Integrative Counseling Services offers a broad spectrum of therapies to meet each client’s particular needs, depending on each client’s presentation. A trained professional, Serine seeks to assist the client to gain a new understanding of motivations and actions through a variety of therapeutic approaches. Clients are able to see their situation from a new perspective, can identify new possible solutions, find new agency to effect change, and begin to move in a positive and productive direction to improve their lives.

Office Hours: Monday (9:00-6:00), Tuesday (10:00-4:00), Wednesday (9:00-6:00), Thursday (10:00-6:00), Friday (9:00-12:00).

Rates: $125.00/hour, 10% discount for prepaid services of 6 sessions; 15% discount for prepaid services of 12 sessions. No insurance accepted but invoices available upon request for self-submission for out-0f-network benefits.

Philosophy

The core focus of this practice is to match each client with the most effective therapeutic approach ensuring maximum improvement and increased well-being in a timely and cost-effective manner. The goal is to help you achieve results that will enhance your life and relationships with others and with yourself. I strive to provide a welcoming, safe and supportive environment in which you can resolve emotional conflict, recover strengths, abilities and talents, and restore balance and purpose in your life to become the best you that you can be.

The practice offers simple, direct and effective methods to help the client access and process emotional conflict, mood disorders, and/or addictive behaviors. EMDR™ and Somatic Experiencing™ are two of the most powerful interventions for moving most clients quickly and thoroughly through their issues. Serine’s personal experience and professional training have allowed her to help others achieve emotional balance and recover from mood and behavioral disorders. She can relate to her clients and can relay what she has learned with compassion, humor and hope.

Treatments

Addictions

Serine is a Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor with 22 years of recovery. She is qualified to assess substance use, identify the level of dependency, and offer therapeutic interventions and moral support if the client chooses to stop using. She is able to assist the client to come to terms with their addiction and to assist them to achieve and retain sobriety. A life of sobriety requires an adjustment in thinking and behavior, as well as the processing of difficult emotional consequences of addiction: psychological craving, guilt, shame, resentment, anger, sadness, depression, anxiety and fear. The benefit of facing addiction head-on is a life of increasing freedom and comfort, enhanced self-esteem and the ability to join with and enjoy the company of other people.
Read more about addictions

EMDR

EMDR is a ‘short-cut’ therapy, gaining results much more quickly than conventional talk therapy. It is far more effective than taking drugs because it achieves lasting change in thinking, the primary cause of emotional disturbance, as opposed to simply reducing the symptoms. Although there are circumstances in which psycho-pharmaceutical drugs are necessary, it is far better to allow the brain to correct and regulate its innate chemistry. The changes gained from EMDR tend to be permanent; drug therapy often requires extended use, sometimes for the duration of a person’s life.
Read more about EMDR

Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing works with the body’s innate ability to restore itself to equilibrium by working with a person’s ‘body talk’: sensation. Trauma results in incomplete self-protective responses which show up as physical pain, organic dysregulation, and chronic physical/emotional symptoms. By working with sensation in a relaxed and supportive environment the client is able to regain a balanced and relaxed state of being without being re-traumatized. By gently processing trapped energy, working from the least toward more intense sensation, this gentle approach allows the completion of the survival instinct, resulting in a sense of settling and well-being.
Read more about somatic experiencing

Common Questions

What symptoms/behaviors indicate a need for therapy?

Mild: Life changes with anxiety and/or confusion, minor relationship troubles, minor anxiety issues – school, family, decision making, romantic relationship issues etc.
Moderate: Acute or chronic anxiety and/or depression, substance abuse, compulsive behaviors, chronic or acute relationship issues, chronic physical symptoms which don’t resolve with traditional treatment
Severe: Chronic substance abuse/dependency, trauma issues, severe relationship issues, suicidal ideation, deep depression, debilitating anxiety, including PTSD, phobias, social anxiety, and panic attacks, and health issues that don’t respond to conventional treatment

Why is therapy good idea?

Anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, compulsive behavior, and relationship troubles indicate an imbalance in a person’s system. This imbalance can be the result of incomplete emotional resolution, a deficit of coping strategies, entrenched dysfunctional defenses, poor communication skills, or unresolved trauma. If people use their energy to contain or avoid pain and/or fear, or act out old patterns, they have less energy to deal with present life situations or the demands of the body to maintain physical health. Therapy helps resolve old painful issues, decreases fear, and restores balance while enhancing innate talents, positive characteristics and the ability to engage with and enjoy life. When a person has enthusiasm and optimism, it is much easier to face challenges and to identify healthy solutions. Therapy is not an expense; it is an investment in a more productive and enjoyable life.

When should I seek help? It is time to get help when:

The tactics and strategies you have used no longer work
You are feeling lost or overwhelmed
Your relationships are not working
Your life changes and you are confused, angry or afraid
You have chronic physical symptoms that don’t respond to conventional treatment