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Anxiety is not a single thing. It is a pattern the nervous system adopts when it senses potential threat and does not trust that the future will be manageable. Some people feel it as a hum behind the ribs, others as a rush in the jaw and forearms, a twitchy readiness that demands movement. For a parent balancing remote work with a toddler on the floor and a parent in the hospital, anxiety might be the late night second wind that makes the spreadsheet tight and the heart tighter. For a CEO, it can be a tight throat before the board meeting plus the sudden drop into numbness on the way home. For a graduate student, it is the sizzle in the stomach when the email dings, followed by a 3 a.m. Search for certainty. If we only call all of this anxiety, we often miss the body’s intent. Polyvagal theory, Somatic Experiencing, and IFS therapy give us a different map. They do not chase symptoms. They ask what the system is attempting to do, what it learned in earlier seasons of life, and how to help it complete what was interrupted. When these frameworks converge, people stop fighting themselves and start negotiating with a living, adaptive system that is trying to protect them. Where symptom management falls short Cognitive strategies have value, but in the thick of panic the prefrontal cortex is not in the driver’s seat. Many clients arrive having collected impressive toolkits: box breathing, cold plunges, journaling, supplements, sleep trackers, productivity apps. They help, until the next curveball. The default plan becomes more of the same, longer morning routines, stricter rules, stronger coffee. The problem is not the tools, it is timing and state. When the nervous system is in high sympathetic activation, a logic-heavy intervention can feel like being reasoned with while a fire alarm screams. Similarly, if the system has flipped into dorsal shutdown, even a gentle breath practice can feel like a heavy lift. We need a sequence that honors the body’s speed limits, then a way to welcome the parts of us that fear change. The body’s logic: a polyvagal map of anxiety Polyvagal theory describes three primary states, all of them adaptive. In ventral vagal, we feel connected and capable. In sympathetic arousal, we mobilize to confront challenge, which can feel like focus or fear depending on context and support. In dorsal vagal shutdown, we conserve energy, collapse, or dissociate when fight or flight seem impossible. Anxiety often lives in the gray zones between these states, where the system keeps scanning for mismatch: too much novelty, not enough relational safety, or a history of surprise. Two practical takeaways arise from this map. First, anxiety often signals an incomplete mobilization. The body has a readiness to act, but no clear target or a remembered rule to hold still. Second, state shifts faster through sensation and movement than through thought. A question like where in your body do you feel the urge to move is often more useful than why are you anxious. The answer might be calves, https://donovanbzjv985.raidersfanteamshop.com/what-makes-an-intensive-different-from-a-retreat jaw, hands, tongue. Now we have an entry point that is not a debate, it is an experiment. I worked with a software engineer who reported a two hour spike of jitters every afternoon. He had tried decaf, noise canceling headphones, and a perfect ergonomic chair. When we tracked his physiology, the rush always began after a standup meeting where he underplayed a concern to avoid conflict. His calves buzzed, his eyes darted, his breath grew shallow. He did not need to discover a childhood story first. He needed a clean exit ramp for that mobilization. A 90 second walk to the stairwell, one set of slow calf raises, a long exhale with pursed lips, then a text to a colleague to clarify his point. Over six weeks he reduced the daily spike to 10 minutes. Later we did the deeper work about why conflict felt off limits, but we earned that conversation by meeting his nervous system where it was. Somatic Experiencing: completing what the body started Somatic Experiencing, developed by Peter Levine, treats anxiety as stored survival energy that can be titrated and discharged. The method is deceptively simple: track sensation, pendulate between activation and resource, and allow spontaneous completion movements. Clients often describe this as finally getting to scratch an itch they did not know they had. The sequencing matters. If you ask someone stuck in sympathetic activation to dive into the most charged memory, you are likely to amplify overwhelm. If you slow down too much with someone who trends dorsal, you might cement shutdown. SE teaches practitioners to follow the micro signs: a swallow, a breath that gets longer at the end, warmth rising in the chest, a slight urge to push with the hands. These are not random. They are the body showing the way out. In practice, I might ask a client to notice their feet on the floor, then their back against the chair, then the place that feels least bad. If the jaw is tight, can the tongue rest on the floor of the mouth and widen a hair. If the hands feel buzzy, can one hand press thoughtfully into the other while the eyes stay soft. The goal is not catharsis, it is completion. People often expect a big release. In my office the most reliable progress markers are small and repeatable. A client who used to hold their breath without noticing now catches the inhale lock and lets it go