I unknowingly began walking the path towards becoming a therapist when I was in elementary school. For me, this path has been littered with many different “reasons why.”

As a young kid, I had an unaltered wisdom and knowing that helping other people felt good and made me happy. This is in part why I believe every person has an innate wisdom inside of them, and deeply knows that love is our natural state of being.

Though as I got older, I noticed a shift and began wanting to help other people as a way to “have value” to them— believing that if I was of value to someone, that meant I myself had value and was “good.” I began people pleasing without realizing it was because I didn’t feel worthy enough on my own. These newly forming ways of navigating relationships combined with a fear-driven intuitive sense that there was very little space for my emotions and problems in my childhood home lead to me putting on a mask. I reflected to the world that I was always okay in order to help out my family as best I could. This was automatic, and something that served me— until it didn’t.

In the years after I moved away to get my Bachelors in Psychology at Marlboro College in Vermont, my people pleasing and emotional repression transfigured into extreme anxiety, low self-esteem & depression, chronic muscle tension, physical pain, and dissociation. I wondered...if I had such a great childhood, why was I struggling so much? Why was I so unhappy? I viewed myself as having such a strong “outer shell” of a personality; I viewed myself as someone who was capable of being confident, happy, and resilient. And then, strangely, at other times I felt so weak, incapable, and in despair about myself and my life. Why was this?

I got my answer when I went into therapy for the first time after graduating from college. I was working in a psychiatric hospital as a direct care worker on the units trying to help people, but I was finding it was difficult when I struggled to consistently feel good in my own life. My therapist (who I still see!) taught me about “parts.” Parts are essentially “subpersonalities” that develop naturally as we grow up, and they influence our behavior, thoughts, and feelings. I finally understood what was happening when I felt confident in one situation and insecure in the next, and why I felt so disjointed in my mind. Doing parts work with someone I could trust was truly life changing in allowing and accepting all aspects of myself, loving myself as I was, and no longer repressing difficult emotions. I eventually began to feel whole.

I felt a renewed passion for helping others with a new “reason why”— I wanted to share what had helped me feel better and give my own struggles purpose and meaning. Although I was feeling a lot better, I also was still experiencing anxiety, physical pain and chronic muscle tension, and I needed more answers. I decided to go to Antioch University in New Hampshire for a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. There I began to understand the interconnected nature of mental, physical, emotional & spiritual health. If you understand emotions as energy, it is easy to understand how that energy can get stuck at certain points in the body when traumatic experiences happen, leading to mental health struggles, physical problems and pain. It was clear to see, and humbling to understand, that my people pleasing and pretending I was always okay had led to a lot of stuck energy in my body— energy that caused me pain.

I began exploring other types of therapy options, including Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Experiencing to try to release these stuck emotions. Reprocessing upsetting memories with EMDR and the physical release of somatic psychotherapies helped slow my thoughts and relax my body. As I put in time and continued effort, I began to feel small shifts in my mood, my perspective, my energy, and my health. My symptoms began slowly fading into the background until one day, I noticed that I...felt happy. It wasn’t a mighty roar, but a quiet, pleasant humming in my chest. I felt proud of myself and like I could do anything. I felt once again that innate wisdom I knew as a child— that love, peace, & confidence are natural for me to feel. That I have so much inherent value just by being me.

Nowadays, my therapy practice comes from a place of knowing deeply that everyone is capable of healing from their past and moving towards authenticity, peace, and freedom. In session with me, I blend EMDR (and an enhanced EMDR approach called EMDR 2.0), somatic and mindfulness approaches, psychodynamic psychotherapies and attachment theory, parts work informed by Internal Family Systems, and a graceful balance between the spiritual and scientific.

I want to help you discover who you are beyond the limitations traumatic experiences have placed on you. Let’s do this work together.

Rates

$165 per 50 minute session

Therapeutic approach

EMDR Therapy

Adjunct EMDR Therapy

EMDR 2.0

IFS Parts Work

Somatic & Mindfulness Approaches

Polyvagal Theory

Psychodynamic & Attachment-Focused

Feminist

Depth & Insight Oriented

Availability

In-Person Sessions: Tuesdays 9am-5pm

Virtual Sessions: Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm

Education

MA in Clinical Mental Health | Antioch University New England

BA in Psychology | Marlboro College

A note from EMDR Therapy Austin’s Clinical Director: In working with Caitlin, you’ll immediately notice her warmth and compassion, but you will also quickly become aware that she really knows her stuff. Though Caitlin didn’t just learn about treating trauma from a book— she’s done this work herself. While she has many advanced trainings under her belt, Caitlin’s dedication to personal development through her own long-term therapy work makes her a great fit for those who are seeking meaningful and lasting healing. If you’re recovering from either a recent traumatic event or a past childhood experience, Caitlin can help. Blending cutting-edge trauma modalities with her attuned presence, Caitlin helps clients (re)discover and (re)connect with their true Self– free from trauma. 

To learn more about Caitlin and her specialties, send her a message below and schedule your free consultation. Caitlin’s specialties include: EMDR; parts work informed by Internal Family Systems; therapy for treating trauma; counseling for anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and authenticity.

All counselor associates working at EMDR Therapy Austin are under supervision. You can reach Caitlin’s supervisor, Michele Brower, LPC-S, at 512.900.9390 or michelebrower.emdr@gmail.com, and you can reach Brittany Fellwock, LPC-S, as 512.503.0700 ext. 2 or brittany@emdrtherapyaustin.com.