My approach

What we actually do in here

Four things we work on, two approaches that do the work, and an honest read on whether this is the right fit for you.

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What we work on

Four things that tend to shift

Softening your inner critic

That harsh inner voice usually isn't the enemy. It's a part of you trying to protect you from something, maybe from being hurt again, or from feeling too much at once. We don't fight it or try to silence it. We get curious about what it's actually protecting, so it can start to loosen its grip instead of running the show.

Building a steadier connection to the present

A lot of my clients are used to living in their heads: analyzing, overthinking, staying one step removed from what they're actually feeling. That's not a character flaw, it's a skill you built for a reason. Together we work on noticing what's happening in your body and your emotions as it happens, not just after the fact.

Regulating emotions without bypassing them

Regulation doesn't mean suppressing what you feel or powering through it. It means widening your capacity to actually be with a feeling, sadness, anger, fear, without it taking over or shutting you down. As that capacity grows, things that used to feel unbearable start to feel survivable.

Reconnecting with your body's sense of safety

Trauma and neglect live in the body, not just the mind, which is part of why talk therapy alone can leave people feeling stuck. We use body-based, experiential approaches so your nervous system, not just your intellect, gets to be part of the healing.

The two approaches

What working together actually looks like

I use two main approaches, and they work together rather than as separate tracks.

IFS

Getting to know your parts

Internal Family Systems helps us get to know the different parts of you: the part that protects you by staying busy, the part that's harshly critical, the part that goes numb when things feel like too much.

As we build a relationship with those parts instead of fighting them, your window of tolerance widens, meaning you can hold more and feel more without getting overwhelmed or shutting down.

EMDR

Moving what's been stuck

EMDR is often misunderstood. The eye movements can sound strange if you've only heard it described from the outside. Here's what's actually happening: the eye movements (or tapping, for some clients) help both sides of your brain activate together, which allows a memory that's been stuck to finally get processed instead of staying frozen in place. It's not hypnosis, and you're never out of control of the process.

A typical course runs about 6 to 8 sessions per memory, though that varies person to person. Before we ever start reprocessing, we spend time building safety and stability. This isn't something we rush into on day one.

IFS and EMDR support each other directly: IFS helps your protective parts feel safe enough to step back, which is often what makes it possible to move a memory through with EMDR in the first place.

Being straight with you

Is this the right fit?

I'd rather tell you upfront than promise it works for everyone.

Not the best starting point if
  • You're currently in crisis.
  • You're still in an unsafe or actively harmful living situation.
  • You don't yet have baseline tools for regulating strong emotions. We'd build that foundation first.
Where EMDR shines
  • There's an identifiable memory or incident behind what you're carrying.
  • You've built enough stability to have somewhere steady to return to.
  • Protective parts have loosened enough for a memory to move.

For the kind of quiet, non-verbal neglect where nothing specific ever "happened," IFS and the relational work we do together often does more of the heavy lifting.

Investment

Fee structure

$150
50-minute session
$180
80-minute session

I am accepting new clients, both in person in Austin and via telehealth across the state of Texas.

I am currently at sliding-scale capacity. Please reach out if you'd like to be placed on my sliding-scale waitlist.

Please note: I am not in network with insurance companies; however, I can provide superbills for insurance reimbursement.

Common questions

About the process

How long does therapy take before I notice a difference?
It depends on what you're working on and how long you've been carrying it. For EMDR specifically, we typically see a shift within 6 to 8 sessions per memory once we begin reprocessing, but we don't start there. The first several sessions are about building safety, learning to regulate, and getting to know your inner world before any reprocessing begins. For deeper patterns like childhood emotional neglect, meaningful change tends to happen gradually rather than all at once, often over a longer arc than people expect walking in.
What happens in the first few sessions?
We're not diving into your hardest memories right away. Early sessions focus on getting a clear picture of what's bringing you in, building a foundation of safety and trust, and starting to build the skills you'll need to stay regulated as we go deeper. Nothing happens without you knowing what to expect first.
Will I have to talk about painful memories in detail?
Not the way you might expect. With EMDR, you don't have to narrate every detail of what happened. The processing itself does a lot of the work your conscious mind doesn't have to do out loud. With IFS, we often work with the parts of you connected to a memory rather than replaying the memory itself.
What if I don't have a specific traumatic memory, just a sense that something was missing?
That's incredibly common, especially with childhood emotional neglect, where the injury is often an absence rather than an event. In that case, we lean more on IFS and relational work to help you recognize what wasn't there for you, rather than searching for a single incident to process with EMDR.
Is EMDR right for everyone?
No, and I'd rather tell you that upfront. EMDR isn't the best starting point if you're currently in crisis, in an unsafe living situation, or don't yet have some baseline ability to regulate strong emotions. We'd build that first. It also works best when there's something identifiable to process, rather than a diffuse, non-verbal pattern with no specific incident behind it.
How do I know if I need EMDR, IFS, or both?
Most of my clients end up using both, because they work together. IFS helps the protective parts of you feel safe enough to loosen their grip, which is often what makes it possible to actually process a memory with EMDR. We figure out together where to start based on what you're carrying and how ready your system is.
When you're ready

Let's start with a conversation.

Fifteen minutes, no pitch. A low-pressure way to see whether this feels like the right fit.

Schedule a free consultation

A steady space is here whenever you are.