Vicki Van Winkle

I work with adult who are living with trauma, anxiety, and grief. Integrated Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is my primary treatment modality, as it is very calming to the nervous system and helps people to reset their nervous systems after trauma and to learn new coping skills more easily.

I have a great deal of training and experience with PTSD and grief. I understand how they reshape the nervous system, thinking patterns, and relationships. Many of my clients are high-functioning on the outside and exhausted on the inside. They’ve held it together for years. They’ve been strong, responsible, capable, and overwhelmed.

I use EMDR and trauma-informed approaches that address the nervous system alarm, emotions, thoguhts and belief systems. I guide patients to examine cognitive distortions that keep anxiety looping, develop internal resources for emotional processing, and solve problems. By building steadiness in the present we strengthen your capacity to regulate with real skills.

Grief is another deep current in my practice. As live brings us grief at times and most of us have not experienced healthy patterns for letting it move through. Grief is an important emotion with so much to teach us. It is something to honor and metabolize. I bring a depth-oriented lens that allows grief to be meaningful while softening its pain.

I work best with thoughtful adults who are willing to look inward and do the work. I am direct, structured, and engaged. I care deeply about growth and real movement —

If you are ready to rebuild your internal ground after trauma, steady your anxiety, or discover how to walk through grief with strength and clarity, I would be honored to work alongside you.

The approach I use is trauma-informed, nervous-system focused, and practical. Though EMDR is my primary modality you will find sessions focus less on the past than on the subjective sense of the current state of the nervous system. We start from the present moment and work toward what you are trying to experience. EMDR is a great tool for removing obstacles as we go. EMDR (Eye Movement based therapy) is my primary modality because it helps the brain and body process trauma through the system rather than brace into defending or repeatedly relive trauma and loss. As the nervous system settles, insight deepens and coping skills take hold more easily. I integrate EMDR with cognitive work, relational awareness, and concrete regulation skills.

I am warm but direct. I value clarity, accountability, and real forward movement. The goal is steadiness, resilience, and greater freedom in your daily life.

I will ask thoughtful, structured questions to understand what brings you in, what you’ve already tried, and how trauma, anxiety, or grief are currently impacting your daily life. We’ll look at patterns — not just symptoms — so I can see the whole picture.

You can expect me to be engaged and direct. I’m not a silent nodder. I listen carefully, reflect what I’m hearing, and begin identifying possible treatment targets. If EMDR is appropriate, I’ll explain how it works and what the process would look like.

You should leave the first session with a clearer understanding of your symptoms, a sense of how we would approach treatment, and whether working together feels like a good fit. My goal is that you feel both understood and oriented toward a plan.