Trauma Therapy

Trauma comes in many forms, past and present. Childhood trauma for you may have included physical, emotional, verbal and/or sexual abuse. You may not recognize childhood neglect as a trauma because, “I wasn’t hit.” If you were alone and left to care for yourself or your siblings as children, this may be a form of trauma. When things are difficult for children and they can’t make sense of circumstances and relationships because they are confusing, abusive, or unpredictable, children can shift the blame to themselves and adopt the message, “I’m the problem” and then work to solve ‘the problem’ by being better, quieter, smarter, or anticipating a caregiver’s needs to avoid conflict.

Trauma therapy is a specialty area at Joshua Tree Counseling. We approach trauma gently and move through it at your pace. The first priority is always to establish a safe and trusting relationship.

As licensed counselors, Rachel and Shari offer trauma therapy with the most complex forms of trauma, cPTSD, and including dissociative and attachment disorders that can develop early in childhood in response to trauma. As a pastoral counselor, Tammy approaches trauma through a Biblical lens and uses narrative coaching to help clients heal from sexual abuse and brokenness. Stacy, a licensed counselor, and Marybeth, a pastoral counselor, approach mental health concerns through a attachment-based, trauma-informed lens.

EMDR Therapy

Have you heard about EMDR and it’s benefits for addressing PTSD and other forms of trauma? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful method of approaching trauma. It allows clients to address the underlying roots of present day struggles without the needs to tell and retell the story. EMDR allows the brain to resume it’s natural healing process which was blocked at the time of the trauma. Rapid eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation) are used to help remove the black while the client remains conscious and aware of the memory they are reprocessing.

Rachel Lohrman and Shari Kirschner are both trained in the use of EMDR and incorporate this into therapy when addressing trauma. Rachel often uses Attachment-Focused EMDR to further assist client with attachment wounding and early childhood trauma/abuse.

Dissociative Disorders

Did you have a hard or traumatic childhood and found that relying on dissociation helped you manage the challenges of abuse or neglect? Dissociation is something we all experience to some extent. It exists on a continuum with daydreaming and muscle-memory driving on the low, more typical end and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) on the opposite, more extreme end. Have you ever experiences derealization (things around you don’t feel real) or depersonalization (you don’t feel real or you feel completely disconnected from your body). Did you know that PTSD is considered to fall into the higher range of the dissociative continuum? So does Borderline Personality Disorder.

Rachel Lohrman is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in the assessment and treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Shari Kirschner is a licensed clinical social worker who works with dissociative disorders using gentle somatic strategies found in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.

Marriage Counseling

Marriage is hard. It isn’t if you’ll struggle, it’s when. Couples often wait until they are in crisis to reach out for professional help. If that’s you, we have counselors with immediate availability. Reach out to us today! Marriage counseling is a specialty area at Joshua Tree Counseling with options to work with a licensed counselor or a pastoral counselor, depending on the depth of your needs and you preferences about whether you want a Christian counseling approach.

Dr. Marybeth Steigenga is a pastoral counselor who helps married couples work through a marriage boot camp to strengthen their marriage, re-connect with one another emotionally and spiritually, and rediscover what makes them unique as a couple.

Dr. Chet Weld is a licensed professional counselor who offers marriage counseling to Christian couples and couples for whom faith is not a priority or a preference. He works with couples to build and grow their relationship while helping them to break conflictual patterns which typically involves resolving family issues with extended family members.

Stacy Roden is a licensed associate counselor who has a passion for marriages and helping couples resolves conflict, looks at underlying issues driving the conflict, and develop a closer connection. Parenting is often one of those underlying issues and Stacy is gifted in working with parenting issues. Stacy offers Christian counseling to couples who prefer this option.

Pastoral Counseling

Is the Christian faith foundational to who you are? Are you hoping to address your struggle with a believer? Maybe you’ve already worked with you pastor and find yourself in need of more.

Pastoral Counseling or Soul Care is a unique focus at Joshua Tree. Tammy Furrier and Marybeth Steigenga are both members of the clergy and both have extensive training and experience in helping people work through mental health issues from a Christian perspective/worldview. Tammy offers soul care for trauma, sexual abuse/brokenness, and spiritual wounding, as well as other emotional, relational or spiritual concerns; she works with adults. Marybeth offers soul care for married couples, teen girls, and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, grief/loss, life transitions, relational conflict, and spiritual wounding/growth. Both approach counseling from an attachment and trauma-informed perspective. Please be aware that soul care is the intentional integration of spiritual principles into counseling for general concerns. Pastoral Counselors do not address serious mental health issues or diagnoses including suicidality. Pastoral Counselors do not provide psychotherapy, provide diagnoses, or treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.

Counseling for Teens

Are you the parent of a teen who is struggling with mental health issues, suicidal ideation, bullying, low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression? Have they become reclusive, withdrawn, or have you noticed changes in their behavior or social patters? Elena Flores is a licensed master social worker who help teens 13-17, and their families, to stabilize and work through a variety of mental health issues. Often, teens need a safe, neutral professional to explore stress, beliefs, relationships, boundaries, and coping strategies. Suicidal ideation is often a taboo subject in families so teens don’t bring it up. Cutting is a self-regulating behavior often hidden and teens experience shame about it. Bullying may occur at school or via social media.

Giving the gift of counseling to your teen while they are young can help them be more successful overall in life.

Marybeth Steigenga is a pastoral counselor who offers soul care to older teen girls. If the Christian faith is a priority to your teen girl, Marybeth can help her work through stress, anxiety, depression, relationships, and spiritual issues from the soul care perspective. Marybeth integrates therapeutic art into the soul care experience. Please note: pastoral counseling, or soul care, is intended to be short term and the intentional integration of spiritual principles into counseling by a member of clergy. Marybeth is an ordained minister of pastoral care and not a licensed counselors; she does not provide psychotherapy, provide diagnoses, or treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.