Lori A. Wiggenhorn

I’ve been a Licensed Psychologist since 1997. I enjoy being a therapist because it’s rewarding to see clients go from a place of emotional distress to a growing sense of joy and living a more satisfying life. I work with young adults to seniors and provide a healing space for mental health clinicians. My goal as a therapist is to provide a level of care for clients that meet their needs. I welcome clients where they are at in their process and we work together from that point at their own pace. Through all my years of clinical experience I have learned an appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit and how the psyche will do anything to survive. Sometimes the desire to survive might look like putting up walls and disconnecting from people, ourselves and our bodies. The price of survival might also take the form of an internal harsh critic or ruminating thoughts we can’t seem to get away from or understand. I believe to heal these wounds there needs to be an integration of the body, mind, and spirit. I work with clients using the understanding of the "universality" of spiritual experience. I welcome all faiths and incorporate spirituality to the level you are comfortable with. Clients who do not have a spiritual belief are also welcome. I love helping clients learn how to integrate an understanding of the mind while being present and resourced in the body. Why Avila Counseling? Avila is a beautiful walled city in Spain I went to while on my honeymoon. My husband and I walked around the walled city curious about its structure. We got lost and tried to find a way inside. We found an old door only to discover it was locked. We found yet another door only to discover it too was locked. Finally, we came upon an entrance and walked through the gate into a beautiful old European city. We were amazed at what we discovered on the inside. I think therapy can be like this. You might want to know who you are on the inside but struggle to get through the walls you have built up over time. Yet at some point in life a door can be discovered and if you choose to go inside, a growing sense of self-acceptance can be explored. Sometimes, we need help in this discovery of self and as your therapist, I can be your guide. I have extensive training in a variety of therapy techniques including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Hakomi Method, EMDR and Anchored Relational Therapy. Below is more information about these specialized techniques: Hakomi and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy are body-oriented talk therapies that require extensive training as a therapist. I am Trained in the Hakomi Method and in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma and Attachment Repair. Body based therapy is listening to the body and mind together for a more holistic experience. At the beginning of therapy, you may learn how to develop skills like grounding and centering that help build a relationship with the body that can be useful in daily life, like reducing anxiety and increasing self-attunement. You are welcome at any level of mindfulness and we can build your deepening mind-body connection. When clients have a firmer sense of presence, then therapy begins to focus more on utilizing mindfulness as a tool toward heal wounds. I am a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) therapist and use bilateral stimulation to help heal from trauma and developmental wounds. We can build a “readiness” to work with this powerful therapy method using a combination of EMDR and Sensorimotor resourcing techniques. A combination of these methods may be ideal if you has tried EMDR in the past and it didn’t meet your goals. I am a Certified Anchored Relational Therapy (formal known as AIR Network) and utilize this therapy method to help if you have dissociative abilities. An adult awareness is developed between aspects of the self using an understanding of what happens to the brain during traumatic experiences. Understand the physiology of the brain combined with the developed skill of mindful noticing helps you form a sense of an inner knowing. When an interactive adult awareness is present and actively used during daily life, you can then heal from significant events using a combination of Sensorimotor and EMDR techniques if interested. People of all Cultures, Race and Faith Communities are welcome.