EMDR Therapy is a therapeutic game-changer in the treatment of trauma. Now, venture into even more authentic, vulnerable, and liberatory perspectives on the practice in Queering EMDR Therapy. The vision of EMDR Therapist and Trainer Roshni Chabra, the volume editor, Queering EMDR Therapy brings together 25 additional contributors in sharing their voices of lived and learned experience.
Roshni Chabra, LMFT (she/her) holds bachelor’s degrees in Women’s Studies and Psychology, and a master’s in Feminist Clinical Psychology. Chabra is Co-Owner, Chief Clinical Officer, and MET(T)A (Mindfulness and EMDR Treatment Template for Agencies) Protocol Agency Director at Roots Training Group (formerly StartAgain Associates, Inc.) Chabra is also the Founder and President of Lavender Healing Collective, a psychotherapy practice dedicated to supporting BIPoC LGBTQ+ communities. Chabra is an EMDR International Association Certified Therapist, Approved Consultant, and EMDR Trainer. With over 20 years in the mental health field, she has supported diverse populations and specializes in working with LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, families, people struggling with chronic pain and chronic illness, sexual violence and addiction. Her background includes five years in the Rape Crisis Movement, providing direct services and holding leadership roles. Additionally, Chabra has extensive experience in nonprofit management, having served as Program Manager and Director in Wraparound services for families in challenging systems. Chabra additionally acts as a Clinical Advisor to HapTech Holdings Inc., which holds 16 patents for innovative 360-degree haptic feedback technology. Chabra is passionate about healing through mindfulness, EMDR Therapy and technology.
Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they/we) began her career as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 2000-2003. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness (soon to become the Creative Mindfulness Network). Marich is the author of over a dozen books and manuals in the field of trauma recovery, most notably Trauma and the 12 Steps: An Inclusive Guide to Recovery Enhancement (2012/2020) and Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life (2023). Her personal memoir about surviving spiritual abuse called You Lied to Me About God came out in October 2024, and she is also the author or co-author of three EMDR Therapy books. NALGAP: The Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies awarded Jamie with their esteemed President’s Award in 2015 for her work as an LGBT advocate. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) granted Jamie the 2019 Advocacy in EMDR Award for her using her public platform in media and in the addiction field to advance awareness about EMDR therapy and to reduce stigma around mental health.
Irene M. Rodriguez, LMHC, REAT, (she/her) is a bilingual expressive arts artist, trauma therapist, and EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Trainer whose creative work reflects a deep commitment to healing and self-expression. Irene uses mixed media to tell stories as she feels them. She founded Mindful Journey Center that offers therapy, retreats, consultations, EMDR Therapy, and Expressive Arts Therapy training. She has an innate and practical way of making learning environments welcoming, compassionate, and inclusive. In every thing that she does, Irene brings both depth and humor. She believes art is not only a form of expression, but a pathway to healing, connection, and reclaiming joy. Irene currently lives in her home island of Puerto Rico with her rescued dog, Lucky Bones, and four beloved lovebirds.
Earl C. Martin Jr. MSW, LCSW, (he/him) is a licensed clinical therapist, podcaster, and curator of healing—but above all, a human committed to helping others live their best lives. He is the owner of Innate Virtue Counseling, PLLC, and the creator of 26 Affirmations for Boys of Color. Earl specializes in addressing anxiety, intimate partner violence, and boundary setting, with expertise in the intersections of LGBTQIA+ identities, minority stress, and trauma. Earl received his Master of Social Work and B.A. in Psychology from Winthrop University, where his studies focused on empowerment, racial inequities/microaggression experiences, and youth who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Jenn Kennedy, PhD, LMFT (she/her) is a clinical sexologist and licensed marriage and family therapist based in Santa Barbara. She specializes in the areas of relationships, sex, addiction and LGBT. In 2019, she founded her clinical group practice, Riviera Therapy, and under this umbrella, she employs licensed therapists and supervises up-and-coming clinicians. In 2023, Dr. Jenn launched The Pleasure Project, which is dedicated to helping us all have a better sex life. Through this venture, she hosts a podcast called Pleasure Project: Sex & Relationships and offers small group intensives for women and couples. She recently launched a self-guided course and is coming out with a Pleasure Circle workbook in 2025. Dr. Jenn has been quoted in Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Forbes Health, DailyOm, Shondaland, Parade, Allure, Yahoo!life and other publications. She is often tapped to discuss intimacy and sexuality for therapists and physicians.
