EMDR Therapy in Westlake, Texas
Heal your past, Reclaim your present, Build your future
Welcome to Neuro Nuance Therapy and EMDR
If you’ve been considering beginning therapy or looking for an EMDR therapist in Westlake, TX, let me commend you on taking this first step toward reclaiming your life. Many people struggle to find lasting healing after surviving through trauma and stress. It can leave you feeling like you’re stuck in quicksand. Trying to move on, reaching for the future, but the past keeps intruding and pulling you back.
Trauma and stressful events can leave lasting effects…
It can feel like being stuck in a loop: making some progress, feeling more stable, and then something happens that sets off the cascade of symptoms and protective responses all over again. Having coping skills for the anxiety, depression, panic, and flashbacks is helpful, but sometimes it just isn’t enough, and it can feel like a never ending battle.
What if there was a way to heal wounds rather than just cope with them?
That’s what Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy was specifically developed to do. If you’ve been considering trauma therapy or EMDR specifically, you’re in the right place. As a trauma-focused EMDR therapist, I specialize in helping people in Westlake and all over Texas find lasting healing.
Become empowered with the knowledge and skills of recovery
By learning more about the nature of trauma and the recovery process, you can become equipped with the skills to begin managing its effects. As you build the courage and capacity, you can reprocess your past to experience a deeper more enduring form of healing. It all starts with a sense of safety, trust, and hope that you can take action to make progress.
Discover Your Inner Capacity for Healing
On this journey, I can be your guide to walk alongside you as you discover your inner capacity for growth and transformation. I believe in people and one of the biggest rewards for me is watching you grow. Within this supportive relationship, you can work toward healing your past, reclaiming your present, and building a future where you feel healthy and whole again. I can help show you how.
Alex Penrod, MS, LPC, LCDC
Owner and Therapist
Welcome, allow me to introduce myself. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC), and a person in long-term recovery with a decade of experience working in the behavioral health treatment field.
My specialties include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) blended with Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) and Ego State Therapy. My approach is based on connecting with you as a person, not as a diagnosis, and helping you to reprocess key experiences that would have affected anyone in your shoes.
I offer in-person and online therapy for adults. My areas of focus are on recovery from PTSD, complex trauma, dissociation, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. I have offices in Westlake and North Austin or I can provide online therapy if it’s more convenient for you.
To learn more about how I can help you find lasting healing, continue scrolling or schedule your free 15-minute consultation with me. I’d love to learn more about your goals and answer any questions you may have.
Schedule Your Free 15-Minute Consultation
What is Trauma?
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Trauma can be defined as an event, experience, or time period that causes severe stress exceeding a person's resources and ability to cope.
After experiencing trauma, some people recover naturally while others develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Living with the Impacts of Trauma Can be Debilitating
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Intrusion Symptoms
Involuntary and recurrent distressing memories resurfacing
Disturbing dreams or nightmares
Flashbacks as if the experience was occurring again
Intense emotional and physical reactions to reminders of the trauma
Avoidance Symptoms
Significant efforts to avoid internal reminders of the trauma like thoughts, feelings, or memories
Avoiding people, places, and things that are now associated with the trauma
Negative Alterations in Thoughts and Mood
Persistent feelings of shame, blame, fear, or anger
Difficulty feeling positive emotions
Feeling either intensely or numb with little space in between
Developing negative beliefs about yourself, others, and the world
Losing interest in activities once enjoyed
Experiencing memory issues
Feeling detached from others
Having difficulty maintaining relationships
Heightened Physical and Emotional Reactivity
Feeling “jumpy” and easily startled
Staying on guard and alert to danger (hypervigilance)
Engaging in risky or impulsive behavior
Feeling irritable with angry or aggressive outbursts or behavior
Having difficulty concentrating
Sleep disturbance
Depersonalization
Feeling detached from your own mind or body as if an outside observer or in a dream
Derealization
Feeling as if your surroundings aren’t real (distant, distorted, dreamlike)
There is Light at the End of the Tunnel
What is EMDR?
Strategies and Goals for Healing
Reduction of PTSD and Mental Health Symptoms
EMDR therapy has been shown to reduce PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms.
A high percentage of individuals no longer meet criteria for a PTSD diagnosis after EMDR.
One study from the National Institute of Mental Health found 8 sessions of EMDR was superior to fluoxetine (antidepressant) for depression.
Healing Your Past
By targeting and reprocessing key past experiences underlying current symptoms, energy and resources are freed up to move from surviving to thriving.
