Ready to stop collecting information and begin transformation?
FAITH-BASED, ORLANDO SOMATIC EMDR THERAPIST: REBECA GILBERT, LPC, LMHC
Hi, I’m Rebeca!
I see you. You find yourself repeating old patterns, being triggered by memories, and struggling to slow down and connect in the present.
I hear you. You are weary. You have collected lots of information. Between therapy, podcasts, and articles you have insight, and yet, you find yourself still stuck. You feel frustrated that you are not able to put what you have learned into action.
There is another way to move forward. I want to help you:
Feel safe, seen, and secure
Move towards clarity, meaning, and reclaiming your voice
Experience whole-person change
Who and How I help
I help women who want more than regular talk therapy and are willing to go deeper. They are open to using body-based approaches (like eye movements, breathing, tapping, and nervous system regulation practices) to connect what they know to impact how they are live. They are open to learning how to reset the brain when it’s stuck on a safety mode (full disclaimer: I am a total brain nerd).
We approach pain, anxiety, and trauma responses with curiosity and compassion. We work to connect with the body in the moment. We slow down together, practicing non-judgement, and work to normalize the biological responses that happen when the body feels unsafe. We notice and name what happens in their bodies when they are activated and triggered. Folks get good at catching their early clues for help and together we practice returning to regulation or “resetting the internal alarm” so that we can help the body feel safe enough to learn new ways of relating.
It is my honor to help my clients name painful places, release emotion, and move towards feeling at home in their bodies again or for the first time.
Clients often say that they feel safe doing the deep work and that they can see the impact of our work in between sessions. They tell me that they are getting better at noticing when they are off and can practice the strategies we have set to calm down and shift from reacting to choosing their responses in their families, communities and places of work. After working together, my clients tell me that they can experience deeper self-compassion, listen to and calm down their bodies as needed, name and honor their boundaries with less guilt, and find more meaning in their lives.
Am I the right therapist for you?
For therapy to be effective, it is critical to connect and feel safe with your therapist. I want you to be able to show up as your messy, brilliant, and unfiltered self in our sessions. To help you get comfortable, I practice showing up with authenticity, and honesty and earning the right to hear your story. Practicing what I teach (integrity) is a are core value of mine and I will show up as myself in our work and will invite you to do the same.
As a first-generation Latina immigrant, I understand that for those who have experienced trauma, racism, and discrimination for reasons such as skin color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and spiritual beliefs, it will take longer to build trust. And I am here for as long as you need to feel safe or ask for what you need (even if it’s a referral to another provider)!
You are wondering what could be different this time around…
You’ve read “The Body Keeps the Score”, listened to podcasts (anyone else listening to Adam Young’s The Place We Find Ourselves?), and have even done therapy before.
You are not struggling because you don't have enough information, lets be honest, the odds are you have so many data points that you feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start or what to do with all the information you have collected. I can keep up with you and help you slow down.
Let me help you trust your gut and move from collecting information to connecting and correcting your system.
As a trauma survivor, holder of stories, and fellow human I know what it's like to grow up with messy layers of pain, abuse, and religious trauma. I am committed to holding safe spaces for people to move toward their healing.
I believe healing happens when our bodies feel safe and connected.
I have seen it happen not only for myself but in the lives of the brave people that I have supported and witnessed over the past fifteen years.
My clients describe me as warm, caring, and a straight shooter when needed. They appreciate my commitment to holding the both/and tension of life (the messy places of life and glimmers of beauty and goodness without toxic positivity). We often laugh and cry together, as we approach stories of harm with complexity and curiosity, naming the ways that their bodies hold their pain, what they survived, and helping them heal from their past to reclaim the future.
Background & Training
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Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida (MH20320)
Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia (LPC 008468)
MA in Counseling, St.Louis, MO, 2007
BS in Psychology, Gainesville, FL, 2005
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EMDR Trained and Certified
EMDR Consultant in Training (CIT)
Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS 4005)
Complex Trauma Training Level 2 (CCTP-II)
Allender Center Narrative Focused Trauma Therapy Facilitator (Level 1)
National Board Certified Counselor (NCC)
Additional trainings in the areas of:
Complex Trauma
Somatic (Body connected) Therapy
PolyVagal Theory
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Relational Neurobilogy
Story Work
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EMDR International Association
Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia
Florida Mental Health Counselors Association
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I have seen people move towards more clarity, purpose, confidence, and wholeness as they are understood as holistic people with minds, bodies, and souls.
EMDR is my primary approach to deep, evidence-based therapy.
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an evidence-based therapy that is effective in addressing PTSD and trauma. This brain-based approach helps the brain move through stuck places, thoughts, memories, and body sensations by using eye movements (tapping, pulsars, and other alternating stimuli).
EMDR is most effective when it integrates and honors the body/somatic and its experiences.
Somatic: I work from the principle that our bodies do not lie. Bodies hold memories and if you listen, tell stories too. If we did not grow up in a home that welcomed our anger, where did it go? Your shoulder? Your back? Your gut? What is tight, achy, and activated in your body?
Attachment Theory: The patterns that develop in as we seek to be safe, seen, secure, and connected in relationships. This is where we look at patterns and make sense of how they came to be, and how they are helpful; or how we responded when some (or all of those were not there consistently. Meaning and Purpose:
Meaning Making/Faith/Spirituality: Making meaning and integrating past experiences into our present is an important piece of healing. Our systems (mind-body-sprit) only “unlock” meaning-making when it is convinced that we are safe. It’s a survival strategy. This part often connects to faith and spiritual practices for folks as they consider what stories are going to tell themselves from now on. How do we make sense of our past, embrace our present, and stay open in the future?
