Kelly Teague
I’m a trauma‑informed therapist and eating‑disorder specialist based in Springfield, Missouri. I support women who have spent years being strong for everyone else while quietly carrying their own pain. My work centers on complex trauma, eating‑disorder recovery, body image, reproductive transitions, burnout, and the deep exhaustion that comes from living in survival mode for too long. My approach is relational, steady, and grounded in nervous‑system safety. I integrate EMDR, somatic therapy, attachment work, IFS, CBT, and motivational interviewing to help clients understand their patterns with compassion rather than shame. I believe healing happens when you feel seen, supported, and no longer alone with the parts of your story you’ve had to hold by yourself. Clients often come to me wanting to rebuild self‑trust, soften self‑criticism, create boundaries that feel possible, and reconnect with their bodies in a way that feels kind and sustainable. I walk alongside them at a pace that honors their nervous system and their lived experience. At the heart of my work is this: you don’t have to keep surviving on your own. There is space for your story, your complexity, and your becoming.
First session
Your first session with me is slow, gentle, and focused on helping you feel safe, understood, and not alone with what you’ve been carrying. There’s no pressure to tell your whole story or dive into anything before you’re ready. We move at your pace. We’ll start by talking about what brought you in, what life has been like for you recently, and what you’re hoping for in therapy. I’ll ask thoughtful, grounding questions to help me understand your experiences, your nervous system patterns, and the places where you feel stuck or overwhelmed. You’re welcome to share as much or as little as feels comfortable. You’ll also get a sense of how I work — relational, steady, and deeply attuned. I’ll explain how modalities like EMDR, somatic therapy, attachment work, IFS, and CBT might support your healing, and we’ll explore what feels like the right fit for you. Together, we’ll begin identifying what safety looks like for you, what support you need, and what goals feel meaningful and doable. Many clients leave the first session feeling a sense of relief — like they don’t have to hold everything by themselves anymore. Most importantly, the first session is about connection. It’s a space where you can exhale, be fully yourself, and begin building a therapeutic relationship that honors your story, your pace, and your becoming.
Strengths
What sets my work apart is the combination of deep clinical training, lived experience, and a steady, relational presence. I don’t offer surface‑level strategies or quick fixes. I help women heal at the level where their patterns were formed — in the nervous system, in relationships, and in the parts of themselves they’ve had to silence to survive. My approach is integrative and trauma‑informed. I blend EMDR, somatic therapy, attachment work, IFS, CBT, and motivational interviewing in a way that is personalized, paced, and grounded in safety. Clients never feel rushed, pushed, or reduced to symptoms. Instead, they experience therapy as a collaborative process where their story, their body, and their internal world are honored with compassion. What also stands out is the way I hold space. Clients often tell me they feel deeply seen — sometimes for the first time. I pay attention to the nuances: the nervous‑system shifts, the protective parts, the places where shame lives, the moments when someone is trying to be “fine” while holding back tears. I help clients understand their patterns without judgment and build new ways of relating to themselves that feel kind, sustainable, and embodied. The result is not just symptom relief. It’s a profound shift in how clients experience themselves: more grounded, more connected, more able to set boundaries, more compassionate toward their bodies, and more rooted in their own truth. My work helps women move from surviving to living — with clarity, self‑trust, and a sense of coming home to themselves.
Ideal clients
Most of my clients are women who have spent years being strong, capable, and composed on the outside while carrying deep overwhelm on the inside. Many of my clients come to me navigating complex trauma, eating‑disorder recovery, body shame, reproductive or identity transitions, burnout, or long‑standing patterns of people‑pleasing and perfectionism. They’re often the ones others rely on — the helpers, the over-functioners, the ones who learned early to minimize their own needs. The women I serve are insightful and self‑aware but exhausted from living in survival mode. They may have tried therapy before and left feeling misunderstood, rushed, or reduced to symptoms. They’re looking for a space where they can slow down, be fully seen, and explore their inner world without judgment. My ideal client is not seeking quick fixes. She wants depth, clarity, and a therapeutic relationship that feels steady, collaborative, and emotionally safe. She’s ready to understand the patterns that keep her stuck — the shutdowns, the shame spirals, the caretaking, the fear of boundaries — and she’s open to exploring how trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. Her goals often include rebuilding self‑trust, softening self‑criticism, healing attachment wounds, creating boundaries that feel possible, and reconnecting with her body in a way that feels compassionate rather than punishing. She wants to feel grounded, present, and more like herself again. Most of all, she’s longing for a therapist who can hold complexity with her — someone who honors her story, moves at her pace, and helps her integrate the parts of herself she’s had to silence in order to survive.
