their child.

Payment Information: We are out of network with insurance companies for many reasons. You’ll receive monthly superbills (a special receipt) in case you want to submit to your insurance or FSA. Those with out of network benefits often end up paying $40-100 per session out of pocket after reimbursement.

Individual Sessions: The first session is $190 (Code 90791). Sessions after that are $180 (Code 90837).

Couple/Relationship/Family Therapy: The first session is $220 and sessions after are $210. Some insurance plans may consider it “family therapy”, (code 90847) if the couple is married, but you’ll want to verify this with them in order to file for your out of network benefits.

Please know that any communication or dealing with reimbursement denials are between you and your insurer. You always have the right to appeal denials with them, and request assistance from the MD State Insurance Commissioner. However, we do not become involved in those communications.

He/They
Ph.D.

Parker T. Hurley

Parker T. Hurley, Ph.D., is a queer, Black, non-binary, Trans activist and healer justice practitioner based in Durham, NC. Dr. Hurley is available for virtual trainings, presentations, and consultation through Hawn Therapy and Consulting. In the future, he may be available for in person trainings through travel costs will be factored into pricing.

Upon graduating with a Master’s from Hunter College School of Social Work with a concentration of community organizing in May 2006, he has provided advocacy and support within LGBTQQ communities to individuals living with major mental illness, people of color, youth and seniors. Prior to enrolling at University of North Carolina-Greensboro to pursue a doctorate degree in Educational Studies with a concentration in Higher Education in 2009, Parker spent three years as the Member Services/Outreach and Education Coordinator of the Rainbow Heights Club (RHC). Located in Brooklyn, New York, RHC is the only government funded psychosocial and advocacy organization specifically meeting the needs of LGBTQ individuals living with severe mental illness.

He continued this work in North Carolina as the LGBTQ Coordinator at Guilford College and directed The Bayard Rustin Center for LGBTQA Education, Activism and Reconciliation. In addition to being the co-advisor for the local LGBT Youth Group in Greensboro, NC (Youth Safe), Dr. Hurley also had the opportunity to serve nationally as the Deputy Director of the Trans People of Color Coalition, and locally as the co-founder of Queer People of Color Collective based in Greensboro, NC; as well as NC Trans Pride in Action, an annual event lifting up the histories, lives and experiences of trans and gender non-conforming black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC).

Parker currently works at The Radical Healing Center located in Durham, NC as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) providing therapy, support and psycho education groups that center queer and trans BIPOC. Parker’s work is trauma-informed, person-centered and ever evolving as he trains to incorporate techniques and skills in the tradition of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Horticultural Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (and eventually Somatic Healing) into his work. Parker’s passions lie within the healing and transformation of our homes, schools and communities through self-care, radical love, building deep connections to nature and working exhaustively at the intersections of all social justice movements.

She/Her/Hers
LMSW, Site Steward

Yi Chen

Racial Trauma, Stress, and Anxiety: As a queer, Chinese, eldest daughter of immigrants, I believe that it is important to hold space for all parts of you, no matter how much hate those parts have internalized, and no matter have much love those parts have been denied. I believe that your personal and ancestral pasts inform your present., but you also have the power to functionally rewrite and close the chapters that are rooted in powerlessness, guilt, fear, and shame, while freeing up the space and energy to curate the meaningful future you deserve.

One of my areas of focus centers around the symptomatic, interpersonal, and physiological manifestations of stress and trauma. This includes things like insomnia, hopelessness, loss of a sense of future, shame and worthlessness, chronic pain, substance abuse, dissociation, self-destructive behavior, loss of sense of self, emotional overwhelm, re-experiencing, panic attacks, generalized anxiety, hypervigilance, digestive issues, mistrust, lack of concentration, gaps in memory, numbing, irritability, depression, and more. My trauma recovery work comes from a compassionate, culturally affirming approach. We will mindfully consider your cultural and personal identities, values, needs, strengths, and experiences at your own pace and time.

Interpersonal Relationships and Attachment: Systems of oppression aid and facilitate disconnection. In our cultivated safe healing space, you are invited to explore, process, and reflect on your relationship and intimacy needs, patterns of behavior, and styles of attachment. Together, we can assist you in willfully approaching your relationships with security, love, and ease.

Harm Reduction, Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health: I work with adults on examining their attachments and relationships with substances, as well as addressing other behavioral health concerns. I utilize a harm reduction, self-deterministic approach, and I believe in the importance of meeting you where you are from a place of compassion.

