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.
30+ years treating adult trauma survivors
Resourcing first, processing when you’re ready
The therapy relationship is part of the healing
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing or, plainly: a way for the brain to finish what it started, with the support of an attuned therapeutic relationship.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Susan Quinn Therapist, LMFT
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.
I keep the practice narrow on purpose. 30+ years deep in a few areas rather than
a little bit of everything.
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.
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.
EMDR is most helpful when you’ve already done some talk therapy and still feel stuck — when a memory, pattern, or reaction won’t move despite everything you understand about it. It’s evidence-based for trauma, PTSD, and anxiety, and is recognised by the American Psychological Association and the World Health Organisation. A free 20-minute call is the cleanest way to find out if it’s the right next step for you.
Yes. I’m an EMDRIA-certified therapist since 2003. I’m also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California, with 30+ years in clinical practice. EMDR certification is separate from basic training and requires significant additional supervised hours, consultation, and continuing education.
I’m out-of-network for all insurance plans. I provide a superbill on request that many clients submit to their insurance for partial reimbursement under their out-of-network mental-health benefits. I can walk you through how to check your coverage on the free consult.
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.
Primary office · 90049
20 min · Telehealth
20 min · In-person
20 min · Telehealth
20 min · Telehealth
20 min · Telehealth
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.