About Therapy

EMDR Therapy for Childhood Trauma, Anxiety, and Complex PTSD

On paper, your life might look pretty good.

You’re responsible. Capable. The person everyone depends on.

But underneath it all, you’re exhausted.

You struggle to relax. You replay conversations in your head. You worry about disappointing people. You find yourself taking care of everyone else’s needs while quietly neglecting your own.

Maybe you’ve spent years trying to understand your anxiety. Maybe you’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, and gained plenty of insight into your patterns.

And yet, you still find yourself reacting in ways you don’t fully understand.

Many of my clients have spent years wondering why they’re so compassionate toward everyone else but so hard on themselves.

Many are also trying to parent differently than they were parented while carrying wounds they never had the chance to heal themselves.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Hi, I’m Jessica Taylor Vara, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Certified EMDR Therapist, and EMDRIA Approved Consultant™

Brownjacketheadshot 2026I help women heal from childhood trauma, emotional neglect, anxiety, relationship wounds, and major life transitions using EMDR therapy and trauma-informed psychotherapy.

Many of my clients are successful, self-aware women who have spent years living in survival mode. They understand their struggles intellectually but still feel stuck emotionally.

Together, we work to uncover where those patterns came from and help your nervous system learn that it no longer has to carry the weight of the past.

My goal isn’t to help you become someone different.

My goal is to help you reconnect with the version of yourself that exists underneath the anxiety, self-doubt, and survival strategies you’ve been carrying for years.

Why I Believe So Deeply in This Work

I didn’t become a trauma therapist because I read about trauma in a textbook.

I became a trauma therapist because I’ve lived through my own struggles.

For years, I thought anxiety was simply part of who I was.

I didn’t yet understand how much of what I was experiencing was connected to earlier life experiences, unhealthy relationship patterns, and a nervous system that had spent a long time trying to stay safe.

I’ve survived unhealthy relationships and spent plenty of time wondering why certain experiences continued to affect me long after they were over.

Like many of my clients, I looked functional on the outside while feeling overwhelmed on the inside.

My own healing journey eventually led me to EMDR therapy.

For the first time, I wasn’t just talking about my experiences.

I was actually processing them.

EMDR helped me stop asking, “What’s wrong with me?” and start asking, “What happened to me?”

That shift changed everything.

It helped me understand that many of the symptoms I had spent years fighting weren’t signs of weakness or brokenness. They were adaptive responses from a nervous system that had learned to survive.

Today, this is one of the most important lessons I share with my clients:

You are not broken.

There is a reason you feel the way you do.

And healing is possible.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Who I Help

Most of my clients have spent years taking care of everyone else.

They’re the helpers, achievers, caretakers, and peacemakers. The women who learned early in life that other people’s needs, emotions, and expectations mattered more than their own.

Many grew up feeling emotionally unseen, criticized, invalidated, or responsible for keeping the peace. Others experienced traumatic relationships, painful childhood experiences, or life events that left lasting emotional wounds.

Today, they often struggle with:

  • Anxiety and chronic worry
  • Childhood trauma and emotional neglect
  • Complex PTSD
  • People-pleasing and perfectionism
  • Relationship trauma
  • Low self-worth and self-doubt
  • Difficulty setting boundaries
  • Feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions
  • Pregnancy and postpartum concerns

Many know exactly why they feel the way they do.

What they’re missing isn’t insight.

It’s healing.

You Don’t Have to Keep Surviving

Many of the women I work with have spent years operating in survival mode.

They became hyper-independent. They learned to stay busy, stay strong, stay responsible, and keep going no matter how overwhelmed they felt.

Those strategies probably helped you survive.

But they may also be the very things keeping you stuck today.

Maybe anxiety once helped you anticipate danger.

Maybe people-pleasing helped you avoid conflict.

Maybe perfectionism helped you earn approval.

Maybe taking care of everyone else helped you feel needed.

The problem is that survival strategies don’t always know when the danger has passed.

Therapy isn’t about judging those parts of you.

It’s about helping them finally feel safe enough to let go.

Over time, many clients find themselves setting healthier boundaries, trusting themselves more, feeling less reactive, and experiencing a sense of calm they haven’t felt in years.

What Makes EMDR Different?

One of the reasons I love EMDR therapy is that it helps us move beyond insight alone.

Many people already understand why they struggle.

They know their childhood wasn’t ideal. They know a past relationship hurt them. They know they’re harder on themselves than anyone else.

But understanding something and feeling differently are often two very different things.

EMDR helps the brain process experiences that may still be stored in a way that keeps your nervous system stuck in old patterns of fear, shame, self-doubt, or emotional overwhelm.

Instead of spending years analyzing the problem, EMDR helps many people finally resolve it at the root.

That’s why EMDR has become the foundation of my work.

My Training and Credentials

I earned my Master’s Degree in Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist shortly afterward.

Since the beginning of my clinical career, I have specialized in trauma treatment and EMDR therapy.

My professional training includes:

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (California and Florida)
  • Certified EMDR Therapist through EMDRIA
  • EMDRIA Approved Consultant™
  • Advanced training in trauma, attachment wounds, anxiety, and perinatal mental health

In addition to working with therapy clients, I provide consultation to therapists pursuing EMDRIA certification, helping other clinicians strengthen their EMDR skills and deepen their trauma treatment expertise.

What Working With Me Is Like

Starting therapy can feel intimidating.

Many people worry they’ll be judged, pressured to revisit painful experiences before they’re ready, or expected to have everything figured out.

That isn’t how I work.

My style is warm, active, collaborative, and practical.

We’ll move at a pace that feels manageable for your nervous system. We won’t rush into trauma processing before you’ve developed the skills and confidence to handle it safely.

I’ll help you understand the patterns beneath your symptoms, connect the dots between past and present, and develop tools that support meaningful change.

Whether we use traditional weekly therapy, EMDR therapy, or EMDR Intensives, my focus remains the same: helping you build a life that feels calmer, more connected, and more authentically yours.

Why Clients Choose to Work With Me

Finding the right therapist matters.

My clients often tell me they appreciate having a therapist who combines specialized trauma training with genuine empathy and real-life understanding.

As a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant™, I not only provide EMDR therapy but also help train and consult with other therapists seeking advanced EMDR expertise.

I’ve experienced firsthand how anxiety, relationship wounds, and difficult life experiences can shape the way we see ourselves and move through the world.

I also know what it feels like to do the hard work of healing.

You won’t have to convince me that your pain matters.

You’ll find a supportive, nonjudgmental space where your experiences are taken seriously, your story is honored, and healing can happen at a pace that feels right for you.

Life Outside the Therapy Room

Outside of therapy, my favorite role is being a wife and mother.

Most weekends you’ll find me spending time with my family, practicing yoga, taking long walks, or enjoying time near the water.

After years of doing my own healing work, I’ve learned that slowing down, being present, and making room for joy are just as important as growth.

I believe healing happens when we learn to balance growth with self-compassion, and that’s something I continue practicing in my own life every day.

Popular Resources

If you’d like to learn more about trauma, anxiety, and EMDR therapy, these articles are a great place to start:

Ready to Begin?

If you’re tired of carrying anxiety, self-doubt, people-pleasing, trauma, or emotional pain on your own, I’d be honored to support you.

You don’t have to keep surviving.

Healing doesn’t happen overnight, but you don’t have to figure it out alone.

While every person’s journey is different, many clients leave therapy feeling calmer, more confident, less reactive, and more connected to themselves than they have in years.

Let’s talk about what healing could look like for you.

Schedule a free consultation today and take the first step toward feeling more grounded, confident, and connected to yourself again.

Schedule a Free Consultation