Michael Ellison PhD, LPC-S
Certified EMDR Therapist
About Me
I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and founder of a graduate counseling program to help others do what I do. I believe in the resiliency of the human spirit and innate potential of the individual to heal. You can heal and be the author of your life.
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My goal and privilege as a therapist is to assist others in improving all aspects of their lives. I believe in the innate capacity of the human spirit to overcome adversity and experience healing. I employ a variety of approaches depending on your needs, and tailor a treatment plan to assist you on this journey. While trained and teaching a variety of interventions and therapies, I specialize in trauma therapy (specifically EMDR Therapy), relationship counseling, and short-term solution-focused work.
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I'm well-versed in neuroscience and the latest findings on trauma, anger, depression, impulsivity, sexual problems, and emotional issues. Thanks to neuroscience, brain/mind is better understood. Modalities of EMDR Therapy, Mindfulness practices, and hypnotherapy capitalize on this information to help you get your need met.
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Specializing in Anxiety Treatment, Trauma and High Conflict Couples Therapy
Anxiety
Anxiety can describe feelings of discomfort, panic attack, phobias, and other symptoms. Our bodies have an alerting system which can malfunction, producing signals of distress when there is no real threat. Fortunately, there are therapy techniques to reduce, or eliminate, these troublesome signals of distress. Therapy for anxiety is successful in more than 90% of people.
Neuroscience
As a professor of psychology and counseling, teaching new therapists how to incorporate the latest discoveries in brain science into their work is both a privilege and a pleasure. Knowledge of how our brain functions can help improve our lives. Many clients have reported that being able to direct their brain in new, more effective directions was easy to learn. We can use our Mind to direct our Brain to help our Body heal. This Mind-Brain-Body approach to holistic treatment can be a powerful tool to restore us to balance and to joy.
Trauma
When we are the victims of traumatic experiences, we may re-experience those incidents without being able to stop them. Many people resort to alcohol or drugs to self-medicate the feelings of being constantly re-traumatized. Others may suffer deep depression and think of suicide. However, there are a variety of proven treatments for trauma which move people from being a victim toward being a survivor.
EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and is proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR Therapy encompasses a set of standardized protocols, and is a comprehensive therapy approach based on Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model.
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Relationships
Our relationships can provide the most fulfilling of all human interactions—or be the source of tremendous emotional, physical, or sexual pain. When relationships are hurtful to us, it may lead to a lifetime of misery. A therapy focus on relationshipcan help to improve the lives of individuals, couples, and families that need healthy ways to cope within a family. Blended families due to divorce or re-marriage often benefit from relationship-focused therapy.
Psychological
Assessments
Psychological assessments can be performed to evaluate mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, relationship problems and other issues. Please call to discuss your psychological testing needs.