Create your path to healing and reclaim your life.

Vanessa Simmons (she/her/hers)

Licensed Professional Counselor I Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner I Registered Play Therapist™ I EMDR Certified Therapist I EMDR Consultant-in-Training

“And the day came when the risk to remain closed tightly in a bud became more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

– Anais Nin

You are feeling caught in a loop of trying to make sense of your own experiences, you are not really sure who you are anymore, and it’s been challenging to recall when these experiences weren’t the “norm” for you. You are ready to reclaim your life and rediscover you.

I understand.

I’m Vanessa, and I help women just like you: ones who have the inner wisdom to create their paths to healing, reclaim their lives, rediscover who they are, and who would like the support to get there.

I provide support to my clients as they work towards developing a deeper relationship with their bodies, minds, and hearts, and tap into their inner wisdom to experience greater confidence in who they are, equipping them with the tools they need to handle what life throws at them next.

Therapy approaches that mainly focus on talk therapy can certainly be quite helpful when it comes to processing painful experiences. You may envision that honoring your story and fostering self-discovery looks different for you and that is okay.

Physical and emotional traumatic memories are embedded into the nervous system, and you may be interested in incorporating sensory- and somatic-based interventions to develop skills and process painful experiences, including those for which you may not have words for.

Your circumstances are unique, and we will ensure that every step we take is tailored to you and always with an end goal in mind.

First, we will focus on developing a sense of safety for you within our therapeutic relationship, explore what brought you to therapy, and then we will work towards therapy goals that you created, all along inviting your mind, body, and heart experiences into the therapy space.

Through our work together, you may experience an increased sense of inner peace, access to your inner wisdom, and feel more connected to and confident with showing up the way you would like to show up for yourself and in your relationships.

I am dedicated to providing a supportive space to children, their parents, and women who wish to connect more to their inner wisdom, feel more present minded, connected, and develop practical skills to feel more empowered.

My Approach is…

  • All parts of you are welcome to be acknowledged and witnessed and you will be invited into a space that is judgement free, culturally responsive and affirming, and supportive.

    Your experiences are unique to you and you are the expert on your own life. I will join you where you are on your journey of healing and self-discovery.

  • Dr. Daniel Siegel teaches us about the Healthy Mind Platter, which refers to seven daily activities that promote well-being. The seven activities are: focus time, connecting time, physical time, time in, sleep time, downtime, and playtime.

    As a Registered Play Therapist™, I see time and time again the benefits of making space for spontaneity, creativity, and play on our experiences with stress, joy, our sense of self, and our sense of being present in the moment.

  • I adhere to trauma-informed practices that include striving to provide:

    1. A physical environment and an interactive approach that foster a sense of safety.

    2. Transparency about the therapy process and guidelines that govern the provision of therapy services.

    3. A collaborative therapy experience with the understanding that you are in charge of your healing journey and I am joining you as a therapeutic partner on this journey.

    4. And advocate for policies, processes, and protocols that are responsive to racial, ethnic, and cultural needs of clients and their family members.

Experience and Training

    • MS in Clinical Psychology, Millersville University of PA

    • Licensed Professional Counselor in PA

    • Registered Play Therapist, Association for Play Therapy

    • EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDRIA

    • Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing® International

    • EMDR Sandtray Specialist Intensive Program (AGATE Institute)

    • Filial Therapy (Intensive Training with Dr. Risë VanFleet)

    • Flash Technique

    • GTEP, CGTEP, GPEP, and The Parenting Wheel (AGATE Institute)

    • Intensive Trauma-Focused Therapy Training (Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute)

    • Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS Institute) — Level 1

    • Interpersonal Neurobiology (Mindsight Institute) — 36 hours

    • Level One Theraplay & MIM (The Theraplay Institute)

    • Trauma-Informed Care (Behavioral Healthcare Education, Drexel University College of Medicine) - 50 hours