Shawna Wells (She/her)

I am passionate about our understanding the patterns of trauma in our families of origin and within the oppressive systems we reside. I guide clients through creating genograms to create visuals of theirs and their families experiences where we can hold space for the often complex thoughts and emotions that come with that. Through inner child and ancestral work, we can help heal the past and find some peace in the present.

Through person-centered and experiential therapy treatments, I help clients explore the complexity of their grief and their emotions. In cases of grief and loss intersecting with trauma, I offer trauma-informed treatments, including Brainspotting to process the emotional pain held deep within.

Through my training and my own healing, I’ve come to recognize that PTS (post-traumatic stress) is a natural reaction that our bodies have to “unnatural” (traumatizing) experiences. Therefore my passion for trauma work lies in validating our experiences and our body’s responses to them and to then guide my clients through releasing the pain, the fear, the grief, the shame that holds our traumatic memories primarily through Brainspotting. I pair IFS, and other trauma-informed therapies as well!

I have completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 training in Brainspotting and have used Brainspotting for years as a client. I am very passionate about the ways that Brainspotting can heal trauma and assist our bodies in processing trapped emotions, trauma, and pain within our bodyminds. I believe that for clients who are interested in using Brainspotting, it is the most effective way to work through trauma at the source.

I love the way IFS allows us to embrace the complexity of ourselves and our experiences as human beings. I find IFS to be very helpful in not only individual therapy but for clients in relation as well (couples, polycules, families). I find it to be a very effective method for allowing clients to be whole and present in their entirety by embracing “no bad parts.” I use IFS with most of my clients and especially those dealing with trauma, grief/loss, depression, anxiety, and relational issues.

Ecotherapy is how I bring client’s healing out of the office, off of the computer screen, and out into nature. For clients living in my area of Menomonie and Eau Claire, WI, I love having opportunities to do therapeutic work outside with my clients, whether that’s walk and talk therapy, sitting outside together, or doing relational work with my couples/polycule/family clients. For clients who find a spiritual connection to nature, this form of therapy can be especially beneficial and healing.

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I have found in my experience, training, and study of trauma that PTS or Post Traumatic Stress is a more accurate way to describe the very natural response our bodies have to “unnatural” and harmful experiences. One of the ways I work through trauma with my clients is through Brainspotting, which allows us to heal the body from within itself by processing the trauma, shame, and emotions that remain trapped there. Many of my clients in this area deal with c-PTS, PTS, and DIA aka DID.

Through my study of history, I have become only too familiar with the historical contexts which our ancestors were made in. I assist my clients in connecting with the context of themselves, as well as their families through the use of genograms, where we create a visual representation of the patterns and histories which have shaped our experiences. I believe in the power of cycle-breaking, and support my clients in their journeys through inner child and ancestral work, often paired with BSP.

Grief and loss can show up in our lives in so many different ways, through experiences such as death, divorce, trauma-work, relational healing, and parental wounding. The many ways we can experience these losses are often very dark paths we have to walk through, and my goal as your therapist is to walk alongside you through them. I primarily use person-centered therapy, IFS, and EFT to help my clients process their grief and the feelings so often we hold in to get through the day-to-day.