Steven Kidd (he/him)

Having people close to us whom we love and trust, and who love and trust us, is one of if not the most important factors in a fulfilled life. When tension builds, or when trust is broken and/or love betrayed, how can a couple find their way back? I have worked extensively with couples and families, in substance abuse programs and programs focused on trauma survivors. In this work, we identify and resolve barriers to finding their way back from breaches to reconnecting in new ways.

Coming from a family affected by addiction myself, I gravitated early in my career toward gaining a greater understanding of what helps in addiction recovery, and what does not. Often, the addiction is a numbing device that morphs into its own problem, taking a heavy toll on, not only the person, but their family members and loved ones as well. Holistic treatment involves attentive work with the individual with the addiction, but also those in their social circle.

My early work with Vietnam Veterans taught me about the profound effects of combat trauma and stimulated me to study ways of healing, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy) and CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy) for PTSD. Many Veterans with whom I worked also were survivors of childhood trauma. My time with indigenous Americans taught me about historical trauma. I have studied and used the Internal Family Systems therapy approach as an even deeper intervention.

Having grown up in a family affected by addiction, I was drawn to working with men and women with these issues, as well as their families. I directed a substance abuse program for the VA for many years, in which we used several different kinds of therapies with Veterans and their loved ones including 12 Step, Motivational Interviewing, Psychodrama, and EMDR. Seeing how lives were changed with our program has been one of the most gratifying factors of my public psychology career.

I have studied, been supervised in, and utilized Rogers' approach in it's original form and in its later adaptation, Motivational Interviewing, throughout my career. I consider the principles he laid down to be foundational to most psychotherapeutic methods. The importance of listening well and fully, rather than imposing judgement on a client is critical to an effective therapeutic partnership.

I sought out intensive training in IFS when I felt the results of my work with a survivor of severe childhood abuse was ineffective. I have since found the theory and techniques of this approach to be extremely helpful in working with clients who have developmental trauma. It makes perfect sense to more carefully consider the battles which rage within oneself to better understand what motivates each part, and to assist those parts in working together.

My training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy) occurred in the late 90's at the recommendation of my Vietnam Veteran partner as part of our establishing a Post Traumatic Stress clinical team for the VA. Although the exact mechanism of action remains unclear, EMDR has been established as an evidence-based therapy for some time now. It is an amazing and beautiful thing to watch a previously disturbing recollection melt into a normal memory!