Randy Woodring (he/his/him)

I studied EMDR to be able to help my clients learn how to manage intense emotions, triggers, and negative beliefs about themselves through EMDR. I personally used EMDR for my own trauma and afterwards I knew I needed to learn how to use it to help others. EMDR is an evidence-based treatment with high success with trauma of all types.

CBT is an evidence-based treatment. CBT teaches you to become aware of and adjust negative patterns, which can help you reframe your thinking during moments of heightened anxiety or panic. It can also provide new coping skills, like meditation, journaling, and exercise for those struggling with a wide range of symptoms. How we think affects how we behave and I believe it is of the utmost importance to learn how to manage and control thoughts.

ACT is a type of mindful psychotherapy that helps you stay focused on the present moment and accept thoughts and feelings without judgment. It aims to help you move forward through difficult emotions so you can put your energy into healing instead of dwelling on the negative. ACT is useful to treat depression, anxiety, panic and many other symptoms. The goal of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility, or the ability to enter the present moment more fully present.

As a person in recovery, I understand the complex ways in which a person deals with pain and suffering. I believe addiction is a symptom with numerous sources. While treating addiction with a harm-reduction model, I also encourage clients to connect with community, family, or other support systems to facilitate connection. Relapse is part of the recovery process and I believe in reducing shame around a relapse by talking about it in a safe space.

Religion works for many people. It also has the potential of harming a person. In my experience, I was raised in a strict, conservative home with equally conservative religious doctrine. Unfortunately, the religion believed as a gay man, I was doomed and an abomination. I believe in helping clients finding meaning in finding a spiritual path apart from religion. Over the course of my career, I see various ways clients connect to a spiritual source for inspiration, direction, and resilience.

I identify as a gay male and feel incredibly blessed to be in a position to help my queer community by relating to many of the issues we face. I work with clients with such topics as substance abuse, HIV, gender identity, polyamory and open relationships, kink, and participate in advocacy on behalf on the queer community. I provide a safe space for clients to discuss how being queer is integrated into their lives.