Toni-Lynn Chetirkin, LPCC, ATR
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor~Registered Art Therapist~
EMDR Trauma Clinician~Certified Yoga Teacher
About
I am a California Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (#LPCC32), a Registered Art Therapist (#05-035),
an EMDR Trauma Clinician, and a Clinical Supervisor. I'm also a Certified Yoga Teacher (200Hr), a Certified Kids Yoga Teacher, a National Certified Mental Health First Aid Youth Instructor, and an American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Relief Worker. I hold a Master of Arts degree in Art Therapy & Counseling Psychology from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. I obtained my 200-Hour yoga teacher training with Gangas White at the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, CA. In addition, I completed advanced training in EMDR Trauma Therapy (Levels I,II, & III) and Attachment-Focused EMDR with Dr. Laurel Parnell at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA.
I have continued my professional education in the areas of non-ordinary states & psychedelic Integration therapy and I'm currently receiving advance training in psychedelic assisted therapy for PTSD, trauma and non-treatable clinical depression.
My 18 years of professional experience covers work with children, adolescents and adults in a wide variety of settings. I have spent the past 15 years treating at-risk, socioeconomically disadvantaged teens and young adults struggling with anxiety, depression, and complex trauma in an alternative education setting, as well as in private practice. Prior to this, I worked in psychiatric in-patient treatment facilities, residential group homes, forensic rehabilitation programs, health and wellness centers, and global disaster relief efforts.
Philosophy
My passions for being active in nature, preserving the living traditions of indigenous cultures, participating in sacred medicine ceremonies, protecting the environment, animal rights, world adventure travel, international humanitarian service, and integrative approaches to medicine have all been powerful forces along my path to becoming a psychotherapist, journeyer, artist, guide, teacher, and mother. A life long study of Native American spiritual traditions and personal soul journeying guide me on my path and in the creation of a sacred space for my clients.
My counseling orientation is influenced by the fields of Jungian psychology, existential psychology, and attachment-focused/developmental psychology. My therapeutic approach is client-centered and lead by the assumption that all people have the innate ability to heal themselves when they are able to access their mind-body's natural tendency to move toward balance, integration, and adaptation. While placing great emphasis on the therapeutic relationship and in the creation of a sacred space, my role is to guide clients in this process.
Using both verbal and non-verbal methods, my intention is for clients to begin thinking, feeling, and relating in ways that enable them to reconnect with their authentic selves, regain wholeness, discover their life purpose, and actualize their full potential, while living joyfully in the world with others. I view each client as a unique individual and therapeutic techniques will always honor this connection.
Overview of Services
The art making process (drawing pictures, painting images, carving stone, shaping clay, cutting collage, etc.) allows one to access parts of the brain that hold memories, emotions, and unconscious material. The non-verbal, non-linear aspect of this process can be a helpful method for integrating non-ordinary states of consciousness, peak experiences, and learning.
Art therapy can be an effective treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairment. Facilitated by an art therapist, it involves the use of art materials, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore client feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self- awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem.
EMDR Therapy is a powerful method of psychotherapy that incorporates left to right eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation into a comprehensive treatment. It helps people heal from traumatic events as well as, life disturbing experiences. EMDR has gotten worldwide attention for helping millions of people heal from PTSD caused from traumatic events such as; rape, sexual abuse, auto accidents and combat. But EMDR can also help people who feel distress in their lives to heal and feel more whole after events that have been disturbing such as; divorce, life transitions, grief, anxiety, and much more.
Yoga is an ancient practice that combines purposeful breathing, mindfulness, physical movements and specific postures. Regular participation in this practice brings about health benefits such as; better sleep, increased energy levels, strength, and flexibility, relief from muscle pain and stiffness, improved circulation and overall better general health. In addition to these physical benefits, yoga also has mental and psychological benefits such as; reducing anxiety, alleviating symptoms of depression, enhancing mood, and improved emotion regulation.
As a growing body of research supports the potential benefits of psychedelics for psychological, emotional, and spiritual health, more individuals are choosing to explore the healing properties of medicines like MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca.
Entheogenic Research Integration & Education (ERIE) defines integration as “the process by which the material accessed and insights gained in a [psychedelic] experience are incorporated over time into one’s life in a way that benefits the individual and their community.”
Psychedelic integration can take many forms and there are a variety of ways in which these rich experiences or "gems of a journey" can be woven into the tapestry of one's everyday life.
Some techniques that compliment this work and can help with ongoing deeper access include EMDR, art making, free-association writing, yoga, breath work, movement, music, role-playing with internal "parts" work, and coaching around creating an integration altar or intention stick in one's personal home or outdoor space.
Office Location
26485 Carmel Rancho Blvd.
Carmel Professional Center, Suite #5
Carmel, CA 93923
For a complimentary brief consultation
Email Toni-Lynn:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses Your understanding." ~Kahlil Gibran