About Chris

 Chris welcomes all sexual and gender identities and makes LGBTIAQ+ affirming space a priority. She also welcomes those in creative fields, monogamous and alternative relationships.

 All sessions are conducted via Telehealth. Feel free to call for a free 15min consultation to ensure Chris is a good match for your needs.

Why I Do This Work

My path to becoming a therapist is deeply personal.

I am a survivor of sexual assault and emotional neglect. Growing up, I often felt different — like everyone else had something I didn’t. I struggled with a deep sense of not being enough. In school, I felt behind socially and internally disconnected from myself. No one taught me how to understand my emotions, and for many years I didn’t even recognize that the tightness in my stomach was coming from my anxious part..

It wasn’t until graduate school, over a decade ago, that I began connecting my physical symptoms to trauma and unresolved experiences from childhood. That awareness changed everything.

I also lived with depression — the kind that makes getting out of bed feel impossible. I understand what it feels like to not want to exist at times. Social anxiety once made it incredibly difficult for me to feel at ease around others, constantly fearing judgment. As a child, I struggled with undiagnosed ADHD — I couldn’t sit still, I lived in my inner world, I lost things, I felt scattered. Today, I hold deep compassion for that little one who was doing the best she could without support.

My healing journey transformed when I experienced EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy — not as a clinician, but as a client.

These modalities helped me process trauma that was still living in my nervous system. They helped me understand the parts of me that were frozen in the past — still reacting as if I were a child navigating danger. Through this work, I learned that nothing was “wrong” with me. My system had adapted to survive.

That experience didn’t just change my life — it shaped my calling.

I pursued advanced training in EMDR and IFS because I saw firsthand how powerful they are. I wanted to offer others what was once offered to me: a way to heal deeply, not just cope.

Before becoming a therapist, I volunteered feeding individuals experiencing homelessness and supporting low-income families in expunging legal records. I remember the feeling I would get while serving others — a sense of meaning, connection, and purpose. That feeling guided me toward this profession.

I initially majored in psychology because I wanted to understand my own family — why it was so dysfunctional, why I felt the way I did. Over time, that curiosity evolved into a desire to help others make sense of their own stories.

Today, I do this work not because I have it all figured out — but because I know healing is possible.

And I know what it’s like to feel alone in your pain.

Who I Work With

I primarily work with adults who:

• Feel emotionally overwhelmed but high-functioning on the outside

• Struggle with trauma, attachment wounds, or PTSD

• Experience anxiety that feels rooted in something deeper

• Feel “too much” or not enough at the same time

• Want depth work — not just coping skills

Many of my clients are insightful and self-aware. Some have spent years in talk therapy and understand their patterns intellectually, yet still feel like their past continues to shape their relationships and sense of self. Others are new to therapy and simply know something isn’t working — even if they can’t fully name it yet.

Whether you’ve done years of inner work or you’re just beginning, you may be ready for more than insight alone. You want to understand your nervous system, your parts, and your story — not just manage symptoms, but create real, lasting change.

If you’re looking for quick fixes, I may not be the right fit.
If you’re ready for meaningful, transformative work — we might work beautifully together.

How I Approach My Work

My style is warm, collaborative, and grounded in neuroscience.

I don’t believe in pathologizing you. I believe your symptoms make sense in the context of your life.

In our work together, we slow things down. We build safety. We get curious about the parts of you that developed for protection. We work gently with trauma, rather than pushing through it.

Therapy with me is structured but not rigid. Deep but not overwhelming. Honest but compassionate.

Why I Integrate EMDR with Internal Family Systems (IFS)

I don’t see trauma as just a memory — I see it as something stored in the nervous system.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us understand why different parts of you developed — the anxious part, the critical part, the avoidant part.

EMDR helps us process the unresolved memories those parts are carrying.

Together, they allow us to:

• Reduce emotional reactivity

• Heal trauma at the root

• Strengthen your internal sense of Self

• Create lasting nervous system regulation

IFS builds safety.
EMDR helps metabolize trauma.

Integrated thoughtfully, they create powerful, sustainable change.

Ways You Might Work With Me

Depending on your needs, our work may include:

• Weekly depth-oriented talk therapy

• Trauma processing using EMDR

• Parts work through IFS

• Attachment-focused exploration

• Nervous system regulation work

Sessions are collaborative and paced intentionally. We move at the speed of safety.

What You Can Expect From Me

You can expect:

• Presence — I am fully with you.

• Attunement — I track what’s happening emotionally and physiologically.

• Honesty — I will gently name patterns when it serves your growth.

• Containment — I won’t push you into overwhelm.

• Professionalism — Clear boundaries, ethical care, and grounded guidance.

I take this work seriously — but I don’t take myself too seriously. There is room for depth, laughter, cursing, and humanity here.

Ongoing Work Matters

I continue to invest deeply in consultation, advanced training, and my own therapy.

Trauma work requires responsibility. I remain committed to staying current, growing clinically, and refining my integration of EMDR and IFS.

Your healing deserves a therapist who continues doing their own work.

Professional Background & Credentials

• Masters in Counseling

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with nearly a decade of experience

• EMDR Certified through EMDRIA

• Advanced training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Internal Family Systems (IFS) integrated with EMDR, completed under the guidance of leading expert Dr. Kendhal Hart.