within seconds, five times in one session. That change reduces daily symptoms more than any epic breakthrough speech. The trade off is patience. SE is not a quick-hit protocol, although it can resolve some acute panic patterns in a few sessions when the fit is right. It shines when you need a steady reorganization of threat physiology, especially when the person has endured chronic stress, medical procedures, or developmental trauma that trained the system to go fast and stay fast. It also integrates well with structured memories work like EMDR, because it builds state range and a reliable brake pedal. IFS therapy: befriending the anxious protectors Internal Family Systems, or IFS therapy, treats the mind as an ecosystem of parts, each with a job that made sense at the time it formed. Anxiety often comes from protectors who anticipate catastrophe and mobilize early. They might take the shape of a planner who cannot sleep until three contingency plans are ready, or a critic who keeps you small to avoid attention, or a catastrophizer who thinks vivid worst case scenarios are a form of love. Underneath those protectors you tend to find exiles, younger parts who carry fear and shame from times when the world was bigger than their capacity. The heart of IFS is not logic, it is relationship. We help the client access what IFS calls Self, a calm, curious, compassionate presence that can get to know each part without being swallowed by it. When a part trusts Self, it tends to soften. It will not retire early just because we asked nicely. It retires when we have demonstrated that we will no longer leave the younger ones alone. Here is a scene from a composite case. A physician in her forties lived with a relentless internal commentator that predicted loss every time she felt happy. We mapped it as a protector that came online in high school when a best friend suddenly ghosted her. The part said, if we blunt the highs, the lows will not hurt so much. In sessions, when the protector got loud, we did not push it aside. We interviewed it respectfully. What are you afraid would happen if you relax by 5 percent. It answered with imagery, not sentences, a vision of falling through a trapdoor. That was the clue. In SE we tracked the sense of falling and found the impulse to reach and brace with the hands. We let the body do that, slowly, with support, and watched the heat move through the arms. Then in IFS we visited the 15 year old exile who felt blindsided by the friend’s disappearance, offered the presence she lacked then, and updated the protector about our current capacity. Over months, the commentary softened from daily to weekly, then surfaced mainly during transitions. It did not vanish, it changed roles. It became a sentinel that sprints ahead when needed and reports back instead of seizing the wheel. Why intensives sometimes work better than weekly therapy For certain nervous systems, a traditional 50 minute weekly session is like trying to rewire a house 5 minutes at a time. You barely locate the circuit before the hour ends. Intensives change the dosage and the momentum. A two or three day block, each with two to three hours of focused work, allows the system to warm up, do real work, and cool down while the connections are still fresh. I have seen clients make six months of progress in a long weekend when the problem was not complexity but inertia and fragmentation. EMDR intensives add another layer for those with discrete traumatic memories or clearly patterned triggers. When combined with a polyvagal lens, you can check for physiological readiness before targeting memories. When paired with Somatic Experiencing, you can titrate bilateral stimulation to match the body’s current capacity, often using shorter sets and more frequent resourcing than you would in standard EMDR. When integrated with IFS therapy, you can obtain explicit permission from protector parts before approaching an old scene, which dramatically reduces backlash after the intensive. The structure that works most reliably in my practice is this arc: map the nervous system and parts, build two or three reliable bodily resources that drop sympathetic charge, obtain parts permission, then process one to three targets with EMDR pacing that fits the body’s speed. Debrief with parts and the body, then set micro practices for consolidation. Not everyone is a candidate for intensives. People in fresh grief, active substance dependence, or unstable housing often benefit more from consistent weekly contact. Highly dorsal systems can find long days too taxing. Some clients love intensives for a season, then shift to monthly maintenance. The point is to match the format to the physiology and the life context, not to declare one approach superior. Burnout as chronic threat physiology Burnout is not only about workload. It is about mismatch between demand, control, and recovery. Measured in the body, burnout looks like narrow heart rate variability, shallow breath, jaw tension, light sleep, and a flat affect that confuses friends. The person may look competent, but feels like they are piloting from two steps behind. This is not a moral failing. It is a nervous system that learned others first, self later, and never got the signal to stand down. Polyvagal work reframes burnout as a stuck blend of sympathetic and dorsal states. You push hard, then you drop hard, and the transitions are rough. Somatic Experiencing gives you a practice of pendulation so you can move between states with more