Specialties

How the work unfolds.

These are the therapeutic methods and training areas Texarkana Counseling Collective may draw from — chosen for each person’s age, goals, and what the nervous system can hold.

Looking for the concerns the practice supports? Those Areas of Care live on the homepage and the About page. This page stays focused on how the work itself is approached.

Therapeutic Methods

Four ways in, one pace: yours.

No single method fits everyone, and no method is ever forced.

Focused processing

Brainspotting

Imagine those moments when you get lost in thought. You are staring off, thoughts moving quickly — so many in two minutes that it would take twenty to explain them. That is brainspotting in its most natural sense. We do it all the time.

Therapeutically, we focus this innate capacity by pairing it with body awareness and identifying specific eye positions, called brainspots, that correlate with unprocessed emotional experiences. This lets the work move gently past cognitive defenses and engage the nervous system directly, supporting an effective and efficient path toward healing.

When it feels too hard to re-hash it all, brainspotting gives you permission to talk as little or as much as you would like. Ester Belshe-Anderson and Brittani Trumble are both certified in Brainspotting.

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Body-aware

Somatic Experiencing / Somatic Processing

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body based approach to healing trauma and other stress disorders. SE brings together psychology, physiology, and biology in a bottom-up approach — we don't start with thinking, but with the natural, primitive parts of the brain that direct the things we never stop to think about: breathing, bracing, sweating, and so on.

We don't come out of a traumatic experience unscathed. While our brain may know an event is over, our body doesn't always get the memo — it is still fighting to protect you. Looking through the lens of the nervous system, SE works with your physiology to heal and find safety within itself again.

This somatic processing is never about forcing intensity. The work moves in manageable steps, and it pays attention to cues, protective responses, tension, shutdown, and bracing along the way.

Ester Belshe-Anderson and Brittani Trumble are Advanced Level Students of Somatic Experiencing.

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Children

Play Therapy

“Play is the language and toys are the words.” — Dr. Garry Landreth, pioneer of play therapy.

When adults feel stuck, they can meet with a counselor and talk it out. Kids don't always have the words or the capacity to express themselves as easily. Play is the language of children, and that is how we meet them therapeutically — a fun and safe environment for children to process their world and their experiences through creative play.

In this way, children build confidence, learn to manage their emotions, navigate the complexities of relationships, and process life challenges or deeper traumas.

Trauma-informed

EMDR

EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing model, which holds that the body and mind are designed to naturally heal from both physical and psychological distress. Sometimes that natural process isn't possible because something is stuck — the way a splinter keeps a cut from closing. Reprocessing the stuck point lets the body resume its natural healing of integration and learning.

EMDR's three-pronged approach works with the past (clearing negative experiences), the present (reprocessing present-day triggers), and the future (reinforcing positive outcomes). A main component is rhythmic side-to-side bilateral stimulation — think of the natural rhythm of running, drumming, or swimming.

At Texarkana Counseling Collective, EMDR-informed work stays grounded in safety, stabilization, and the client's capacity. Ester Belshe-Anderson and Brittani Trumble are both trained in EMDR.

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Next places to go

AboutHow we work Who the practice supports and the approach behind the work.ResourcesDive deeper Videos, method explainers, books, and FAQs.BeginRequest an appointment A short, no-pressure request — a name is enough to start.