Carol Miles, MSW, LCSW, the owner of Three Rivers Training Center, is a clinical social worker and certified EMDR Therapist specializing in individual, family, and group psychotherapy and a EMDRIA approved Basic Trainer and Consultant. Carol works with a broad spectrum of clients through her private practice in Covington, LA focusing on EMDR Intensives. She also provides training and consultation for therapists developing skills in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
Carol, a graduate of LSU School of Social Work specializing in clinical social work, has over 30 years of experience as a social worker in clinical, administration, and marketing with the public and private sectors. Carol has presented at state-wide conferences and to general audiences on topics ranging from eating disorders, assertiveness, EMDR, DBT, and developing a private practice. She served six years on the board of EMDRIA (the EMDR Therapy professional association for the US) and two years as President. She serves as the founder and past Co-Coordinator for the South La. EMDR Regional Network. Carol also taught as an adjunct professor at the Tulane School of Social Work. Among her areas of expertise are working with clients who have eating disorders and trauma. Her approach is client-centered, warm, and influenced by evidence-based clinical training.
EMDRIA named Carol Miles the 2023 Outstanding Contribution to EMDRIA Award Winner. To learn more about this designation, you can read the press release here.
Viviana Triana LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, in the state of Texas, an EMDR Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant. Born in Colombia, South America, she considers herself bilingual and bicultural. She is passionate about learning and supporting others in their learning experiences. Since 2008 Viviana Triana has worked as a therapist with children, teens, adults, and families who have experienced trauma in settings such rape crisis and domestic violence centers. She provides consultations and training for clinicians who work with this population. Viviana has been published in professional journals in addition to contributing to the just released book EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach. Currently, Viviana serves as the Clinical Director of Youth180, an organization that provides trauma centered counseling and outpatient substance use treatment for youth and their families in North Texas.
Hope Payson, LCSW, LADC is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Alcohol and Drug Counselor and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant who specializes in the treatment of addiction and trauma is licensed in the State of CT. She has over 30 years of experience working in a variety of community mental health and addiction treatment settings and has presented in a wide range of conferences within the US and Internationally. She currently coordinates a group private practice in Connecticut and provides training and consultation services to clinicians working in private and community settings. Hope is actively involved in helping addiction focused treatment programs integrate EMDR therapy throughout all phases of their programing. She is also the Producer of the documentary “Uprooting Addiction: Healing From the Ground Up”.
Hope has personally experienced the negative impact of intergenerational trauma and addiction. While this experience alone has not made her an expert in addressing these issues with others, it has been the driving force behind her clinical training. She says her most robust learning experiences have come from her clinical work and the therapists who seek her consultation services.
What does this mean for the people she serves? That she approaches—individual therapy, consultation or training—with passion, curiosity, hard work, partnership, hopefulness and solid ethics. Her approach is person-centered, down to earth, and grounded in evidence based clinical training. Which is why EMDR Therapy is her therapeutic modality of choice, and she is excited about the opportunity to help other therapists learn about it also.
EMDR therapy is Sarah's passion! After the first practicum, in weekend one of EMDR therapy training, she was hooked. Following that weekend, the entire focus of her graduate and professional career has been on the utilization, study, and furthering of EMDR therapy in its many contexts. She believes in EMDR therapy and its ability to create change and bring healing to those experiencing even the greatest of suffering.
She specializes in trauma (first and foremost), PTSD/CPTSD, first responders, ADHD, food/weight/body concerns, and complex/multifaceted presentations. EMDR therapy is amazing in its versatility to be applied to presenting concerns, diagnoses, situations, and desired outcomes. She has been fortunate enough to use EMDR therapy to assist in a variety of nuanced ways and enjoys the creativity involved in finding answers in complex situations.
Currently, she is the owner and clinical director of Cairns Therapy and Nutrition, PLLC; a group practice developed to provide EMDR therapy services for those seeking to heal from trauma and to provide EMDR therapy consultation to professionals.
It is her personal philosophy that in order to be an effective therapist and an effective educator, she must show up as her authentic-self, always. For her, that means being passionate and invested in all that she does, finding humor and hope at all times, and fostering connection and relationship with all whom she engages.
Natacha Kerelejza, LCSW began working in her community to support individuals with childhood trauma and families impacted by intimate partner violence. The impact of trauma with the right supports can strengthen the human spirit and lead to change in individual and collective lives. Influenced by this notion, she completed a graduate degree in social work and has been licensed to practice in the state of Connecticut since 2007. The influence of holistic practices, alternative forms of treatment, and the availability of interpersonal neuroscience research, led to her interest in modalities including EMDR. Natacha practices as an EMDRIA Certified EMDR therapist and Approved Consultant, providing consultation and facilitation for basic trainings with a focus on complex trauma.
Christina Watts-Figueroa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor and Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas. She also carries certifications as a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, EMDR certified therapist, and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She co-owns a private practice in a diverse military community specializing in family therapy, play therapy, and EMDR therapy. She also provides consultation and supervision to those seeking certification as an RPT or EMDR therapist or pursuing state licensure. Christina is a published author on topics related to play therapy and disenfranchised grief within military communities. She presents and trains nationally and locally on a variety of clinical topics such as play therapy, family therapy, military issues, ethics, attachment, grief and loss, suicide, trauma, and cultural issues. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate completing her dissertation focused on the suicide-related grief experiences of military families. Christina's experience being part of military communities and living as a biracial woman has created a desire to continue working with military and AAPI communities to address their unique needs. Christina has served or held positions on various committees at the local, state, and national levels.
Barbara Banda is a licensed professional counselor supervisor specializing in trauma in both group and individual settings. Barbara is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. She also holds other certifications such as a Certified First Responder Counselor, Yoga For First Responders Instructor, Level 2, and is a Registered Yoga Teacher - 200 hrs.
Barbara graduated from Angelo State University and has worked as an investigator for Child Protective Services followed by being a forensic interviewer where she interviewed children for law enforcement regarding their experiences of abuse. After graduating from Angelo State University, Barbara became a forensic evaluator with emphasis in sexual abuse cases. Barbara has over 18 years of experience working with both adult and child victims of trauma. Barbara has over ten years of clinical experience and has focused on working with victims of trauma. Over the last six years, she has focused on working with first responders utilizing EMDR therapy.
Charlene B. Spears, MSW, LCSW, BCD, EMDRIA Approved Consultant is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Lafayette, La. A graduate of Tulane University School of Social Work in 1983, she has over 30 years of experience in the field of Social Work as a clinical social worker and in marketing and administration. She is a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work and is a LA. Board Approved Clinical Supervisor.
Charlene is a certified EMDR therapist and EMDRIA Approved EMDR Consultant. She provides EMDR Therapy under the guidance of the Adaptive Information Processing Theory, incorporating strategies from several therapeutic models to meet a client’s needs. Her scope of practice encompasses the assessment and treatment of adults suffering with PTSD and other disorders and problems for which underlying traumas may cause, contribute to the development of or exacerbate symptoms and/or interpersonal difficulties. Charlene has worked with adult and adolescent populations in both in-patient and outpatient psychiatric and CD settings.
Charlene provides clinical supervision for social workers, EMDR consultation for clinicians and EMDR Consultants In Training and is an EMDR Therapy trainer and facilitator for Three Rivers Training Center. She serves as the founder and past Co-Coordinator for the South La. EMDR Regional Network and Consultant for the La. Trauma Recovery Network.