Meet Your Therapist, Cheryl.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor who has practiced in the mental health field for over 30 years, I still get excited about joining my clients in self-discovery and healing. My philosophy as a therapist is to get out of the way of the individual’s natural healing process while being with my clients as they open their eyes to their new story with endless possibilities instead of feeling stuck and paralyzed in a never ending story of hopelessness.
What makes what I have so special?
As an EMDR Certified Therapist, I understand the pain adversity and trauma can cause which leads to ongoing disruption of your life, relationships, and affects the overall quality of your life.
Honestly, I’m human just like you.
I bring myself into my work as someone who has been exactly where you might be right now.
What happened to me led to major experiences that changed my life!
It’s probably not hard to imagine what it was like for you the day the world shut down in 2020 when the world pandemic hit.
I was in a panic along with my colleagues as we were desperately trying to figure out how to serve our clients while also taking care of ourselves and our families. Suddenly things felt out of control. My clients were in a fragile state and I was experiencing vicarious trauma.
We all just pressed forward learning to meet with clients in a virtual world. I was able to figure out how to meet the needs of my clients, but felt very isolated from those who supported me on a daily basis.
During this time, I was called to serve with the Boston Trauma Relief network delivering early intervention and ongoing relief procedures to healthcare colleagues suffering from vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue as they watched patients dying from COVID-19 and who had to serve those loved ones who were left behind to grieve.
While devastating, recalling this moment in time reminds me of the transformation that came for me as an EMDR therapist, healer, and human.
I knew that when this all subsided that I would make it my mission to serve not only the public, but the healers like myself who are at risk, especially when they do their job well!
Humanitarian Work
As an EMDR therapist I have taken part in humanitarian initiatives over the past several years.
Following the lead of my colleague and mentor, Psychologist, Dorothy Ashman, I have worked with Ethiopian therapists as they have come through their EMDR training and continue to build their skills for being effective EMDR therapists. This work is especially important as the country is facing unimaginable adversity and these therapists are working tirelessly to bring emotional relief to those in their communities.
As mentioned above, I worked with the Boston Trauma Relief Network where I served, virtually with other EMDR therapists. Using an EMDR group protocol to provide relief to healthcare workers facing the devastation caused by COVID19. Because of our work, those healthcare providers could continue to do their work less activated with increased resilience and internal stability during an unstable time.
I continue to find ways in which I can give of my time a professional skills to serve others who may not have easy access to training or mental health services. While I might travel for some of this work, moving about in a virtual world has opened many more possibilities making EMDR so much more accessible for healers and those who are seeking healing.