Susie Morgan, MA, LMFT, BCETS, BCPC, FAPA is an EMDR Certified Therapist and an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant.
Address: 2210 Encinitas Blvd, Ste G1,
Encinitas, CA 92024
Phone: (760) 452-2776
Email: susiemorganmft@me.com
Specialties: PTSD, Childhood Physical Abuse, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Childhood Neglect, Rape, Domestic Violence, Violent Crime, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar, Eating Disorders
Serving: Adults, Teens, Pre-Teens
Modalities: EMDR Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Insurance: Out of Network billing provided to PPO’s
License: LMFT41442
Website: www.susiemorganmft.com
Warm Therapy Approach Supported by Research
My approach moves beyond being an empathetic listener to using state-of-the-art, evidenced-based strategies for creating relief and change for symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, bipolar, and eating disorders.I approach treatment from the perspective that genetics, temperament, & family dynamics influence a person’s response to difficult experiences. My treatment process involves strategically identifying and disrupting distorted response patterns, in order to restore appropriate self-worth, realistic optimism, and relational health.
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and have provided therapy since 2001. In order to be able to effectively address the complexity of symptoms experienced by my clients, I continually pursue further development of my clinical skills. Early in my career, I completed California State Certification as a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Advocate. I was originally trained in EMDR Therapy in 2005, and am a Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant with the EMDR International Association. I am a Certified Level 3 Advanced TEAM-CBT Therapist through the Feeling Good Institute, applying David Burns’ cutting edge approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy. I am Board Certified and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. I am a Board Certified Professional Counselor and Fellow of the American Psychotherapy Association. I am an affiliate of the Amen Clinics and a Certified HeartMath Practitioner. I have also completed a continuing education certificate in the treatment of Eating Disorders.
EMDR Therapy is a neurologically-based approach that addresses memories that have become “stuck”. These memories make the past feel very much present and force current life experiences to be filtered through a negative, distorted lense. These frozen memories can be “big T” traumas (such as violence, rape, or life-threatening injury). They can also be “little T” traumas (such as being called names or left out). Both can also make a person vulnerable to compulsive behaviors (e.g. overeating, restricting, spending, or self-harm). I have found EMDR Therapy to be highly effective in treating emotional difficulties from traumatic experiences and in innovatively disrupting related compulsions.
In order to provide a tangible sense of how I practice and what is possible through EMDR Therapy, I would like to share an account volunteered by a client of mine:
“During seven years of my early adult life, from age 19 through 26, I was the victim of intense verbal, mental and physical abuse by my partner. By the time I was able to escape him, I was paranoid, anxious, depressed and barely functioning. I knew I needed help and was desperate to return some normalcy to my shattered life. Through a series of coincidences, I started reading Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman. It completely changed the way I saw myself, because it was the first time I truly understood that I was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). From there, I knew I needed not just talk therapy but trauma specific therapy. I found Susie Morgan who is certified in EMDR Therapy, a therapy designed for people who suffer from PTSD. By this time, I had met with about six other therapists, each one saying the same thing; that my best bet was to learn to live with and manage my PTSD. Susie, on the other hand was enthusiastic about restoring my true self and healing my trauma. She also was not intimidated by the intensity of my story.
When I was 19, I fell madly in love with a sociopath. He was charming, smart, sophisticated and acted as if he wanted to give me the world. Slowly, he started to break me down in order to control me. The process was extremely gradual, and after about two years I was completely and utterly under his control. He controlled when and what I ate, where I was at all times, and eventually started sleep depriving me to make me even more of a robot. If and when he did catch me sleeping, he would strangle me to wake me up. To keep me in fear, he would rape me, put cigars out on me, or beat other women in front of me. Eventually he was selling me to other men for sexual favors. The verbal and physical abuse changed me into a scared, submissive girl who was walking on eggshells constantly. The psychological torture was almost too much to bear. After seven years, I knew I was at my breaking point; if I didn’t escape somehow, I was going to end up dead or just plain crazy.
Starting therapy with Susie was refreshing compared to my previous therapy experiences. She gently understood the magnitude of pain I was living with and softly challenged me to stay inspired to heal. Each and every session she met me where I needed her to, and we worked together as a solid team, even on days when I bluntly told her I did not want to be there. EMDR Therapy is difficult to describe. I went with an open mind and constantly asked if I was doing it right. Susie was an excellent coach, helping to understand when I needed to, but also pushed me to just go with the process when that was necessary. After about two months working with her, I started to notice subtle shifts. My pessimism almost would not let me believe I was actually starting to heal. I kept going to see her, and the positive effects started to snowball. After fifteen months of hard work together, my quality of life is beyond my wildest dreams, because I believed I would never be able to live like a normal person. As I sit and reflect, I am amazed to be able to say that I am done being haunted by memories of my past, and I believe I have successfully completed trauma therapy.”
I welcome your call to discuss how we might work together
toward your therapeutic goals.
760-452-2776
See articles below by Susie Morgan, MA, MA, LMFT:
Eating Disorder Treatment with an Innovative Approach to EMDR
