Emma Shearer Carter LPC, CCTP

I have worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings with individuals who have experienced any kind of abuse- emotional, physical, spiritual, sexual. I help clients find safety and connection within themselves before attempting to delve into the past and remember traumatic experiences. In fact, some clients find that they do not even need to recount instances of abuse in order to find healing from them. The main goal is to reintegrate the parts of ourselves that have been fragmented.

In my trauma training, I have found that most of what leads us to seek therapy connects back to how we have learned to relate to ourselves and the world, from the time we were infants. My goal is to model a safe, healthy relationship for clients to learn how to engage in relationship in more adaptive ways. This is not to say that the therapeutic relationship will be perfect, but rather that there will be space for repair when the inevitable rupture does occur.

I recognize the importance of a spiritual connection to ourselves and the universe. This is an incredibly intimate and vulnerable space within ourselves, and one that can often become distorted, confused, or wounded. I have walked through this in my own life, and with many clients who are wrestling through what their spirituality means to them and how to reconcile those parts of themselves with their life experiences.

Attachment is at the very core of what is is to be human. My training and experience working with traumatized individuals has lent itself to an attachment-based framework in which I know how to safely and effectively emphasize the therapeutic relationship and the ways in which faulty attachment disrupts our ability to self-regulate, develop, and grow. We must feel safe in relationship in order to have the bandwidth for deeper healing.

Much of my personal work has been deeply existential and transformative in a way I did not know possible for much of my life. I recognize that both the conscious and unconscious play crucial roles in how we exist within the world, and it is a unique path for each individual to awaken to the unconscious within themselves. This can include exploration of the feminine and masculine archetypes, the patriarchy of our culture today, the shadow self, and other Jungian concepts.

I worked for a number of years as a therapist on a women's trauma unit. This included both inpatient and intensive outpatient levels of care, treating both acute and complex trauma. Since then, I have also become certified as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. I specialize in working with clients on the 3 phases of trauma recovery, meeting them in whichever stage they need to begin.