LMFT, 9 years of experience
Frequently rebooked
Hello! I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist based in Tennessee. I've been working clinically with individuals and families since 2016, and I specialize in treating complex and developmental trauma from a neurobiologically sensitive perspective. Today, I mainly work with adults who experienced developmental trauma, or who are experiencing anxiety and depression, navigating life transitions, wishing to enhance relationships, and more.
A first session is about beginning the process of getting to know each other. We'll talk about the therapeutic relationship, including how confidentiality, scheduling, and other logistical details work. I reserve most of the time in this session to hear from you, asking the question "What's bringing you in, and why now?" You might be bearing difficult memories, thoughts and feelings about traumatic experiences. I want to assure you that I'm more than willing to hear any part of your story that you think is important to share with me, but I also understand that you may not be comfortable going into detail in a first meeting. Either way, there's no pressure. By the end of the session, my goal is to have a sense of what you want to experience and achieve in therapy. Starting with a new therapist is a brave step to take, even if you’ve had counseling in the past. We’ll take it a step at a time, at your pace.
Feedback I've received over the years is that I'm warm, authentic, and love a good joke. I'm proud to say I have multiple counseling relationships spanning years of time, which means I've been able to witness tremendous growth play out in the lives of my clients. I'm most invested in interventions and models of therapy that are effective and evidence-based/informed, and I prioritize emotional safety, respect, and your autonomy.
The trauma healing process can feel daunting and difficult to navigate alone. I wonder if you feel like your past keeps intruding on the present day. Maybe you've tried to handle it on your own, but you can't stop the memories, reactivity, negative thoughts, or tears from bubbling to the surface. This might affect your relationships, your job, your family. I can help you understand yourself and help you move toward healing. We can't change what happened in the past, but we can help your brain and body reorganize what happened, leaving it as a chapter in your story and not the defining theme.
I have training in IFS and in the neurobiology of "parts work." I find this model to be very effective in safely connecting to our thoughts, emotions, and reactions. Parts work also allows us to reprocess traumatic experiences by actually changing the neural networks in the brain. In our parts work, I use a variety of strategies, including creative imagery and tracking sensations and behavioral impulses, and more.
I'm trained in EMDR Level 1, with added training in Somatic and Attachment Focused EMDR (SAFE). Sometimes, traumatic experiences feel "stuck" in our brains and bodies. EMDR can be a helpful tool to aid in desensitizing traumatic memories and allowing the brain to reprocess adaptively.
I view CBT as a helpful foundation to many of the interventions I offer. This model allows clients to enhance their self-awareness and identify negative core beliefs, as well as preferred adaptive (or positive) beliefs. CBT can provide a road map to follow in our work toward therapy goals.
I specialize in treating complex and developmental trauma, defined as repeated and inescapable exposure to adverse events during sensitive periods of childhood development, often occurring over a period of time. I am trained in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT™), which is "a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology-informed approach to clinical problem solving." The NMT provides a framework to organize a client's history of adverse events along with their current functioning in order to choose interventions that are most effective. Trauma-informed models I utilize include IFS, EMDR-SAFE, ARC, SMART, and more.
I intentionally integrate the models and interventions I use in order to offer holistic mental health therapy. Interventions are tailored to each individual client with a specific purpose, according to a client's goals.
1 rating with written reviews
May 29, 2025
As a lifetime therapy-goer, I feel qualified to define good therapy as the combination of knowledge/ skills with the art of witnessing / creating safe space for our shared human-ness. Kelsie is a master of this balance. She is a sacred resource in my self-care toolbox. Her guidance and presence have enabled me to do the hardest and most important emotional work of my life. I wish everyone to find a therapist as talented, wise, and genuine as her!