About Stacy

When we become out of balance ~ our relationship with our self and others become out of balance and we become stuck in patterns ~ sometimes we just need a little help to become unstuck

My mission is to provide quality counseling services to individuals and couples.  I am committed to empowering people to work towards stronger connections and healthier relationships by providing a safe, respectful, and supportive environment.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Nurse and Public Health Nurse.  I am trained in Somatic Experiencing ® (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and SE assistant), Transforming Touch (Transforming the Experienced Base Brain, Safe and Sound Protocal, EMDR, and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT).   I earned a Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Mary in North Dakota. I work continuously on education in the most current research on PTSD and trauma, Neurobiology, (depression and anxiety symptoms), couples therapy, and family therapy.

I approach therapy from a systemic perspective, believing that people work in relationship systems and each person in the relationship is important to the balance of the relationship. I also work from a neurobiological perspective, paying close attention to the body-mind connection.

My role as your counselor is to provide an environment of safety, trust, and mutual respect from which we work together to explore your world. I believe that everyone needs help once in a while and everyone deserves to be heard, seen, and valued.  We work collaboratively to find new perspectives and options from which you may choose in order to change your life situation according to the goals you establish.

I see the inherent worth, wisdom, and strengths in each person and hold the Hope in the Healing process.

  • I see healing as a holistic process which involves the whole person – body, mind, spirit, and soul.
  • I believe that life is a journey and that each person is capable of creating change.
  • I believe in the innate wisdom of each person and that they are in control of their own healing journey.
  • I believe that every person has the innate ability to heal from trauma.
  • I believe that every person deserves to have someone witness their healing process.
  • I believe that feeling safe, accepted, understood, and validated is essential for a person to heal.
  • I believe that everyone deserves to be in an accepting relationship with themselves and what stems from that is better relationships with others.

License and Certifications

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
  • Transforming Touch Practitioner
  • Transforming the Experience-Based Brain (TEB)
  • Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and SE Assistant
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
  • Minnesota State Nursing License, Registered Nurse and Public Health Nurse

Affiliations  

  • American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • Somatic Experiencing® International

Training:

Treatment for Trauma and Attachment:

  • Transforming Touch® Transforming the Experience-Based Brain, Stephen J. Terrell, MS, LPC, RPT, SEP
  • Somatic Experiencing® (SE) ~  Psychobiological method for trauma resolution.
  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) ~ Including Neuroscience Diagnosis, and Best Practice for successful Trauma Treatment, Linda Curran, BCPC, LPC, CAC-D, CCDP
  • Post Induction Therapy (PIT) ~ PIT is a holistic approach that looks at the underlying issues of trauma when addressing addictions and traumatic experiences.
  • Trauma, Attachment & Neuroscience, Bessel A. van der Kolk
  • Understanding and Treating Self-Injury, S.A.F.E. Alternatives

Couples Therapy

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Significant professionals that have informed and influenced my work:

  • Dr. Peter A. Levine author of In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness and Waking the Tiger.  His work focuses on the body’s perceived body sensations (or somatic experiences) and the connection between the effects of trauma and the autonomic nervous system.
  • Terry Real, Relational Life Institute
  • Allan N. Schore is on the clinical faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and at the UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and Development.  His work on the Regulation Theory is grounded in neuroscience and developmental psychoanalysis.  His work focuses on the development of the self.   He is the author of Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self, Affect Dysregulation and Disorders of the Self, Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self, and The Science of the Art of Psychotherapy.
  • Dr. Daniel J. Siegel is the clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute.  His work has brought together the theories of interpersonal neurobiology, developmental psychology, mindfulness, and traumatology.  Dr. Siegel is the author of Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation and co-author of Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body and Brain, The Whole-Brain Child, 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind and many other publications.
  • Dr. Stephen Porges and his Polyvagal Theory outlines the function of the automatic nervous system and the connection to stress and trauma experiences.
  • Dr. Susan Johnson and Dr. Les Greenberg developers of Emotionally Focused Therapy which combines humanistic psychology, family systems and attachment theory for work with relationship therapy. Susan Johnson authored Hold me Tight and Love Sense and Dr. Les Greenberg the author of Emotion-Focused Therapy (Theories of Psychotherapy)
  • Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk, founder and Medical Director of the Trauma Center, is internationally recognized leader in the field of psychological trauma.  He is the author of The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma and extensive other publications on psychological trauma.
  • Dr. Robert Scaer author of The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease showing the connection and somatic responses to of traumatic stress.
  • Dr. Pat Ogden and Dr. Janina Fisher authors of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment.  Their work draws from somatic therapies, neuroscience, attachment theory, and cognitive approaches.
  • Babette Rothschild, M.S.W, body-psychotherapist and specialist educator in the treatment of trauma and P.T.S.D.  She is the author of The Body Remembers and creator/editor of the 8 Keys Self-Help Series.
  • John Bowlby the founder of the Attachment Theory that describes  relationships and interconnectedness between human beings and how we respond when we are hurt, perceive a threat and when we are separated from the ones that we love.
  • Pia Melody author of Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives, The Intimacy Factor: The Ground Rules for Overcoming the Obstacles to Truth, Respect, and Lasting Love, Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love, and Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love.  Her work is revolutionary in helping people understand how our past history/childhood influences our day to day life in a way that impacts our relationship and how are are in the world.