Erin E. Kelly, LCSW, REAT, RYT-500 (she/they) is a trained psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and clinical consultant based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Erin is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and an EMDR training facilitator within the Institute for Creative Mindfulness network. A current doctoral student at California Institute of Integral Studies in the Transformative Studies Department, Erin is also exploring components of humility and vulnerability in healing relationships. As a white, queer, and neurodivergent provider, Erin aims to decolonize their therapeutic approaches as much as possible, while still currently holding state licensure—it’s a work in progress!
Dr. Lanza (they/them) is a dedicated LCSW practicing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with a Ph.D. in human sexuality. With a deep commitment to fostering healing and empowerment, they specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ individuals, disabled and neurodivergent communities, people of the global majority, and those living with chronic illness. Dr. Lanza provides gender-affirming care and trauma-focused therapy, particularly supporting survivors of child sexual abuse and sexual assault. As their primary modality, EMDR is woven into sessions with accessibility and creativity, ensuring that each person’s healing journey is both personalized and deeply affirming.
Somaly Nou, LCSW (she/her) holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Florida and a Master of Social Work from The City University of New York (CUNY) at Hunter College. She owns a small private therapy practice in NYC where she works with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks who have experienced cPTSD. Somaly utilizes body based modalities such as Somatic Experiencing and EMDR to help clients go beyond their thoughts to address the root in their nervous system. When she’s not working or yapping with her friends about the human condition she enjoys laying in the sun, biking, theater and art, a glass of wine and force cuddling her cat, Moonlight.
Lisa Hayes, MSW, LISW-S (she/her) is a Clinical Social Worker based in Columbus, OH. Lisa graduated with a master’s degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University. Her undergraduate education is in Sociology and Gender Studies; her academic and professional focus has always included special considerations for issues of gender identity, sexuality, race and social representation. Lisa is a proud first-generation college graduate. Lisa’s clinical experiences include work with complex trauma; anxiety; panic disorders; interpersonal relationship health; residential alcohol and drug treatment; inpatient psychiatric hospitalization; significant life transitions; ethnic and race based trauma; LGBTQIA+ specific support needs; depression; complex dissociation; Military Veteran experiences; sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. Lisa’s clinical practice has primarily focused on the treatment of adolescents and adults. Lisa is energized by environments of learning, collaboration and increased understanding; she has provided local, national and international trainings focused on the impacts of trauma and its effects on individuals, communities and families. In her therapeutic work, Lisa uses a variety of expressive and experiential therapeutic interventions all aimed at identifying and celebrating the strengths of each person. Lisa is currently employed by The Ohio State University, maintains a part-time private practice, is co-owner of the Trauma and Wellness Institute and serves as the Director of the EMDR Therapy Training Program for BIPOC Clinicians with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. When not at work Lisa enjoys reading, laughing with her sisters, spending time with her godson, making up silly dances with her nephew, traveling with her partner and playing with her dog.
Rev. Karla Fleshman, LCSW, MDiv (they/she) has been an advocate for justice movements since Middle School marching with Quakers for Peace before coming out in the early 90’s protesting with Act-Up & Lesbian Avengers; and culminating with Soulforce actions advocating against spiritual violence toward LGBTQ folx in the 2000’s. They are a contributor in Understanding and Dealing with Violence: A Multicultural Approach (Wallace & Carter, 2003) They are the owner, clinical director of Transitions Delaware, a private group practice which centers the experiences of LGBTQ folx. They earned their MDiv from Columbia Theological Seminary (1999) and their MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work (1991). They are EMDR Certified with an Advanced Certification in Dissociation Studies for EMDR Therapists from ICM and are also an EMDR Consultant In Training centering LGBTQ+, Spirituality, and Dissociative Experiences. When they step away from clinical training and consultations, they enjoy hiking with their spouse, creating Lego builds, and centering their energy with their understanding of the Divine through yoga and meditation.
