How I Work

Hi, I’m Stephanie, a therapist in Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. I use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). You might be thinking “whoa Steph. That’s a lot of acronyms and words I’ve never heard before!” And that’s okay. My job is to listen deeply to what you’re experiencing and come up with a plan with which you feel comfortable.

You may also be looking for a specific type of therapy. This might be because a previous therapist recommended it, you heard about it on TikTok, a healthcare provider suggested it, or because you’ve been reading about it. This is where you can learn a little more about them and see what I do.

EMDR

I am an EMDR Certified Therapist by EMDRIA. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a type of therapy designed to treat trauma, difficult experiences, anxiety, depression, and more. EMDR stimulates your brain’s natural ability to reprocess difficult events that have led to unhelpful beliefs about yourself and/or the world. EMDR is well-researched and considered a gold-standard treatment for trauma.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy helps to treat impulsive behaviors, recurrent thoughts of suicide, self-harm, and/or emotion dysregulation. DBT can be helpful for Borderline Personality Disorder, depression, anxiety, and more. DBT uses coping skills as well as weekly tracking to help you learn skills for increased mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and improved relationships. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that helps people to change ways of thinking that are not helpful and/or true. For example, if you’re always calling yourself an idiot, you might benefit from some CBT to change that way of thinking and to change that mean belief.

Talk Therapy

Talk therapy may be what you imagine therapy to be: two people having an engaging dialogue about the problems at hand, their root, and potential solutions. This therapy involves blending a variety of theoretical approaches in a way that is personalized for you and your current needs.

Schedule a free consultation

EMDR, DBT, CBT, and talk therapy in Wisconsin and New Jersey

You know it’s time to try something different when it comes to therapy. You’re tired of all the talk and none of the change. 

FAQs

  • In short, yes! I have used EMDR with people via telehealth with great success. As long as your connection is good, with a decent quality video stream and no lag, then we can absolutely do EMDR that way. It is also important that you have adequate privacy and some time to decompress afterwards as needed.

  • When looking for an EMDR therapist, the first step is to make sure that your EMDR therapist has formal training in EMDR. “Formal training” means more than reading a book or watching YouTube videos.

    The gold standard for EMDR training for therapists is to complete “basic training” through EMDRIA (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association), which regulates most EMDR training. I am an EMDR certified therapist through EMDRIA.

  • EMDR is best known for treating trauma. Trauma refers to particularly scary, threatening, damaging, or overwhelming events from the past that continue to have a profound effect on you today.

    Research has also found EMDR to be effective for depression and anxiety.

    If you geek out on reading the literature, here’s a https://www.emdria.org/category/research/great starting point!

  • In order to avoid any potential drawbacks, it is important that you are adequately prepared for EMDR therapy. To do this, we will work together to make sure that you have adequate skills to handle any discomfort or stress. I will teach you specific coping skills that have been shown to be helpful.

    The most common unpleasant side effect from EMDR therapy is tiredness. Many of my clients feel wiped out after spending a session working on a difficult memory.

    Sometimes people have changes to their dreams. Dreams may become more vivid, may be related to difficult memories, or just might be a little more unusual. This is fairly common, although less common than the tiredness.

    A more rare side effect is feeling more emotional or “activated” following a session. This might mean that you are irritable or grumpy.

    If you are working with me and experience any of these side effects, reach out and we’ll work together to handle them.

  • Absolutely! I have used DBT via telehealth many times. Like any other online therapy, you want to have a good connection and a comfortable private space in which to meet.

  • For any special type of therapy, I strongly recommend asking the therapist about their experience and training with that type of therapy. For a DBT therapist, you want to make sure a therapy has had formal training in DBT.

    Once you have checked that they have legit credentials, then you want to make sure that they are a good fit for you. This means that you feel comfortable with them, that you feel they are trustworthy, and that their approach fits with your worldview.

    Sometimes you can figure this out immediately, and sometimes it takes time! Either is okay.

  • Yes, CBT can be done virtually. Like any other type of therapy, it is important to have video in addition to audio. Having a private, comfortable setting helps too.

  • There are many varieties of CBT! Some CBT therapists work from a pre-planned program of topics and activities, offering a highly structured program.

    Some CBT therapists do specialized types of CBT, such as CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) or CBT for trauma (TF-CBT).

    You may want to ask the potential therapist questions about what type and style of CBT they offer.

    Next, you’ll want to ask the therapist about their training in CBT. Many graduate school programs (mine included!) offer training in CBT as part of their program.

    Finally, you want the therapist to be a good fit for you. This means you feel comfortable with them, you find them to be trustworthy, and their approach makes sense to you. This might just be a felt sense that they’re a good fit.

  • First we’ll have a (free!) 15-20 minute consultation on Zoom to make sure we’re a good fit and to get introduced. Part of being a good fit means that we have some overlapping availability for appointments! We can schedule the first appointment during that consultation if you choose.

  • Overall, CBT is an effective and well-tolerated therapy. Most people do not experience negative side effects from CBT.

    One potential drawback is that CBT focuses largely on your thoughts. This can neglect other important parts of healing, such as how our body and nervous system affect our moods and mental health. Because of this, I usually use CBT alongside other therapies.