Kay Hamilton (she/her)

I trained with the Gottman Institute in Seattle and I am a Certified Trainer in "Bringing Baby Home", "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" and I completed Gottman Level 1 and 2. I believe that by working with couples, healing and relational satisfaction can take place; and change in relationships can occur. I focus on emotion, skill-building for managing conflict, developing new skills for enhancing friendship, awareness and understanding of each other's needs and embracing them.

If you are traumatized by an overwhelming event or repeatedly subjected to distress, your natural coping mechanisms become overloaded.EMDR therapy helps create the connections between your brain's memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way. EMDR can not only help with PTSD, but also anxiety, depression, stress, phobias, sleep problems, grief, self esteem, & pain relief.I trained under Robbie Adler-Tapia, PhD in an EMDRIA approved training program.

I have a 5 year old Weimarainer that accompanies me to work. He is trained as a Therapy Animal with Pets for Life. He is also trained as a Certified Service Dog with Canine Speciality Training, LLC. He has been working with me for over 3 years. He spent over a year working with me at CAPA (Child Abuse Prevention Agency) in Independence, MO, before coming with me into private practice. Come in and say "hi" to Fynn anytime! He will welcome you with lots of kisses.

I have a 5 year old Weimarainer that has been trained as a Therapy Dog by Pets for Life. He has also been trained as a Certified Therapy Dog by Canine Speciality Training, LLC. He has worked with me of over 3 years. He spent over a year at CAPA (Child Abuse Prevention Agency) in Independence, MO, and loved working with the children and families there before following me into private practice. Feel free to stop by and say "hi" to Fynn and he will give you lots of kisses!

The mind can often heal itself naturally.When you are traumatized by an overwhelming event or repeated distress, your natural coping mechanism can become overloaded.EMDR therapy helps create the connections between your brain's memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way. EMDR can not only help PTSD but also anxiety, depression, stress, phobias, sleep issues, grief, pain relief and self esteem. I am trained in an EMDRIA certified EMDR program.

The Gottmans have learned why successful marriages are successful. They have identified patterns in relationships that are consistent with divorce called "The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse". Knowing how to identify these in a couple can give the information I need to teach couples the tools for improving and building their relationship. I focus on emotion, skill-building for managing conflict, developing new skills for enhancing friendship, awareness and understanding of each other's needs.

In treatment, 25% of couples present with issues of affairs, and 30% more will disclose affairs. What happens when a relationship experiences infidelity? Betrayal, disrespect, broken trust, defensiveness...a tornado has torn up the relationship and uprooted from its ground of common shared beliefs and values. A willingness to try to repair the relationship is first. Then allowing the expression of feelings, freedom to ask questions, and most important; no further contact with the affair partner.

Working with relationships and marriage issues is my passion. We all know that opposites attract! Unfortunately, after a bit, criticism begins, then defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling. That opposite you married has you wondering what you saw in them. I love working with each couple; teaching them how to build love maps, share fondness and admiration, turn towards instead of away, the positive perspective, how to manage conflict, make your life's dreams come true and create shared meaning.