Hi, I’m Vanessa. I am an animal-loving, trauma-informed therapist focused on safety, integration, and healing after systemic harm and loss. I specialize in complex and iatrogenic trauma—harm that occurs within systems intended to help—with particular emphasis on adult and teen survivors of the troubled teen industry (TTI), grief and loss, pet bereavement, and the human–animal bond. My approach is informed by both extensive clinical training and my lived experience as a TTI survivor, shaping a deep commitment to transparency, safety, and client autonomy so that therapy itself can feel like a place of restoration rather than another system you have to survive.

My work is warmly grounded in the belief that distress is shaped by what happened to us, not who we are. I understand symptoms as adaptive responses to unresolved experiences, often rooted in old narratives and traumatic memories that keep people living out of alignment with themselves. My aim is gently desensitize and reprocess outdated beliefs and survival responses, helping clients move from disconnection—often mislabeled as denial—toward integration. I integrate Attachment-Focused EMDR with Internal Family Systems, polyvagal, somatic, psychodynamic, cognitive, and narrative approaches to support healing at both relational and nervous system levels.

My specialized training includes polyvagal-informed EMDR, EMDR for grief, loss, and mourning, as well as EMDR for religious and spiritual abuse. I am also trained in EMDR for the human–animal bond and the Waldrup Somatic Method. When appropriate, animals can be incredibly beneficial when incorporated as grounding and co-regulating supports to enhance felt safety and presence.

At the heart of my work is helping people feel more at home in themselves—restoring a sense of agency and safety in their bodies and moving from survival toward integration and self-trust.