Reclaiming Your Present
By coming to understand the effects of trauma on the brain and nervous system, learning coping skills, and targeting present triggers with EMDR, the present moment can shift from a place of fear and dread to the zone of creativity, motivation, and action toward your goals.
Building Your Future
Post-traumatic growth goes beyond simply returning to the previous state before the trauma, it’s marked by shifts and transformations in mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual growth, opening up new possibilities in life.
After healing the past, many people find they are able to reconnect with their passions, zero in on new directions in life, and build relationships that feel stable and rewarding.
Empowering you to capture this natural momentum and helping you direct it toward your goals is one of my favorite parts of therapy.
Move From Surviving to Thriving
Public Statements on EMDR
3 Step Plan
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Book Your Free 15-Minute Consultation
Follow the link below to use my calendar and choose a time that’s right for you.
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Together we assess your needs and determine a plan of action
A consultation allows you to explore if therapy with me is right for you with no commitment or obligation.
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Begin healing your past, reclaiming your present, and building your future
After consultation, beginning therapy is as easy as scheduling your first session.
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Yes, EMDR therapy can be successfully conducted online through secure video sessions. The process can be adapted for teletherapy, utilizing visual cues, auditory tones, or tapping for bilateral stimulation. This flexibility allows you to receive treatment from the comfort and safety of your home.
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Yes, I have an office for in-person sessions on Bee Caves Road or in North Austin near Mopac and 183 if you prefer to meet face to face. My availability is more limited for this option though.
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I have several ways you can use your insurance.
I'm in network with Aetna and offer a convenient hassle free way to handle your claims through a company called Headway.
For all other insurance carriers, if you've met your deductible for the year you could get automatic reimbursement and only pay for a portion of your sessions by using a company called Thrizer to process out of network claims. If you haven't met your deductible, we can submit superbills to Thrizer to apply toward meeting it.
I can assist you with your options in a free 15-minute consultation or visit my services page for links to explore these options for yourself.
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I charge $150 for 60-minute sessions and $225 for 90-minutes sessions.
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See my frequently asked questions page for more questions and answers or schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me. I'd be happy to help!
Do I Really Need Therapy? Can I do this on My Own?
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People can and do recovery naturally or through their own efforts, but when PTSD and the effects of trauma are chronic many people continue to struggle with:
Ongoing PTSD Symptoms
Compensation Strategies and Compulsions
(over-working, perfectionism, needing constant distraction from internal world)
Repetition Compulsion
(unconsciously recreating scenarios where similar traumas occur again)
Self-Medicating with Substance Use
Gaining Traction for Periods of Time and Being Triggered Again
Trying to Outrun Trauma can be Exhausting
You Deserve Healing
Background on Your Guide
I never fit in as a kid. In the words of Waylon Jennings, “I’ve always been different with one foot over the line, winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind.” I had a tumultuous adolescence and early adulthood characterized by some heavy blows in life that left me feeling hopeless by my mid-twenties.
After seeking my own treatment and therapy to move through my struggles, I found I was most engaged by life when I was helping others with similar challenges. It was my way of putting my experience to good use.
My pursuit toward building on this discovery led me to a 10-year career in the behavioral health treatment field, moving from primary counselor to executive director of two programs. My passion for neuro-informed therapy was born while managing an assessment program with a neuropsychologist trained in EMDR and neurofeedback therapy.
During those years, I earned my Master of Science in Addiction Counseling from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and completed my training for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy through the EMDR Institute.
My supervisor was an incredibly talented therapist who trained me in adapting EMDR for use with complex trauma and dissociative disorders. I found my niche in trauma therapy and became passionate about the delicate process of helping people heal from their deepest wounds.
After several years of part time private practice during evenings and weekends I took the leap into full time private practice. Getting to connect with people and focus solely on therapy is my idea of a dream job.
Learn more about my “why” as a therapist.
“Trauma recovery and mountain climbing are not about speed. It’s about making small moves forward, sometimes doubling back to take another path, then one day you realize how far you’ve come.”
Training and Certification
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![Green and white circular badge from Evergreen Certifications displaying the text Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level 2.]()
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional II (CCTP-II)
Trained and Certified in the treatment of complex trauma (C-PTSD)
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![Black logo with the letters EMDR.]()
EMDR Trained
Trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy by the EMDR Institute
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![Black logo with the words advanced EMDR.]()
Advanced EMDR Training
Trained in the use of EMDR in the treatment of dissociative disorders
Specialties
Anger Issues
Behavioral Addictions
Chronic Stress/Burnout