Steven W. Halady, PhD, LCSW (he/him) earned his doctorate in philosophy and worked as a professor for a few years before taking a swan dive off the academic ship and into the sea of clinical social work. He is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers since 2019, and has facilitated workshops on working effectively with queer folks for international audiences. He is an EMDRIA-Certified EMDR provider and consultant-in-training. He currently maintains a small clinical private practice outside of Buffalo, NY, where he lives with his husband and cats (Beemo and Casper). He is eternally grateful to all the friends, colleagues, teachers, trainers, consultants, mentors, elders, editors, and ne’er-do-wells who have contributed so much to his life and work. He would say that this is a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid, except gratitude isn’t an accounting book to be balanced. Gratitude is a garden where our hopes and dreams bloom. Thank you to everyone who has planted seeds.
Anna Clarke (they/them) is a psychologist, educator, and advocate passionate about reshaping mental health systems to be inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming, and informed by lived experience. Anna is openly Autistic and ADHD, and brings both clinical and lived experience to their work. Anna is the co-founder of Divergent Futures, an education and training company dedicated to dismantling ableist approaches to therapy with Autistic and ADHD clients. They have extensive experience supporting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and complex trauma, including plural systems of dissociative identities. Anna co-authored the first peer-reviewed publication on neurodiversity-affirming approaches to EMDR therapy for Autistic and ADHD clients in The Oxford Handbook of EMDR, and has written several other publications exploring trauma, neurodivergence, and inclusive practice. Outside of work, Anna enjoys mixed martial arts training, drawing, Dungeons & Dragons, and exploring whatever new interest captures their attention next!
Carmine Abigail, LCPC, ART-P (they/them) is a White, nonbinary multimedia artist and Expressive arts therapist living on Wabanaki land, in what is now called Maine. Being an artist and a therapist are constellations of inquiry. I am endlessly fascinated by themes of the body, time, and space, and rely on comics and illustrations to wander through memory and the multiverse of the self. This comic is dedicated to every queer, nonbinary, and trans person igniting a quiet revolution in the process of becoming.
Sauce (they/them) is a Black, Non-Binary, Queer radical resource parent and therapist, residing in the Bay Area. They have been in the field of Social Work/Behavioral Health for over 25 years, and have served in many capacities – consultant, moderator, speaker, and trainer – in a variety of settings and on topics they are directly engaged with and deeply committed to. Over the years, Sauce has provided services at a handful of community based organizations, presently holding a position within Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services, where they also serve as the co-chair for the ACBH PRIDE Committee. Sauce also serves as an Alameda County Resource Parent Trainer/Professional Expert with Chabot Community College.
Mish Kumar-Jonson (they/them), a plural system that is non-binary, queer, disabled, neurodivergent and a social worker of colour on land that always was and always will be Aboriginal Land, is an EMDR consultant and Practitioner. Mish is the Chair of The Iceberg Foundation and principal practitioner at Niram EMDR where they bring an anti-oppressive and anti-colonial lens to their practice with the LGBTIQAP+ and Neurodivergent communities across so called Australia.
Tawanna Marie Woolfolk, LCSW (she/they) is the founder and CEO of Doula for the Soul Enterprises. A queer, neurodivergent, and multiracial Black woman with over two decades of clinical experience, Tawanna Marie is nationally recognized for her leadership in decolonized trauma healing, relational therapy, and neuroaffirming care. Her work centers the healing of historically marginalized communities and embodies radical love, embodied safety, and clinical liberation. A certified EMDR therapist, grief specialist, and somatic practitioner, Tawanna Marie trains clinicians across the country on the neuroception of safety, ethics of self-disclosure, and culturally responsive resourcing. She sees her clinical work as sacred and soul-centered—a return to wholeness and an unapologetic reclaiming of humanity.
