Jeff Siegrist
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
We each have an experience and perspective that is authentic, valuable, and unique. Our journey may be exciting and fulfilling but also painful and confusing at times. In my practice, I respect the courage that it takes to reach out to a therapist and I believe it is an honor to be invited into your life experience.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, it is my goal to honor your strengths, to respect your struggle, and to collaborate with you in finding effective ways to achieve your goal. I approach therapy from a strength-based perspective which means that we will build upon your skills and potential to resolve your current concerns.
I primarily work with adults and focus on issues of depression, anxiety, response to loss, addictions, and trauma. Along with a Cognitive Behavioral approach, I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) Therapy which research has been shown to be highly effective in resolving trauma, loss, depression and anxiety.
If you would like to schedule an appointment or are wondering how therapy can be valuable for you, please contact me today for further information. I look forward to working with you!
Trauma / Response to Loss
The term “trauma” refers to a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.
Examples of trauma include the death of a child/grandchild, surviving an experience of assault or abuse, dealing with the aftermath of an injury or accident, combat experiences, or even the lasting emotional debris from a traumatic divorce or loss of a parent.
People who have been through a trauma can often struggle for a time with depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties or tough feelings like anger or guilt that just don’t seem like they will ever go away.
In more extreme cases, going through a traumatic event can lead to what is known as Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) which can cause you to begin avoiding people or situations associated with the event, feeling “on edge” all the time, disturbed sleep or nightmares, irritability, or emotional detachment or numbness.
As a licensed therapist specializing in the treatment of trauma, I will safely guide you through the process of resolving the emotional difficulties related to your specific type of trauma.
I am trained in the two scientifically-validated approaches to the treatment of trauma – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and will work with you in one or both ways depending on your unique needs.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a well-researched treatment approach that helps people to heal from the symptoms and distress that can result from disturbing experiences.
It used to be thought that healing the effects of trauma required years to treat. Multiple research studies on EMDR, however, show that rapid outcomes can be possible in as few as 4 to 12 sessions, depending on the nature of the trauma.
With EMDR, thoughts, feelings and behaviors are transformed – without the need to speak in detail about the distressing event.
As is the case with physical healing we have seen that the brain’s processing system naturally moves toward mental health.
Sometimes, when we experience a traumatic event it is so distressing that these memories and the impacts of these experiences may not get integrated effectively into our life experience and can cause intense suffering. Using the detailed protocols of EMDR, these barriers can be removed and enable the brain’s natural healing processes.
EMDR can be utilized to focus on past events, current experiences, and also distress related to upcoming situations.
EMDR is recognized by the American Psychiatric Organization, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense as an effective form of psychotherapy in the treatment of trauma
There is no need to continue to suffer. Healing IS possible! It would be my privilege to assist you in this journey.
I invite you to call today to see how I may be of help.
