How long have you been doing this? What are your qualifications?

 

Trauma has been my primary interest since the mid to late 1980s, so all my education, training, and experience has centered around it. Prior to opening Illuminations in 1999, I did inpatient, outpatient, and day hospital psychiatric social work at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.

I started doing EMDR in the late 1990s and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in 2002--after proper training, of course. Beyond bachelor's and master's degrees in social work, I have  completed all three levels of training at the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute of Boulder.  I'm trained in EMDR (Levels I and II), trained at the Masters and Johnson Sexual Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Treatment Program in Kansas City, MO, and am trained in Critical Incident Stress Management through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.  Although I am trained in hypnotherapy, I no longer practice it.

I served as a clinical member of the Ames/Mid-Iowa Critical Incident Response Team, debriefing law enforcement, fire, EMS, and other emergency services personnel following critical incidents. Following the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, I was a consulting clinician to NYPD. Presently, I provide consultation and training for other therapists interested in working with trauma. If you are a clinician interested in advanced training or consultation, please call the office (515-232-7157) for details.