SarahRose Hogan, LCSW-R, RPT, (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent+ clinical social worker, Registered Play Therapist™, and EMDRIA-approved therapist, consultant and instructor. She is the founder of Giving Tree Counseling, a neuroaffirming, trauma-focused group practice based in the Hudson Valley, New York. Her work centers autistic, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals with an emphasis on attachment healing, play, and accessible trauma care. SarahRose integrates EMDR, play therapy, and the neurodiversity paradigm to challenge pathologizing narratives. A doctoral student in social work at the University at Buffalo, her research focuses on EMDR adaptations for autistic clients, particularly those who are nonspeaking and low-masking. She is passionate about family systems work, dismantling clinician bias, and expanding access to affirming care.
Michael Kuffel (they/them) is a genderqueer, bisexual, and neurodivergent EMDR trainer, consultant, and therapist at New Leaf Trauma Institute. With 11 years of clinical mental health experience, they integrate an intersectional, anti-oppression paradigm into their work. Michael is passionate about teaching EMDR therapy in an inclusive and compassionate way and guiding learners to become self-aware, excellent EMDR therapists.
Amber Gordon (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified EMDR Therapist in the state of California. Identifying as a Queer, Black and Filipina trauma-focused therapist, Amber prioritizes anti-oppression practices in her work. Amber developed a deep appreciation for story telling as a means of healing before ever becoming a therapist. With an undergraduate degree in English, Amber has been fascinated by the power of expression through the written word, and one’s ability to build and extend compassion to strangers met through story. Amber received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, in which she joined her passion for story telling and community healing. Amber is a proud cat parent, who loves to read, write, and run!
horizon greene, LICSW/LCSW (they/she) identifies as a queer, fat, nonbinary femme who has spent more than 23 years in a deep study of how healing happens, learning to undo oppression while learning to co-create cultures of justice and belonging. She identifies as white and comes from Jewish people whose body memories tell the story of grief and loss and whose prayers feed a commitment of Never Again for anyone. Their training has included intensive learnings in somatics, trauma healing, anti-oppressive practices, anti-racism, liberatory culture building, ritual and witchcraft. horizon is an initiated witch in the Reclaiming tradition of witchcraft. Her work as a therapist and consultant is a blending of liberatory healing practices rooted in the relational neurosciences, somatic wisdom, parts work, ancestral healing, magic and love. horizon accompanies people in the deep work of making real what our souls know is possible.
Daniel (Danielle) Godfrey (she/her) is a proud transgender woman and practicing trauma therapist who works and resides in the occupied and unceded lands of the Haudenosaunee people (Buffalo, New York area, USA). She has assisted with and provided training through the Trauma Institute/ Child Trauma Institute (TICTI) and has participated in speaker panels and presentations for EMDRIA, the EMDR Canada Conference, and the EMDR UK Conference in collaboration with both the Trauma Institute and The Institute for Creative Mindfulness. She continues to advocate for the needs of LGBTQIA+ clients seeking psychotherapy and trauma services through EMDR. She is an EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist, Consultant, and Trainer. She practiced Family Systems and Solution-Focused Therapy before practicing EMDR. She is also trained in Progressive Counting and the Flash technique. In her work she specializes in working with Gender Diverse, LGBTQIA+ other queer identified people who have been impacted by trauma, their families and allies. She is a strong advocate for therapist cultural humility in the provision of affirming care to all queer identified clients and has spoken out against the traumatization of queer people through the use of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) and other stigmatizing /non-affirming clinical practices.
Stephanie Brashear, LMHC, LPCC-S (she/her) is a queer therapist, EMDR Consultant-in-Training, and founder of Root and Grow, a private practice in Providence, Rhode Island. With bachelor’s degrees in Biblical Studies and Family & Church Education, and a counseling degree earned while leaving a high-control religious environment, Stephanie brings a deep, embodied understanding to her work with clients healing from religious trauma. She offers care rooted in EMDR, and Internal Family Systems (IFS), with a special focus on supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals. Her approach blends scientific grounding with intuitive, relational care, honoring both the physiological and spiritual dimensions of healing. Stephanie also provides consultation to other therapists learning to apply EMDR with nuance and care. Outside the therapy room, she lives in Providence with her wife, where they are building a sacred life of joy.
