Terri Dichiser of Take Charge, Inc. Uses New Healing Technique for Clients

It takes knowledgeable individuals, state-of-the-art equipment and skilled techniques to solve problems, no matter if you’re building a skyscraper, ensuring a manufacturing line is running, curing a medical condition or negotiating a traumatic emotional experience. Terri Clinton Dichiser, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and founder of Take Charge, Inc., and a highly trained mental health professional, employs many different coping and healing techniques to help individuals and couples through tough times in life. Take Charge, Inc., offers counseling (individual, relationship, family, children, co-parenting, divorce); discernment counseling; and collaborative divorce/mediation.

New Technique to Help Clients
Adding to her long list of skill sets to help her clients, Terri has just received extensive training and certification in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. This psychotherapy approach helps people heal from trauma or hardships, and it has been used extensively with military veterans returning from combat. However, any individual can experience a level of healing with EMDR, including those who have issues of abuse, bullying, domestic violence, grief/loss, attachment wounds, abandonment, PTSD and many other life issues. It can help people with addictions, anxiety, eating disorders and more. Although it’s a fairly new therapy, developed in 1989, it has been validated by more than 20 randomized, controlled clinical trials.

“There are over 400 therapies available that a therapist can call upon in the treatment of an individual with mental health issues. For me, it’s understanding what combination of treatments works together to enable a client to achieve his or her goals,” explained Terri, whose office is located at 147th and Metcalf, Overland Park, Kansas. “EMDR is another tool I can use to help people suffering from a wide array of issues, from anxiety to severe PTSD.”

Pinpointing Triggers
A deep assessment enables Terri to better understand the root cause of the client’s issues or an intense trigger point in a couple’s relationship. From there, she will develop a regimen of treatment that addresses not only the symptoms but gets to the heart of the situation. Her goal is to treat not only the pain the person is experiencing but also to help them realize an overall goal of emotional wellness.

“Throughout the day, our brains are constantly scanning for danger to ensure our safety and to determine if we need to create an action, which is fight or flight. But how do you calm your brain after a traumatic experience when we’re wired to protect and survive?” noted Terri. “When that happens, your body is constantly experiencing anxiety. We want to give our bodies and minds the ability to problem solve the issue and release the anxiety. EMDR can be employed as a tool in an individual’s recovery.”

After a traumatic event, the brain normally has the power to heal itself. But at times, the healing can be obstructed, and that’s where EMDR can help. It can remove the impediment and allow the healing. It’s much like a wound on your finger. If there’s a splinter in it, the wound won’t heal. Remove the splinter and your finger heals.

Physical Retraining
Instead of talk therapy or medications, EMDR uses a different method to help therapists address psychological issues with their clients. Through EMDR, a patient’s own rapid, cadenced eye movement is called upon to treat symptoms, diminishing the influence of the past traumatic event. Some therapists use finger movements, hand or toe tapping or musical tones to displace the negative emotions. Terri employs a handheld stimulator along with a lighting device that clients follow with their eyes. At the same time, Terri and the client talk about the trauma and recall the emotions and sensations experienced. Gradually, the discussion shifts to more pleasant thoughts. The goal is that eventually, the brain replaces the hurtful memories with positive thoughts, which weakens the effect of the negative emotions on the body and mind. Basically, the brain is trained to replace the negative thought with an acceptable one.

“I can use EMDR in many different situations, from a serious childhood experience to a wife finding texts on her husband’s phone that are threatening their relationship. EMDR therapy can help individuals address their issues,” shared Terri. “In the mental health field, we have many methods to solve issues and heal our body and minds. EMDR is one tool I can use to help my clients.”

Understanding the root cause of our unhappiness and developing a plan for how to address our emotions is critical to our success in life. Working with Terri and Take Charge, Inc., can be a remarkable part of that strategy, enabling us to make positive changes in our lives. Terri will call upon a vast array of experience and therapies, including EMDR, to help her clients become better skilled in dealing with emotions so that they can make a better transition through life changes. ■

To learn more about Take Charge, Inc., visit 14700 Metcalf Avenue, Suite 130, Overland Park, Kansas, view the website at takechargeinc.net or call 913-239-8255.