Treatment methods
EMDR
In my work with women navigating complex trauma, eating disorders, body‑based shame, burnout, infertility grief, and identity transitions, EMDR is one of the core modalities I integrate into therapy. I use EMDR in a way that is slow, safe, and deeply attuned to the nervous system, always honoring the client’s pace. Here’s how EMDR typically looks in my practice: 1. We begin with stabilization and nervous system safety Before any reprocessing happens, I spend time helping clients build internal resources, grounding skills, and a sense of safety in their bodies. This often includes: somatic awareness attachment‑based resourcing parts‑work informed preparation learning to notice and name sensations without overwhelm For many clients, this phase alone is transformative. 2. We identify the roots of current patterns Together, we explore the experiences, beliefs, and body‑held memories that continue to shape how they show up today — especially around: shame self‑criticism people‑pleasing body image emotional eating overfunctioning fear of boundaries EMDR helps connect present‑day triggers to earlier experiences in a way that feels contained and supported. 3. Reprocessing happens slowly and collaboratively When a client is ready, we use EMDR to gently process the memories, sensations, and beliefs that are still stuck in survival mode. My approach is: paced relational attachment‑focused body‑aware Clients are never pushed to “go faster” than their nervous system can tolerate. We check in often, adjust as needed, and stay grounded throughout the process. 4. We integrate new beliefs and experiences As old survival beliefs soften — “I’m not enough,” “I have to be strong,” “My needs don’t matter” — we strengthen new, more compassionate truths. This often includes: future‑self work boundary practice identity reintegration somatic grounding self‑trust building Clients begin to feel more regulated, more connected to themselves, and more able to take up space in their own lives. 5. EMDR becomes part of a larger healing journey I don’t use EMDR in isolation. It’s woven into a broader therapeutic relationship that includes: attachment‑based therapy somatic work trauma‑informed psychoeducation body neutrality nervous system regulation grief and identity work EMDR is a powerful tool, but the relationship, pacing, and safety we build together are what make the work truly healing. Here’s a clear, grounded, professional explanation of how you use somatic therapy in your practice, written in your warm, attuned, trauma‑informed voice. This version works beautifully for your website, consultations, networking, or referral partners.
Somatic
In my work with women navigating complex trauma, eating disorders, body‑based shame, burnout, infertility grief, and identity transitions, somatic therapy is woven into nearly every session. I use it gently and intentionally, always honoring the nervous system and the client’s pace. Somatic work in my practice is not about pushing, performing, or forcing the body to “open up.” It’s about listening, noticing, and reconnecting with the parts of you that learned to survive by shutting down. Here’s what that looks like in real time.1. We start with safety and attunement Somatic therapy only works when the body feels safe enough to participate. So we begin by helping clients: notice sensations without judgment understand their nervous system patterns build internal and external resources learn grounding and regulation skills reconnect with cues of safety This phase is slow, steady, and deeply relational. 2. We explore how the body holds the story Trauma isn’t just a memory — it’s a pattern held in the body. Together, we gently explore: tension numbness collapse bracing tightness in the chest or throat stomach knots the impulse to shut down, fawn, or overfunction Clients begin to understand that these sensations aren’t “overreactions.” They’re survival strategies that once kept them safe. 3. We use the body as a guide, not a problem to fix Somatic therapy in my practice is collaborative and paced. We might: track sensations notice shifts in breath explore grounding through the feet use orientation to help the body settle work with micro‑movements support the body in completing survival responses that were interrupted Nothing is forced. Nothing is rushed. The body leads, and we follow with curiosity and compassion. attachment‑based therapy Somatic therapy is not a standalone technique in my practice — it’s part of a larger, integrative approach. I weave somatic awareness into: EMDR preparation and reprocessing attachment repair boundary work identity reconstruction body image healing nervous system education This creates a deeper, more sustainable healing process because the mind and body are working together rather than in conflict. 5. We build new patterns of safety, connection, and self‑trust As clients learn to listen to their bodies, they begin to: recognize early signs of overwhelm respond to their needs with compassion set boundaries that feel safe soften shame and self‑criticism reconnect with pleasure, rest, and presence feel more grounded and embodied in daily life Somatic therapy helps women move from surviving to living, from bracing to belonging, from disconnecting to coming home to themselves. Here is a clear, grounded, relational explanation of how you use attachment‑based therapy in your practice, written in your warm, attuned, trauma‑informed voice. This version fits beautifully on your website, in consultations, or in referral conversations.