Sam Bergstein (she/her), MA, MSW, LISW-S, REAT, lives and works in Columbus, Ohio, on occupied/stolen Myaamia/Miami, Kaskaskia, and Hopewell Cultural land. Sam focuses on the use of EMDR, IFS, and expressive arts therapy in her private practice, working with clients from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. Her passions include working with attachment wounding, dissociative systems, identity wounding and affirming care, Queer and LGBTQIA+ experiences, and individuals living with chronic health issues. She also enjoys supporting burgeoning EMDR therapists through consultation, serving as a practicum facilitator for EMDR training, and indulging in her hyperfixation of creating resources, guides, and worksheets for clinicians and clients. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends, life partner, and five pets; making art and crafts; and tending to her dozens of tropical houseplants.
Cash Waller (they/we) grew up in northern Michigan and were raised by fire and the lake they grew up on. Now they are based in Detroit, where they can be found dancing. They are a queer transgender nonbinary system who works at decolonizing the therapeutic space by utilizing an anti-oppressive, feminist, multicultural approach. EMDR is central to Cash’s therapeutic style and they help create a co-created container with their client’s so that the space can feel consensual and unique to the person’s needs. They work with transgender teens, people with dissociative disorders, those who identify as plural, queer and transgender humans with complex trauma, client’s utilizing psychedelic medicine, and folx practicing ethical non monogamy. Cash is a psychedelic medicine life coach and helps people prep and integrate from their psychedelic medicine journeys. The pillars to Cash’s person and therapeutic work are EMDR, parts work, dancing, and psychedelics. They believe these four aspects of life to be healing entities that create a powerful container for deep trauma work resulting in the ability to access joy.
Mariena Joy is an EMDR Certified Therapist and Consultant in Oregon. She is a neurodiverse (AuDHD), intersex, plural, queer, Kinky therapist experienced in EMDR with parts work, somatic & attachment modalities, sandtray, and more within these marginalized identities. Over the last 8 years, Joy has served as an educator, speaker, & community advocate. Joy has presented on EMDR with intersex people: available on EMDRIA’s Diversity SIG library. This presentation has been used in curriculum for social work programs at Portland State University and California State University Northridge, where she has been a repeated guest lecturer. More information available at www.Brainbowfire.life
Dana Kamin (they, she)is a Registered Social Worker (RSW), Clinical Counsellor, and the clinic owner of ThriveWell Counselling Inc. in Toronto, Canada. With over 20 years’ experience, Dana works extensively with queer, trans, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families. Dana specializes in trauma recovery and is a Certified EMDR practitioner who integrates Ego State Therapy, Internal Family Systems and other holistic healing practices into their work. Dana supports folx navigating PTSD/C-PTSD, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, OCD, and a wide range of other mental health challenges. Dana brings a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and intersectional lens to all aspects of their clinical work, clinical supervision, business coaching, blog writing, and training and facilitation. As a queer, adoptive single parent in a transracial family, with Jewish roots shaped by histories of loss and displacement, and as someone living with a disability, Dana brings deep appreciation for—and a commitment to honouring—the unique complexities of identity and healing. These experiences, combined with extensive clinical expertise, have made Dana a passionate advocate for building resilience, connection, peace, and holistic wellness—both inside and out.
Jamie+ (The Unicorn System) (she/they/we) is a sex-positive, bisexual, Croatian-American poet, expressive artist, mother, world traveler, figure skating fan, movie lover, witch, Interfaith seminarian, and believer in all things magical. The entire system wishes that the field of professional therapy would take the voices of lived experience more seriously, and to return to the artistic roots of healing which are Indigenous in nature. If there’s one movie Jamie+ thinks we should all watch, it’s Dogma (Kevin Smith, 1999).