As a young EMT working on an ambulance, fire department, and search and rescue unit in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Penny witnessed trauma firsthand. She then received her nursing degree, raised three super amazing kids as a military spouse of 24 years and later became a Mental Health Counselor. Penny worked with military families nationwide giving presentations on PTSD and posttraumatic growth. However, the impact of mental health hit home when her own child experienced PTSD in the military, which launched her into relentlessly seeking the most effective modalities for depression and Posttraumatic growth and recovery. She found it with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) coupled with Internal family Systems (IFS). She also utilizes ketamine, a proven medication to help eliminate PTSD upon request and after medical screening. With over 1500 hours of EMDR therapy and training other EMDR therapists, Penny believed there was an even quicker recovery process than the normal counseling route; therefore, Penny now offers clients half-day to three day intensive EMDR sessions, at Spring Valley Counseling and Trauma Recovery Center.
Penny couldn't do this alone. Her four-legged associate therapist, Ruffio, (name derived from Peter Pan’s offshoot movie "Hook" and who is the leader of the lost boys) accompanies clients through their trauma and leads them safely home. Ruffio is available upon request.
Spring Valley Counseling and Trauma Recovery Center
Nestled in a natural wooded landscape that lends to healing the mind, body, and spirit, Penny incorporates this highly specialized integrative therapy with first responders, military personnel, and individuals affected by trauma. She also works with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, grief, obsessive compulsive disorders, low self-esteem and anyone who feels stuck in their old ways of thinking.
“I see healing every single day with people lost in hopelessness, despair, fear and anxiety. Witnessing recovery fuels my passion to advocate for accessible treatment, mentor other therapists to expand their EMDR skills and continue to improve my own in efforts to free peoples’ minds from the debilitating mental prison trauma and depression creates."