Liz Zhang

My name is Jing Zhang, or simply call me Liz. I’m originally from China. I lived in California for a couple years before moving to Ann Arbor in 2015 to attend University of Michigan. Prior to that, I had a career in business. It was a family member’s struggle with mental illness that introduced me to the mental health world. At first, I was on the receiving end of services. Inspired by the helpers I met along the way, I decided to pursue two masters’ degrees in Social Work and Health Service Administration, and ultimately a 180° career turn to become a clinical social worker. Since 2018, I’ve devoted to providing trauma-informed therapy to the most vulnerable youth and families within Washtenaw County through Community Mental Health. I believe effective therapy is relational and I strive to bring my authentic self into the therapeutic relationship. The nerdy part of me has always been fascinated by the latest neuroscience development and the intricate connections between our physical body and our emotional wellbeing. I’m trained in DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and other therapy models. Yet, when I completed the S.A.F.E EMDR (Safety and Attachment Focused Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) training and personally experienced EMDR as a client in 2019, I knew this was the clinical approach I wanted to hone in. It’s simply because it worked magic in freeing me from early childhood attachment wounds. In layman’s terms, EMDR taps into the healing power within our brain and nervous system, which helps a person to heal from trauma materials that were physically stuck in our system (unprocessed or inadequately processed); it restores balance and unleashes the potential of the authentic & resilient self that each of us was meant to be. The S.A.F.E model of EMDR is like a software upgrade to the standard EMDR protocols, which allows the therapist to provide real safety and attunement to the client so the deep healing can happen regardless of diagnosis. Now I’m an EMDRIA certified EMDR therapist and an Approved Consultant. I assist S.A.F.E EMDR basic trainings and offer consultation groups to EMDR trained clinicians. Since my first experience with S.A.F.E EMDR, my personal transformation has never stopped. I'm using it everyday to bring deeper healing to more youths, parents and family systems. My career in social work grew alongside with my motherhood experience. From my personal and professional experience, I believe that challenges in parenting are really opportunities for us to become better versions of ourselves. My soon to be six-year-old daughter and all my clients taught me just as much as all my professional trainings did. Now, at The Safe Calm Place, I look forward to working with you and your family to uncovering the root causes of whatever presenting issues that brought you here and healing from bottom up.