grace and fewer aftershocks. IFS therapy helps renegotiate the internal contracts that maintain burnout, like the bargain a part made with a parent who praised straight As but withheld warmth. When those contracts update, rest becomes less threatening, which sounds silly until you watch someone discover that relaxing in their body feels like breaking a rule. Numbers matter too. I often ask clients to track a few items for two weeks: hours in nature, minutes of matched inhale and exhale, protein grams before noon, and total minutes of screens after 8 p.m. We do not treat those as commandments, just dials to adjust. The simple act of noticing often changes behavior by 10 to 20 percent, which is enough to lower baseline arousal so that deeper work can land. A practical start between sessions Here is a short sequence I teach when anxiety spikes and you need traction fast. It is not a cure. It is a bridge to help you reach your resources and your parts without getting swept away. Name the state, not the story. Say out loud, my body is in a sympathetic wave, or my system is dipping dorsal. This orients you to physiology, which is actionable. Pick one anchor sensation. Feet on the floor, back on the chair, or palms on thighs. Spend three slow breaths describing the sensation to yourself in simple words like warm, heavy, tingly. Let one clean movement complete. If your calves buzz, rise to your toes and slowly lower five times. If your hands want to push, press them together with 30 percent effort for ten seconds, then rest. Invite the most urgent part to speak through an image or a one line headline. Thank it for the headline. Ask what it is afraid would happen if it did not warn you. Write that sentence down. Close with a social cue. Look at a friendly face, even a photo. Let your eyes track a gentle arc left to right three times. Whisper, right now I am basically safe. Run this sequence for two to five minutes. Then decide whether you need action, comfort, or data. If you cannot tell, choose comfort. Safety, edge cases, and trade offs A small percentage of people find that focusing on bodily sensations makes them dizzier or more panicked. If you have a history of dissociation, vestibular issues, or certain heart conditions, work with a clinician to tailor somatic practices. People on high doses of stimulants or certain antidepressants can find breath practices uncomfortable. That does not mean you cannot do this work, but the dosage needs to fit. Some clients expect that good therapy feels soothing. In reality, productive sessions often include moments of increased activation, followed by settling. If every session feels calm, you may be avoiding the edges where change happens. On the other hand, if you leave every session wrung out, the pacing is off. Look for a ratio across a month, not a single day. A pattern where two sessions feel productive and one feels bumpy is common. If the bumpy ones start to dominate, adjust. IFS therapy is powerful, but if you have strong obsessive features it can become a new rabbit hole. Parts work should reduce rumination, not feed it. Good IFS practice keeps you in Self more often than in endless dialogue. Similarly, Somatic Experiencing should lead to more agency in the body. If you feel more preoccupied with scanning and less able to live your life, bring that to your therapist and simplify the plan. What progress actually looks like People imagine progress as fewer panic attacks and more confidence. That happens, and it is not the first sign. Early wins look like micro shifts: the moment you catch your shoulders climbing and they drop a half inch, the first time you sense your window of tolerance narrowing and step outside for three minutes before the meeting, the morning you wake at 4 a.m. And, instead of scrolling, place a hand on your chest and wait for the first long exhale. These changes add up. Clients often report a 20 to 40 percent reduction in daily anxiety within eight to twelve weeks when we combine SE practices with parts negotiation and targeted behavior changes around sleep and workload. If you measure anything, measure recovery time. How long do you stay stuck after a stressor. Do you return to baseline in two hours instead of two days. The nervous system loves repeated, predictable, small wins. They signal safety better than grand declarations. For therapists: pacing and dosage When integrating these modalities, sequence matters. I tend to begin with a polyvagal map during the first two sessions, not a life story. What accelerates you, what drops you, what co-regulates you, and what false friends seem to help but leave you wired. Then I introduce two reliable downshift practices that fit the person’s body type and preferences. The goal is a shared language and at least one brake pedal before we touch memories or exiles. Parts mapping in IFS can begin as soon as you have a consistent somatic anchor. Ask protectors what they are trying to prevent, then ask what help they want from you. Invite them to set the session agenda by telling you what is safe to touch this week by 5 percent. When you reach a moment that feels charged, consider pausing the story and switching to SE tracking. Give the body two to three minutes to complete a micro movement. Then return to parts dialogue and ask what changed. This back and forth increases trust inside the client’s system, and reduces whiplash after sessions. If you run intensives or EMDR intensives, create a clear pre work plan. I send clients a two