WENDIE BRIGGS

After working for 10 years in the health and wellness industry as a Holistic Health Coach and National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer, with specializations in behavior change and corrective exercise, I developed a deep curiosity for the connection between mind and body. Desiring advanced training in mental health, I returned to graduate school in 2021 and earned a Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling from Point Loma Nazarene University.

My clinical training focused on Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Psychodynamic Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Somatic Therapies. My work leans on the science of Neuroplasticity, Attachment Theory, mindfulness and the power of mind-body connection. I gained my practicum experience at a non-profit agency, Stronger Together Community Services, and was hired as an associate immediately after my internship. I continue to seek out and train with innovators in the field and am currently studying under several certified AEDP, EFT, and EMDR supervisors.

I am an experiential, somatically focused, emotion-based therapist. I view anxiety, depression, and other symptomology, as survival strategies, not maladaptive conditions that are pathological. At their origin, these defenses were really brilliant and served the person exceptionally well. Having a sense of compassion and admiration of the “rough edges” (depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, self-loathing, addiction, mistrust in others) is vital to the healing process. In fact, coming to therapy and considering integrating and accepting these parts takes a huge amount of courage and growth. As we work together, we will focus on building connection, body awareness, and emotional safety so you feel comfortable exploring the pain, hurt, joy, fear, anger, sadness, and excitement that live within each of us.

I help clients heal from developmental trauma, relationship distress, and interpersonal injury. We will work to unhook you from fear, doubt, self-loathing, self-sabotage, anxiety, and despair. The goal is to help you live a life that is bigger, a life that is engaged by a truer sense of self, and a truer expression of self, accessing deep inner strengths and resiliencies that will result in vitality, ease, and peace.