Susan Quinn Therapist & Life Coach

Depth-oriented trauma therapy, integrating attachment-focused EMDR, somatic work, and Internal Family Systems, to help you heal anxiety, relational trauma, and depression at the root. In-person in Brentwood, online throughout California.

Susan Quinn Therapist & Life Coach, LMFT, Trauma & Attachment
Therapy, Los Angeles Framework.

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency or acute mental health crisis, do not use this form. Call 988 or 911 immediately.

susan-quinn-therapist

Specialized

30+ years treating adult trauma survivors

Gentle pacing

Resourcing first, processing when you’re ready

Relational

The therapy relationship is part of the healing

THE WORK ITSELF

EMDR Therapy, without the Jargon.

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing or, plainly: a way for the brain to finish what it started, with the support of an attuned therapeutic relationship.

THE BRAIN

Finish what it started.

When something difficult happens, the brain is supposed to file it away, process it, learn from it, move on. With trauma, it doesn’t get the chance. The memory stays raw. The body keeps reacting as if it’s still happening.

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The moment something moves.

What I love most about this work is witnessing that exact moment when something shifts when a client suddenly sees their experience in a new way and you can almost feel the relief wash over them. Those transformative moments are what fuel my passion and keep me continually learning, growing, and deepening my work in these therapies.

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THE METHOD

Bilateral evidence based.

EMDR uses gentle bilateral stimulation guided eye movements, sounds, or taps to help the brain re-open that file and finally complete the processing. It works on what talk therapy alone often can’t reach: the body’s memory of what happened.

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MY SPECIALTY

What Is EMDR, Really?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a structured therapy developed in the late 1980s that helps your brain digest painful memories the same way it naturally digests ordinary ones, so they stop hijacking your present.

When something overwhelming happens, the memory can get stored in a raw, unprocessed form: the original images, body sensations, emotions, and beliefs locked together. Years later, a smell, a tone of voice, or a familiar dynamic can re-trigger the whole package as if it’s happening now. This is the Adaptive Information Processing model that EMDR is built on, the idea that the brain wants to heal, but some memories need help getting unstuck.

In session, you do not have to begin with a clear memory. Sometimes we start with a memory, but we can also begin with a body sensation, a feeling, a fear, or even a phobia. While you stay grounded in the present, I guide you through bilateral stimulation, such as gentle side-to-side eye movements, taps, or sounds. This helps the brain process what has been stuck, so the emotional charge can soften and the experience can become something your nervous system no longer has to keep reliving.

self-worth

“EMDR helps the wound stop hurting. Attachment-Focused EMDR helps you trust again.”

Susan Quinn Therapist, LMFT

MY SPECIALTY

If Any of this Sounds Familiar...

I work with high-functioning adults who may look capable on the outside, successful in work, steady on paper, but inside feel anxious, emotionally alone, overwhelmed, or stuck in patterns they can’t seem to shift. You’re not broken. You’re carrying something, and it’s time it stopped carrying you.

This work may be a good fit if you:

WHAT I HELP WITH

Specialized Therapy For
Specific Work.

I keep the practice narrow on purpose. 30+ years deep in a few areas rather than
a little bit of everything.

EMDR Therapy Los Angeles

EMDR Therapy Los Angeles

The core work. Evidence-based, EMDRIA-certified, and built for the memories and patterns that standard therapy can't reach.
Learn more

Attachment-Focused EMDR

Attachment-Focused EMDR

For relational wounds, patterns in connection, and the secure attachment that makes real closeness possible.
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Trauma & PTSD Therapy

Trauma & PTSD Therapy

Single-incident trauma, complex PTSD, childhood experiences, and the body's memory of what happened — addressed at the root.
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Anxiety Therapy

Anxiety Therapy

For the nervous system that won't settle — chronic anxiety, panic, phobias, and the hypervigilance that outlasted its purpose.
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Relationship Trauma

Relationship Trauma

For the patterns that keep showing up in love and family — when something old is still standing in the way of something new.
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Self-Worth Healing

Self-Worth Healing

Quiet, foundational work on the inner voice that's been too critical for too long. AF-EMDR is particularly suited to this.
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Attachment-Focused EMDR

What Is Attachment-Focused EMDR?

Sometimes trauma isn’t only about what happened to you. It’s also about what didn’t happen — the attunement, protection, consistency, and emotional safety that should have been there and weren’t.

Standard EMDR works beautifully for single-incident trauma, a car accident, an assault, a medical event. But for adults who grew up with chronic misattunement, neglect, or emotional unpredictability, the wounds aren’t always tied to a specific memory you can point to. They show up as chronic dysregulation, shame, and difficulty self-soothing, patterns rather than events.

HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

A first call, then the real work.