page prep that includes sleep targets, a brief food plan for stable glucose, a list of three people who can co regulate, and a plan for 48 hours of light duty afterward. During the intensive, I run shorter bilateral sets than in standard EMDR, often 12 to 18 taps or tones per set, and I pause for SE pendulation every few minutes even if the content is flowing. Parts permission checks happen before, during, and after each target, and we write a literal letter from the protectors at the end stating what they agreed to and what they need if symptoms flare. That letter becomes the compass for the next month. A composite case that ties it together Take Maya, a 35 year old project manager who came in with daily anxiety, Sunday night dread, and three prior attempts at therapy that helped in the room but did not hold in real life. Early sessions revealed a quick sympathetic system, a tendency to push through sensations, and a protector who ran a constant risk forecast. We built two somatic anchors that worked in under a minute: standing foot presses paired with a slow exhale, and a seated hand press that let her feel strong without posturing. We mapped parts and learned that a 7 year old exile carried the memory of a chaotic home and a parent’s unpredictable moods, while a 19 year old protector succeeded in college by over preparing. We scheduled an intensive two months in. By then Maya could downshift from a 7 of 10 to a 4 of 10 in about three minutes using her anchors. During the two day intensive we targeted a specific work memory of public criticism by a previous boss. We obtained parts permission and used short EMDR sets, pausing often for SE tracking. Her body wanted to turn slightly left and brace, so we let that complete, then invited a push against a therapy ball at 30 percent effort. The memory shifted rapidly. On day two we visited the 7 year old exile through IFS and let Maya’s adult Self show up in the scene with tangible comforts, a blanket and a promise to leave the room together. The risk forecasting protector watched and agreed to reduce its volume for one week while we tested new behaviors with a very specific plan: say no to one nonessential meeting, take a 10 minute walk after lunch, and leave the laptop in the kitchen after 8 p.m. Four weeks later, her baseline anxiety was down by about a third. She still had flare ups before big deadlines, but they resolved the same day. The Sunday dread shrank to a dull edge that lifted by midday Monday. We did not eliminate stress. We rebuilt trust inside her system that it could mobilize when needed, then return. Six months out, the numbers held. She described her days as wavy, not jagged. Looking ahead with a kinder map When you see anxiety as a failed logic problem, you tend to double down on thinking. When you see it as a nervous system doing its level best to protect you, the work shifts. You learn the routes between states. You practice finishing things your body started long ago. You meet the parts that took impossible jobs and you update their contracts. You might choose weekly sessions, or an intensive to change the trajectory faster. You might fold in EMDR when specific memories act like tripwires. There is no single correct path, only sequences that fit the way your system learned to survive. I return often to two questions. What is your body trying to do right now, and how can we help it finish by 5 percent. The answers change week to week. That is a good sign. Systems that can adapt tend to heal. Over time, anxiety becomes less a weather pattern and more a signal that you know how to read, with choices you know how to make. Alli Christie Counseling Name: Alli Christie Counseling Legal name: ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC Clinician: Alli Christie Disney, Licensed Professional Counselor Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Open-location code / plus code: H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Coordinates: 39.5516997, -104.8794188 Map/listing URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6 Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/ https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling https://x.com/alli_disney https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "MedicalBusiness", "@id": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/#localbusiness", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "legalName": "ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "areaServed": [ "@type": "City", "name": "Lone Tree" , "@type": "City", "name": "Centennial" , "@type": "City", "name": "Highlands Ranch" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Douglas County" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Denver Metro" , "@type": "State", "name": "Colorado" ], "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling", "https://x.com/alli_disney", "https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health therapy services from an office in Lone Tree, Colorado. The practice focuses on therapy intensives for high-achieving women who want focused support for trauma, anxiety, burnout, self-doubt, and related emotional patterns. Listed services include therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, Internal Family Systems therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Alli Christie Disney is listed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, with EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing training noted on the official site. The office is located at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202 in Lone Tree, near the I-25 and C-470 corridor in the South Denver metro area. The practice is locally positioned for clients in Lone Tree, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Douglas County, and nearby Colorado communities. Prospective clients can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about consultation options, availability, and fit. The public map listing for Alli Christie Counseling can help clients verify the Lone Tree office location before scheduling or planning an in-person appointment. