Responding First Counseling (EMDR & Brainspotting)

Responding First Counseling (EMDR & Brainspotting) is a mental health counseling practice in Ballwin, Missouri, licensed in both Missouri and Illinois. The practice offers EMDR and Brainspotting intensives for clients who have found that talk therapy alone is not enough, along with CBT and work focused on narcissistic abuse. Its clients include first responders dealing with injury, anxiety, burnout, depression, compassion fatigue, or PTSD, and people recovering from narcissistic abuse by a parent or partner, including gaslighting. Sessions are available by phone or text, and a 15-minute consultation is offered.

The counselor holds a Master's in Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University, completed in 2018, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Certified Trauma Professional (CTP). She is a member of the Missouri Crisis Intervention Team and EMDRIA St Louis, and is a retired EMS provider. Her approach is collaborative and bottom-up, starting with the body rather than the mind, to release tension, fear, and old survival strategies rather than rehashing the story. She works with attachment patterns formed in childhood and how they shape current relationships, and she pays attention to physical cues such as fidgeting or tense shoulders during sessions.

The practice is located on Kehrs Mill Rd, about 0.1 miles from Wild Horse Fitness and 0.4 miles from Westridge Elementary School. Kehrs Mill Road and Clayton Road are both within a few tenths of a mile, and Fishpot Creek and Creve Coeur Creek are roughly half a mile away.

The practice holds a 5.00 rating from the customers who have reviewed it.