When I was 11 years old, I began struggling with anxiety. I would have given anything to have someone help me identify why I was anxious and how to heal it. It was during my Junior year in college when I took my first course in Marriage and Family Therapy. I immediately feel in love with learning how to help people heal and live their best lives. Since beginning my training as a therapist, I developed interest in treating families raising a child with a disability, specifically Autism, due to the lack of resources and knowledge available to parents, siblings, and extended family members. After years of research, writing, and clinical practice, I co-edited the first textbook on training therapists on families raising a child with Autism. Unfortunately, individuals who have a developmental disability have an increased risk of also experiencing trauma.
While treating individuals with disabilities, I began seeing the trauma many of them endured. In an effort to help them heal, I received training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, one of the most effective trauma treatments in the world. Individuals and families are able to reach a new level of healing by receiving EMDR by processing their past traumas. In addition to treating those with disabilities, Other individuals, who do not have a disability, have also sought out EMDR
Many parents experienced challenges or trauma in their childhood. Unfortunately, if these challenging events are never processed and healed, they will interfere in how adults parent their children. Parent's unmet needs and past challenging situations are unintentionally placed upon children. For example, if a parent grew up not feeling "good enough," they are more likely to engage in parenting styles that make them feel "good enough." Being a parent is incredibly challenging, but you can have a peaceful home and calmer emotions when you heal from the past. The past doesn't have to dictate your present.
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