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What is Alli Christie Counseling? Alli Christie Counseling is a mental health therapy practice in Lone Tree, Colorado, focused on therapy intensives for high-achieving women. Where is Alli Christie Counseling located? The listed office address is 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Who is the clinician at Alli Christie Counseling? The official site lists Alli Christie Disney as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. The footer lists Colorado License LPC.0016043 and NPI 1538708029. What services does Alli Christie Counseling provide? The practice lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer EMDR intensives? Yes. EMDR intensives are listed as one of the practice’s core service areas, along with therapy intensives and related trauma-focused approaches. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer online or video appointments? The connected scheduling portal lists a video office option and a Lone Tree location. Clients should confirm current appointment format and availability directly before scheduling. What are Alli Christie Counseling’s public hours? The matching public listing shows Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday closed. Appointment availability may vary, so clients should confirm directly with the practice. Is Alli Christie Counseling an emergency mental health provider? No emergency or crisis service was verified for this dataset. Anyone in immediate danger or experiencing a medical or mental health emergency should call 911, contact 988, or go to the nearest emergency room. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call (402) 765-8761, email [email protected], visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, or use the listed social profiles: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling, https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/, https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling, https://x.com/alli_disney, and https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Alli Christie Counseling is located in Lone Tree near the South Denver metro area, with an office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202. Clients near these landmarks can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about therapy intensives, consultation options, and appointment availability. Teddy Lane — The office street for the listed practice address; clients can use the map listing to verify the location before visiting. Park Meadows — A major Lone Tree shopping landmark near the I-25 corridor and a useful reference point for the local area. Sky Ridge Medical Center — A major healthcare landmark in Lone Tree; clients should contact Alli Christie Counseling directly for outpatient therapy scheduling. Lone Tree Arts Center — A well-known local venue and practical landmark for clients navigating Lone Tree. Lincoln Station — A nearby transit reference point for clients traveling within the South Denver metro area. RidgeGate Parkway — A major Lone Tree corridor near residential, medical, and business areas; nearby clients can call to ask about appointment options. I-25 and C-470 — A key regional interchange that helps orient clients coming from Denver, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, or Castle Rock. Bluffs Regional Park — A recognizable outdoor landmark in Lone Tree and a helpful reference for the surrounding community. Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel — A local golf and event landmark for clients orienting around central Lone Tree. Sweetwater Park — A neighborhood park reference point for nearby Lone Tree residents. Highlands Ranch — A nearby South Denver metro community; clients can contact the practice to ask whether services are a fit. Centennial — A nearby community north and east of Lone Tree; prospective clients can visit the website to learn about therapy intensive options.

A question I hear every week: is my anxiety just in my genes? Many people have a family tree full of worriers, or they remember a grandparent who never left the house without checking the stove three times. Others have a clean family history but still live with a fast heart, tight shoulders, and a mind that rehearses the worst. It makes sense to want a clear answer, because the story we tell ourselves about why we feel anxious shapes the choices we make. If anxiety is fixed in DNA, some people assume there is little point trying therapies like EMDR, IFS therapy, or somatic experiencing. That assumption misses what research, and years in the chair with clients, actually shows. Anxiety has genetic influences. It is not destiny. Genes nudge probabilities, they do not write permanent scripts. The nervous system changes with experience across the lifespan. Targeted therapies can lower baseline arousal, reprocess old learning, and build