Jerry Berndt

I started my career as a federal wildland firefighter and municipal EMT. I have lived in multiple states and enjoy living in Ogden over the past five years. I started my own practice as many agency settings do not support many treatments outside of CBT talk therapy. Which CBT often is a great start but will later spin many of us in circles in our minds, while somatic therapies help us feel into and not avoid. I specialize in somatic therapies, and primarily use Brainspotting a newer form of EMDR that adapts to your needs and not you to the therapeutic modality. In addition sociodramatic, Gestalt, empty chair and dramatic principles are used to help feel into your pain and anxiety and heal. What I love about somatic therapies the most is we do not have to identify a specific trauma or talk about it in detail. We can process from a sensation that comes up for you, a specific emotion, or what your anxiety or shame feels like. Unlike other trauma modalities we can also process from moments of joy and safety in your life to help center your nervous system. When working in EMDR clinics I often noticed we looked at only the index trauma, and quickly found that the family systems reaction to the trauma often became more important than the index trauma itself. Brainspotting being more adaptive can switch what we need to process from session to session. Sense your body keeps the score we listen to what your nervous system needs and not the opinion of the therapist.