What is Experiential Therapy and How is it Different?
How I Work: An Experiential Approach to Trauma and Anxiety Therapy in Tempe, AZ
You may have tried traditional talk therapy before—telling your story, gaining insight, even learning some helpful tools. But talking and tools usually aren’t enough to stop that panic and fear that instantly grips your body, that nausea or pain in your stomach, the physical tension you carry around like it’s a permanent part of you.
Talking and tools aren’t enough to resolve that internal voice that’s constantly criticizing you, telling you everything is your fault, and that you’re not good enough.
Many people are looking for more.
What you really need is help for how you get hijacked by your emotional states and physical reactions.
That’s where experiential therapy comes in.
Experiential forms of therapy go beyond just talking about your thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Experiential therapy encourages you to access your emotions and sensations in your body, and then a live therapist gently guides you through an EXPERIENCE in that emotional state. This live, guided experience allows you to let go of old, stuck emotions, access new perspectives, work through internal conflicts, and open up opportunities for deep healing.
Experiential therapy is a creative process grounded in extensive training and experience.
Experiential therapy works well with clients who are able to trust and step into the process and allow a highly attuned and experienced therapist to guide them.
Experiential therapy is especially helpful for:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Childhood emotional neglect (abandonment), or abuse
- Anxiety, obsessive thoughts or phobias that don’t respond to logic or traditional therapy
- Feeling stuck, numb, or emotionally reactive
- That inner critical voice
- Patterns that insight or understanding alone hasn’t changed
I am trained and experienced in using 4 types of Experiential Therapy:
1.Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
EMDR is the most extensively researched therapy for trauma processing. Over 30 controlled studies have demonstrated it’s effectiveness for many types of psychological problems. A Kaiser Permanente study demonstrated that 100% of single-incident trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer met criteria for PTSD after 6 sessions.
The work you do with EMDR is permanent, the same problem does not re-occur.
EMDR helps the brain and body reprocess trauma, stuck emotions and memories. It’s especially effective for PTSD, anxiety, and childhood trauma. Clients often experience relief from long-held emotional pain without needing to retell every detail of their story.
EMDR is a powerful, research-supported method that helps people process trauma safely.
I offer EMDR therapy to clients across Arizona, both in my Tempe office and online via secure tele-health.
I have over 200 hours of training and can use EMDR for many different types of problems.
You can read answers to many FAQ’s about EMDR at The EMDR Institute, founded by Francine Shapiro.
2.Internal Family Systems (IFS) or Ego-State Therapy
Internal Family Systems is a psychodynamic therapy that is based on Ego-State Therapy. Ego-State Therapy believes every person is made up of “parts” that can be identified and understood. Parts of the self are sometimes in conflict with each other. Child parts can be frozen in the time of the trauma and not be aware of current reality. Defensive or protective parts can get in the way of your relationships and healthy functioning.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you connect with the younger, protective, or reactive parts of yourself that formed in response to your experiences. IFS and Ego-State Therapy aim to integrate these parts of the self into the whole of the present self. This inner work creates space for deep healing, compassion, and self-leadership.
IFS or Ego-State Therapy is very helpful for people who have experienced childhood trauma or neglect.
3.Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is a body-centered approach to healing trauma. It helps you become more aware of how your body holds stress, fear, and unresolved emotions—especially when words aren’t enough. By gently tracking physical sensations and movement patterns, we work together to release trauma held in the nervous system and restore a sense of safety and connection.
This body-based method helps you become aware of how trauma lives in your nervous system. Through mindful tracking of physical sensations, movement, and posture, we help your body release stuck responses like tension, shutdown, or hyper-vigilance.
4.Psychodrama (for Individuals)
Psychodrama is an experiential therapy that uses role play, imagination, and guided action to explore and process emotions, inner conflicts, and life experiences. In individual sessions, we use objects, movement, and guided imagery to help you explore your inner world—bringing insight and emotional release, and to safely express and process what words alone can’t reach. This powerful approach can bring clarity and a deeper connection to your authentic self.