Sally Stocker (she/her)

As an adolescent, you are very ego-centered, which is where you should be developmentally. It's easy for an adolescent to develop unhelpful coping skills and needs professional direction to help identify what's important. I have worked extensively with adolescents on many issues. This type of work also includes family systems work which includes the parents or caregivers.

Attachment issues stem from many possibilities; adoption, neglect, abuse, etc. I've found that many clients who deal with attachment issues have learned throughout their life that there isn't anyone to trust. Sometimes explaining attachment like this helps -- the client at one time needed to dig a foxhole in the middle of a war and continues to be unable to come out of that foxhole regardless of the people offering to help. It's tough, and it takes a lot of time and patience.

Anxiety is a paralyzing feeling. Without the proper skills and help to overcome anxiety, you could be emotionally overcome and unable to live a life worth living. We will work together to find the skills you need to manage your anxiety and to find the core reason for the anxiety.

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is a modality created to assist in trauma processing, even if you don't remember the trauma. This works well for pre-verbal trauma (before two years old) and traumas that you have effectively pushed away and forgotten. EMDR can seem odd, and it is an evidence-based modality. I've found great success with EMDR, both personally and professionally.

I am extensively trained in DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) and still constantly learning the modality's ins and outs. There is always more to learn and more ways to apply the skills. DBT has four basic tenants: Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness, and Mindfulness. When used appropriately, and more than just taking a DBT skills class, DBT can be amazingly effective in helping you live a life worth living.

Aside from EMDR, there are many modalities in use for trauma therapy. Sometimes, just opening up and talking about the trauma is helpful. Sometimes, you need additional ways to look at the trauma to understand why it affected you. Trauma is very individualistic, so modes of treating trauma are also very personalized.