more choice in the moments that used to feel automatic. I will walk you through how genes and environment work together, why the brain remains teachable, and how practical approaches like EMDR, IFS therapy, and somatic work help no matter where your starting line was. What “genetic” really means with anxiety When researchers say anxiety is heritable, they are speaking in populations, not individuals. Twin and family studies generally estimate that 30 to 50 percent of the variability in anxiety traits is linked to genetic differences. That means if you look across many thousands of people, about a third to half of the differences in who becomes anxious relate to genes. The rest comes from environment, development, learning, and chance. Even within that genetic portion, there is no single anxiety gene. We are talking about a polygenic picture, hundreds of small variations that each tilt the dial a little bit. The nervous system you inherit sets a tone. Some people have more sensitive interoception, they feel internal sensations strongly, from heartbeat to gut tension. Others have a temperament that is more inhibited. These traits can make safety feel like a smaller target. The same neural sensitivity that fuels anxiety can also feed empathy and attention to detail. Many high performers who struggle with anxiety use that same nervous system to excel, until they cross into burnout. So the line between asset and liability is context, not moral fiber. There is also a family model piece. If a parent copes by constant reassurance seeking, kids learn it works in the short term. If the household reacts to uncertainty with scanning and second guessing, that becomes the template. I often meet adults who say, I thought my mother’s vigilance was love. It was love, and it was also anxiety training. None of this erases genetics. It shows how biology and behavior weave together. Nature, nurture, and the body’s learning loops Think of anxiety as a habit loop the body learns to run quickly. An alarm goes off in the amygdala, you feel heat or tightness, you think danger, you avoid. Each time you avoid, your brain tags the avoided thing as threatening, and the https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/somatic-experiencing loop tightens. Early experiences matter because they set the first loops. Chronic stress in childhood can condition a higher baseline of cortisol and adrenaline. Adverse experiences are common, not only the headline traumas. Hospitalizations, bullying, shaming about bodily needs, a parent’s unpredictable drinking, medical procedures without proper preparation, even witnessing frequent arguments can create strong pairings between sensation and threat. Epigenetics sits between genes and experience. It is the layer of switches that turns genes on or off based on the environment. Serious stress can change gene expression in ways that bias the system toward hypervigilance. The hopeful part is that epigenetic marks are not fixed. Healthy relationships, consistent sleep, aerobic exercise, therapy that lowers allostatic load, these can shift expression over months and years. Why therapy helps even when genes matter The adult brain changes with focused, repeated experience. This is not a slogan, it is the basic science of neuroplasticity. Memory reconsolidation shows that when you reactivate a memory and then introduce a new, contradictory experience while the memory is malleable, the memory can update. Exposure learning shows that if you stay with a feared stimulus long enough to discover it is tolerable, the brain writes a new rule. Polyvagal theory proposes ways to read and shift the autonomic states that drive threat responses. You do not have to subscribe to any single model to use the result: when you flex the system toward safety and agency, repeatedly and with enough intensity, the set point moves. This is why modalities born from trauma work often help with chronic anxiety. They go beyond thoughts and beliefs into sensation, reflexes, and implicit memory. Two I use daily are EMDR and IFS therapy. I also integrate somatic experiencing skills, especially for clients who live mostly from the neck up. EMDR in plain language EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Despite the mouthful, the core idea is understandable. When experiences overwhelm the nervous system, pieces of those moments get stored in a raw form: images, sounds, smells, body feelings, meanings like I am not safe. EMDR invites the brain to reprocess those fragments while adding bilateral stimulation, usually eye movements or alternating taps. The stimulation seems to help the brain keep one foot in the present while visiting the past, which prevents flooding and supports integration. A first EMDR phase is history and preparation. Good EMDR is not a magic wand waved over trauma on day one. We build skills to downshift activation, like safe place imagery, grounding through the senses, or paired breathing. We map triggers and choose target memories. Then we run reprocessing sets. The therapist asks you to hold a snapshot of the memory, the most charged image and the worst belief about yourself, while you notice body sensations. As the eyes track side to side, you report what arises. The brain does what it naturally tries to do in REM sleep: file the memory properly, strip it of unnecessary alarm, and connect it to a wider web of information. People often say afterward, it is still sad, but it no longer owns me. EMDR is customizable. If images freeze