Reaching out is the hardest part. Once you’ve done that, here’s what happens next.

01

A free 20-minute call

No commitment. No paperwork. A chance for both of us to see if I’m the right fit for what you’re carrying and to answer any question about EMDR or working together.

02

An intake session

Our first full session is about understanding the landscape your history, your goals, what’s been tried. We don’t dive into trauma work yet. We make sure you’re resourced first.

03

EMDR, at your pace

When you’re ready, we begin. Some sessions are intense; some are gentle. You stay in control of where we go and how fast. Most clients work weekly for a season not forever.

FROM CLIENTS

In Their Own Words.

In-Person Therapy in Brentwood, LA

My office is conveniently located in the heart of West LA for in-person depth work with secure telehealth available statewide.

 

Taking time out of a demanding schedule for therapy requires seamless logistics. My private office is situated in prime Brentwood along the prestigious San Vicente Boulevard corridor, offering a quiet, discrete space designed for deep clinical focus.

 

  • Located in the Comerica Bank building near the corner of San Vicente Blvd and S. Bundy Drive, directly adjacent to Vicente Foods. The side cross-street is Saltair Avenue.
  • Parking: On-site parking structure access is available directly within the 12011 San Vicente building. Metered street parking is available along San Vicente Boulevard and unmetered residential street parking along Saltair Avenue and adjacent side streets (always check posted city signs for street-sweeping hours).
  • Nearby Neighborhoods Served (10–20 Minute Commute): 
    • Santa Monica & Pacific Palisades: Direct east-west commute via San Vicente Blvd or Sunset Blvd.
    • Westwood & UCLA: Direct access via Wilshire Blvd or Ohio Ave.
    • West Los Angeles & Century City: Accessible via Santa Monica Blvd or Wilshire Blvd.
    • Beverly Hills & Bel Air: Direct route via Sunset Blvd or Wilshire Blvd.

This work may be a good fit if you:

COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions About
EMDR Therapy

1. Can EMDR therapy make me feel worse before I feel better, or are there side effects?
Temporary emotional sensitivity, vivid dreams, or light fatigue after a session are normal—they indicate your nervous system is actively processing stuck material between sessions. However, EMDR should never destabilize your life. As an experienced EMDR therapist in Brentwood, LA, I never rush into raw trauma work. We spend time stabilizing your nervous system and building robust somatic tools first, ensuring you process heavy memories safely without getting overwhelmed.
Virtual EMDR is just as clinically effective as in-person therapy. During online telehealth sessions across California, we use specialized virtual bilateral stimulation (BLS) tools including visual light bars on screen, alternating auditory tones through headphones, or guided self-tapping. Whether you work with me in my Brentwood office or via secure telehealth, the core neurobiological mechanism that processes stuck memories remains identical.
No. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require you to rehash agonizing details out loud. You simply hold a target memory, negative belief, or physical sensation in your mind while we run bilateral stimulation. Your brain does the heavy lifting internally, allowing you to unburden deep trauma cleanly without retraumatizing yourself through endless verbal retelling.
Resourcing is the foundational prep work (Phase 2 of EMDR) that guarantees your nervous system stays grounded. Before targeting painful memories, we build your internal toolkit using somatic grounding techniques, safe-state visualizations, and clear session boundaries (including an immediate stop signal). We only advance to trauma processing when your system is steady, regulated, and fully equipped to handle emotional shifts.
Standard EMDR typically targets single-incident traumas like accidents or acute events. Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) is tailored for developmental trauma, childhood emotional neglect, or relational wounds where no single memory exists. In an AF-EMDR session, we actively integrate the therapeutic relationship, somatic awareness, and custom resource interweaves to repair the deep, lingering impact of feeling unseen, unprotected, or chronically alone.
No. EMDR will not erase your memories or change who you are. It systematically digests the visceral, high-intensity charge locked inside a traumatic memory. After successful EMDR processing, you still remember what happened, but the memory shifts into a neutral historical fact rather than a present-day threat driving panic, hypervigilance, or anxiety. It strips away the survival weight so your authentic self can step forward.
COMMON QUESTIONS

A Few Things Worth Knowing.

My office sits on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood minutes from Santa Monica, West LA, and Beverly Hills.
For clients across California, telehealth makes the same work possible from home.

Brentwood

Primary office · 90049

Santa Monica

20 min · Telehealth

West Los Angeles

20 min · In-person

Beverly Hills

20 min · Telehealth

Pacific Palisades

20 min · Telehealth

Culver City

20 min · Telehealth

WHEN YOU’RE READY

If My Approach Resonates,
I’d be Honored to Hear from You.

You can call me at 310-600-3458 or reach out through the contact form to explore whether working together feels like a good fit

I offer in-person sessions in Brentwood on LA’s Westside and online therapy throughout California.