Somatic Internal Family Systems: Internal Family Systems is a therapy modality that acknowledges that we may have different “parts” or subpersonalities of ourselves that each hold emotions, beliefs, and traits. This is referred to as our “internal family”. In Somatic IFS, body-based somatic experiences are incorporated into the therapy, such as breath, movement, attuned touch, etc. to assist a person in helping all their parts meet their needs and come into harmony. Somatic Internal Family Systems can be helpful in addressing depression, anxiety, chronic illness, and attachment based challenges. We can talk about whether this modality could be right for you.

Payment Information: First individual session= $150; following sessions= $140; First family session= $160; following sessions= $150;

We collect the full payment and you’ll receive monthly superbills (a special receipt) in case you want to submit to your insurance or FSA for reimbursement. If you have out of network benefits, after reimbursement, your session fee could be $30-$90 out of pocket depending on your plan.

I have a few reduced fee spots. If needed, please ask if one is available when you call or email our office.

I’m currently in process of obtaining my clinical licensure and am supervised by and Victoria Stubbs, LCSW-C.

She/They
LCPC, Gender Therapist

Caroline Hippler

Whenever possible, I spend my time playing with my cats, reading a good book, cooking a new recipe, facilitating plant growth or exploring a found object art project.

As a therapist serving Nonbinary and Transgender clients, as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ populations broadly, I am acutely aware of the systemic, institutional barriers that continue to cause harm in people’s lives and am deeply committed to using my time in this life to improve the lived experiences of queer and transgender people.

I provide empathic client-centered counseling for anyone looking to align their lived experience more closely with their values and identities. Of all the beliefs and commitments that motivate my work, none is more important than the calling to imagine and work toward more just and equitable futures. My work is rooted in an anti-racist, intersectional, anti-oppressive frameworks. I am passionate about empowering people to listen to their own voices and live the lives they want to live. I love talking to people about gender, their identities and how the process of meaning-making impacts their lives. I provide affirming therapy for transgender and gender diverse children, adolescents and adults.

I have 8+ years of experience serving the 2SLGBTQIA+ community as a therapist and have provided training for emerging therapists and other professionals. I am a Nationally Certified Counselor, have a Master’s Degree and Education Specialist degree in Mental Health Counseling with a minor in Human Development and an undergraduate degree in Gender Studies. I have specialized training in mindfulness therapy and distance therapy.

My approach to therapy is eclectic. Every therapeutic relationship is unique and tailored to the needs of the individual. First and foremost I believe that each person is the expert in themselves. I am here to provide guidance on your journey to greater self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Together, we will decide how sessions should look for you. We will work to understand the roots of what you are experiencing and craft skillful approaches for you to take. To do this, we may borrow from several theories including: EMDR, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Existential Theory, Radical Acceptance, and Internal Family Systems Therapy. We will determine together which pieces of these, if any, will help us. Together we will work to achieve two seemingly contradictory tasks: to accept yourself as you are and to work to become more skillful and self-aware.

EMDR: We believe that trauma resides in our bodies. It can manifest in various ways through addictive behaviors, emotional upheaval, even phobias or obsessive thoughts and compulsions. Talk therapy alone is often ineffective to help us move trauma out of our bodies. EMDR is one method that can transform our responses to memories, even those from before we could talk. Caroline is a certified EMDR provider.

Individual Sessions: The first session is $185 (Code 90791). Sessions after that are $175 (Code 90837). You will receive monthly superbills (special receipts) in case you want to submit them to your insurance or FSA for reimbursement. If you have out of network benefits, you will end up paying out of pocket likely $40-$100 per session. I have a limited number of reduced fee appointments, with priority given to QTBIPOC. Please ask about any openings when you call.

Family/Relationship Therapy: The initial session is $190 (Code 90847) and sessions after are $170.

TRAUMA RECOVERY & EMDR THERAPY

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION & REPROCESSING

READY TO START HEALING?

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Get In Touch

Nhi Chau

Selima Jumarali

Gianna Rico

Jasmine Holland

Jennifer Blue

Kendra Smith

Mara Thomas

Parker T. Hurley

Randall Leonard

Shayne Couch-Murray

David Adashek

6 Types of Boundaries

Boundary Crossing Vs Violation

Tavi (Tah-vee) Hawn

Yi Chen

Brittany Trexler

Alyssa Fenix

Carlyn Maia Green

Soha Ashraf

Molly Griffin

Caroline Hippler