Attachment-based
Attachment work is at the heart of the therapy I provide. So many of the women I work with carry wounds that didn’t start with a single traumatic event — they began in relationships where their needs weren’t met, their emotions weren’t welcomed, or their safety was inconsistent. Attachment‑based therapy helps us gently repair those early patterns so clients can experience connection, safety, and self‑trust in the present. In my practice, attachment work is not about analyzing childhood for the sake of analysis. It’s about understanding how early relational experiences shaped the nervous system, and then creating a new, healing relational experience in the therapy room. Here’s what that looks like. 1. We build a relationship that feels safe, steady, and predictable Attachment healing happens in relationship, not in worksheets or quick fixes. I focus on creating a therapeutic space where clients experience: consistency attunement emotional safety pacing that honors their nervous system a sense of being seen and not judged For many women, this is the first time they’ve had a relationship where they don’t have to perform, overfunction, or disappear. 2. We explore how early attachment patterns show up today Attachment wounds often appear as: people‑pleasing fear of conflict difficulty setting boundaries perfectionism shutting down emotionally choosing emotionally unavailable partners feeling responsible for others’ feelings struggling to trust support Together, we gently trace these patterns back to their origins — not to blame the past, but to understand the present. 3. We work with the nervous system, not just the narrative Attachment is a body‑based experience. So we integrate somatic awareness to help clients notice: what safety feels like what threat feels like how their body responds to closeness how they brace, collapse, or overfunction what happens internally when they try to set boundaries This helps clients understand that their reactions aren’t character flaws — they’re adaptations. 4. We repair attachment wounds through the therapeutic relationship In session, clients get to practice: being honest without fear expressing needs receiving support tolerating closeness setting boundaries staying present instead of shutting down When ruptures happen — a misunderstanding, a moment of discomfort — we repair them together. This is where deep healing happens. 5. We integrate attachment work with EMDR and somatic therapy Your approach is deeply integrative, so attachment work is woven into: EMDR preparation and reprocessing parts work somatic grounding shame healing body image work boundary development identity reconstruction This creates a holistic healing process where the mind, body, and relational system all shift together. 6. Clients begin to build new relational patterns As attachment wounds heal, clients often notice: more self‑trust healthier boundaries less people‑pleasing more emotional regulation deeper, safer relationships a stronger sense of identity the ability to take up space without guilt Attachment therapy helps women move from survival patterns to relational freedom.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS is one of the most meaningful frameworks I use in therapy because it helps women understand themselves with compassion instead of shame. So many of the clients I work with feel like they’re “too much,” “not enough,” or “contradictory.” IFS helps them see that these internal conflicts are actually protective parts doing their best to keep them safe. In my practice, IFS is gentle, relational, and deeply trauma‑informed. It’s not about analyzing parts from a distance — it’s about helping clients build a compassionate relationship with every part of themselves. Here’s how that looks in session. 1. We begin by normalizing parts work I help clients understand that having different parts — a perfectionist part, a shutdown part, a people‑pleasing part, a food‑coping part — is completely normal. IFS helps clients shift from: “What’s wrong with me?” to “Of course I adapted this way.” This alone reduces shame and opens the door to healing. 2. We identify the protective parts running the show Many of the women you work with have parts that developed in childhood or trauma environments to keep them safe, such as: the overfunctioning part the caretaker part the perfectionist part the numbing or food‑coping part the angry part that protects vulnerability the shutdown or dissociated part We explore these parts with curiosity, not judgment. IFS helps clients understand why these parts show up and what they’re trying to protect. 3. We build relationships with parts instead of fighting them Instead of trying to “get rid of” behaviors, we get to know the parts behind them. In session, this might look like: noticing where a part shows up in the body listening to what it’s afraid will happen understanding what it needs helping it soften when it feels safe This creates internal cooperation instead of internal conflict. 