Chelsi House
,
About
I provide trauma-informed therapy to child and adolescent survivors of physical and/or sexual abuse. My practice also incorporates the essential role of parents and family members in the healing process by providing resources, inclusion, and support.
I believe in being truly authentic and present during therapy sessions as my approach is creative, spontaneous, and focused solely on you – the client. Our work will be collaborative and empowering, as I am here to walk with you on this healing journey and to cultivate your inner strength.
Treatment Modalities
My clinical treatment modality focuses on a strength-based approach with a combination of creative arts and movement techniques. My clinical training is rooted in the practices of psychodrama and Gestalt principles, allowing for creativity, spontaneity, and genuine authenticity. I believe that treatment should be flexible, collaborative, and above all else – within the client’s control. I utilize treatment interventions that focus less on talk-based therapy and focus more on creative expression – a modality that is essential when working with trauma survivors.
Experience
With my training as a martial artist, I was propelled into the incredible world of teaching empowerment self-defense to students who had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse. I was able to use my clinical background to formulate a training approach tailored specifically to these student’s needs. I was driven to study the effects of sexual abuse and what could be done to reduce the overwhelmingly high rates of re-victimization. It became clear to me that martial arts, when paired with a clinical eye, is uniquely positioned to support healing and simultaneously increase personal empowerment.
Professionally, I have worked with survivors of sexual violence and trauma within a variety of treatment settings. I began my clinical work in a residential treatment center for at-risk youth within the foster care system. I then shifted to a nonprofit child advocacy center that provided free counseling services to children, teens, and non-offending family members who had experienced trauma. I later worked within the Juvenile Justice Center to facilitate trauma-focused CBT to juvenile offenders as well as survivors of trauma. Currently, I am working at Child Psychological Services to provide child and adolescent counseling to assist children and families in healing from trauma. My current clinical practice further includes yoga for emotional healing and empowerment self-defense classes.
My Interest in Working with Survivors
I have dedicated my practice, both as a clinician and a martial artist, to understanding what it means to be empowered. To me, empowerment is acknowledging our right to be defended and having the courage to stand up, even in the face of adversity. I believe that empowerment is contagious. Empowerment can be collective, it can inspire strength within every one of us. I want to use my experiences to guide others to find that power within themselves. I want my students to see challenge as opportunity and to advocate with great passion for this field and for our remarkable clients. If I can, I must: this is my purpose.
My Approach to Trauma-Informed Care
Providing trauma-informed care means having an intensely raised awareness of bodily cues, and creating an environment of safety, creativity and adaptability. The sole focus is allowing clients the ability to understand, reconnect with, and feel empowered within their body, not despite it. It is about empowerment, regaining personal power, comfort and strength.
How My Practice Holistically Addresses the Impacts of Sexual Trauma
My treatment modality and philosophy is built on the foundation of respect, of setting boundaries for our own self-worth, and learning to enforce those boundaries in our lives. The healing process for survivors is one that should provide education about physical and psychological effects of trauma, reduce and challenge feeling of shame, normalize the physiological responses to trauma and counter those responses with alternatives for coping.
Modifications for Survivors
To follow my approach and focus on empowerment, it is essential that survivors are allowed to feel the wide range of emotions that will come to the surface, accessing a space of safety. It is important to meet with my clients prior to group sessions to assess their comfort level in the group. I also offer individual sessions for yoga and martial arts. My practice allows for clients to set the tone of their own class and to choose to participate in ways that are the most comfortable for them. There are no expectations or obligations in my classes. I also recognize the triggers that can prompt emotional responses and I provide coping skills to assist people through these experiences. I focus heavily on grounding postures and movements that will encourage and promote strength.
Other Areas of Expertise
I have a wide range of experiences working with various populations, though they are all intertwined with the thread of trauma-informed work. I have worked with children, adolescents, and non-offending family members at CARE House, a child advocacy center that provides free counseling to survivors of physical and sexual abuse. I have worked within secured correctional facilities with a trauma-informed lens to assist incarcerated youth to heal and obtain the skills to be successful in society. I have also worked in residential facilities for abused and neglected adolescents who were taken out of their homes.
Payment Options
I work with my clients however we can to ensure they receive the services they deserve, regardless of their ability to pay.
About The Breathe Network
Users of The Breathe Network’s resources assume responsibility for evaluating and selecting the providers included in our network. Please discuss your specific needs with the provider to determine whether they have the skills to assist you in your healing.
The Breathe Network, Inc. is organized as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, therefore the full amount of contributions made to our organization are deductible for federal income tax purposes.
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