Erin Dow LCSW

Somatic therapy brings awareness to how our emotional patterns live in the body — the tightening in the chest when a partner withdraws, or the freeze response during conflict — and teaches the nervous system new ways to feel safe in connection. Through trainings in Somatic Experiencing and Hakomi, I have learned to help my clients slow down their reactions and stay grounded and embodied while attaining insight.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps with everything from trauma to procrastination by identifying the inner “parts” that drive us — such as a perfectionist part or a people-pleasing part — and understanding the fears and beliefs that keep them stuck in overdrive. By cultivating curiosity toward these parts rather than fighting them, a person can unburden the extreme roles those parts have taken on, allowing for more balanced, sustainable ways of engaging with work and love.

EMDR works by activating the brain’s natural information-processing system, allowing distressing memories to lose their emotional charge and be stored in a healthier, more adaptive way. Over time, this reduces the intrusive symptoms of trauma — such as flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance — because the memory no longer triggers the same overwhelming physiological and emotional response it once did.

EMDR was originally developed for Vietnam veterans and is particularly well-suited to trauma. Adding IFS and Somatic therapies can help keep you calm and grounded while doing the difficult work of trauma therapy.

Navigating high-pressure professions as a queer person causes inherent anxiety. As a former attorney and a member of the LGBTQ community, I understand "overthinking" on a personal level and aim to ease the pressures you face on your own journey.

EMDR lowers fear of all kinds (whether from trauma, high-pressure environments or social anxiety) by activating the brain’s natural information-processing system, allowing distressing memories to lose their emotional charge and be stored in a healthier, more adaptive way.

If you've tried behavioral therapies such as CBT or DBT, but still find yourself aching with feelings of abandonment in friendships and romantic relationships, you might need a different, deeper approach. Combining EMDR, IFS and Somatic therapy brings lasting change to the "dance of attachment," helping us stay on solid ground, even when others unexpectedly change their steps.