4. We gently access the younger, wounded parts (Exiles) IFS helps clients connect with the younger parts of themselves that carry: shame fear abandonment grief unmet needs body‑based memories We approach these parts slowly and with deep attunement, often integrating somatic awareness and EMDR preparation to ensure the nervous system stays regulated. Clients learn they don’t have to exile these parts anymore — they can care for them. 5. We strengthen the client’s Self — the grounded, compassionate core IFS teaches that every person has a Self that is: calm curious compassionate confident connected courageous Much of therapy is helping clients access this Self energy so they can lead their internal system with clarity instead of fear. This is especially powerful for women who have spent years living from survival mode. 6. We integrate IFS with EMDR, somatic therapy, and attachment work Your approach is deeply integrative, so IFS is woven into: EMDR resourcing and reprocessing somatic tracking and nervous system regulation attachment repair boundary work body image healing identity reconstruction IFS gives clients a language for their inner world, while EMDR and somatic work help shift the body‑held patterns underneath. 7. Clients begin to experience internal harmony instead of internal war As parts feel seen and supported, clients often notice: less self‑criticism more emotional regulation fewer shame spirals more self‑trust more capacity for boundaries less reliance on coping behaviors a deeper sense of wholeness IFS helps women move from fragmentation to integration — from “I’m a mess” to “I make sense.”
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing is woven throughout my work because so many of the women I support feel stuck between what they want and what they feel able to do. MI helps bridge that gap with compassion, curiosity, and collaboration — never pressure or shame. In my practice, MI is not about convincing someone to change. It’s about helping them hear their own wisdom, understand their ambivalence, and move toward change in a way that feels safe and aligned with their nervous system. Here’s how MI shows up in session. Most clients come in with mixed feelings about change: “I want to stop restricting, but I’m terrified of losing control.” “I want boundaries, but I don’t want to disappoint anyone.” “I want to rest, but I don’t know how to stop overfunctioning.” MI creates space for both sides of the internal conflict. Instead of pushing for change, we explore what each part of them is trying to protect. 2. I use reflective listening to help clients hear themselves more clearly MI is deeply relational. I reflect back what I hear so clients can: feel understood clarify their own thoughts notice their deeper values hear the strength in their own words Often, clients begin to articulate their desires more confidently simply because they feel safe and seen. 3. We identify the client’s values and align change with what matters most MI helps clients connect their goals to their core values, such as: freedom health connection authenticity peace self‑respect When change is rooted in values rather than pressure, it becomes sustainable. 4. We explore what’s getting in the way — with compassion, not criticism Instead of focusing on “resistance,” we explore: fear shame survival strategies nervous system patterns protective parts (integrating IFS) attachment wounds This helps clients understand that their stuck places make sense — they’re not failures, they’re protectors. 5. We strengthen the client’s own motivation and readiness I help clients identify: what they want why they want it what feels possible right now what support they need what small steps feel safe MI honors pacing. It meets clients exactly where they are, not where they “should” be. 6. We integrate MI with somatic therapy, EMDR, and attachment work MI blends seamlessly with your integrative approach: Somatic therapy helps clients notice what change feels like in the body. IFS helps explore the parts that want change and the parts that fear it. Attachment work helps clients feel safe enough to imagine new possibilities. EMDR helps process the memories and beliefs that keep them stuck. MI becomes the relational glue that holds these modalities together. 7. Clients begin to move toward change with more clarity and self‑trust As MI unfolds, clients often notice: less shame more confidence clearer goals greater self‑compassion increased readiness for change a sense of agency returning MI helps women shift from “I don’t know how to change” to “I can take the next step.”
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Licensed in
- MissouriLicense 2025050264