you, we can start with the body sensations only. If trauma is complex, we do slower approaches like the Recent Event protocol or work first on present triggers before touching early memories. This flexibility matters with anxiety. Many anxious clients do not think they have capital T trauma, but they carry dozens of conditioning events that stack up, like years of critical feedback from a parent or a humiliating scene at school that taught the body to brace in every meeting. EMDR intensives and why format can matter EMDR intensives compress treatment into longer, focused blocks, often half day or full day sessions over a few days or weeks. For clients who are stable enough to tolerate depth work but cannot spend six months in weekly therapy, intensives can get traction quickly. The nervous system benefits from momentum. Instead of warming up and cooling down for 45 minutes at a time, you can stay in the learning window long enough to complete cycles. This is particularly useful if anxiety is tangled with burnout, where time off is limited and relief needs to be meaningful, not incremental. I have seen executives, healthcare workers, and new parents use a three day EMDR intensive to resolve a handful of stubborn triggers and then return to life with lower reactivity. It is not a sprint for everyone, but when it fits, it saves suffering. IFS therapy and the anxious system IFS therapy, or Internal Family Systems, takes an inside look at the parts of us that handle fear, image management, and impulse. Anxiety rarely comes from a single source. There is usually a manager part that tries to control outcomes, a critic that scans for flaws, and firefighters that jump in with numbing or distraction when anxiety spikes. Beneath those protectors are exiles, younger parts that carry shame, grief, or fear from earlier experiences. In practice, IFS therapy helps you relate to parts instead of being taken over by them. We look for curiosity, warmth, and clarity, the qualities IFS calls Self energy. From that stance, the client can ask a part what it is afraid would happen if it did not do its job. The manager that drives overwork might say, if I slow down, they will see I do not belong here. The catastrophic thinker might say, if I stop imagining the worst, we will be blindsided like last time. Once protectors feel seen, they soften, and we can visit the exiles they protect. Then we witness the burdens those exiles carry and help them update to present time. Clients with lifelong anxiety often find relief in this model because it removes blame. It also fits naturally with EMDR. An EMDR target shows up, the client feels a rush of panic, and instead of pushing through, we pause to meet the part who is panicking. Sometimes a few minutes of IFS clears the way for smooth reprocessing. Other times the work stays in IFS for a while, building enough trust inside that EMDR feels safe later. The sequence matters less than the attunement. Somatic experiencing and the physiology of safety Somatic experiencing focuses on what the nervous system is doing beneath thoughts. Anxiety has a shape in the body. Some people constrict in the throat and shoulders, others feel buzzing in the hands and a churn in the gut. The goal is not to smash anxiety down but to give the system enough capacity to discharge activation and return to balance. That can look like tracking micro-movements, orienting to the room, or completing defensive reflexes that got stuck, like a flinch that never finished. I often teach clients to find a 5 percent shift in sensation. If the chest is tight at an 8 of 10, can you find any place in the body that is a 1 or 2, like the soles of the feet or the backs of the thighs, and let attention rest there for 20 seconds. It sounds small. The nervous system learns from small, repeated victories. Over weeks, this changes baseline tone. Pairing these skills with EMDR or IFS makes deeper work tolerable, especially for people who have lived in their heads to survive. When intensives make sense Your schedule or season of life makes weekly sessions impractical, and you want focused work with clear goals. You have specific, well defined triggers or memories that keep spiking anxiety, and you are stable between episodes. You have done prior therapy and have good coping skills but feel stuck on a few stubborn patterns. Burnout is pressing, and you need a noticeable shift within weeks, not months, to keep functioning. You are prepared for structured aftercare and can set aside recovery time around the intensive days. Not everyone is a match. If you are in early sobriety, navigating active domestic instability, or coping with unmanaged bipolar disorder, weekly work may be safer until things settle. A thorough intake is nonnegotiable. A composite story from the office Consider a client I will call Maya, a mid-career nurse practitioner with a long history of what she called baseline anxiety. Her grandmother struggled with nerves. Her mother was a high achiever who checked details three times. Maya excelled in school, thrived in crisis, then hit a wall after two pandemic years. Sleep collapsed, her chest tightened before every shift, and small mistakes looped in her head for hours. She had tried mindfulness and a low dose SSRI with partial relief. In our assessment, the genes were not erased. They were part of the picture: high sensitivity, a family pattern of control as safety. There were also dozens of conditioning moments. Early in training, a supervisor had shamed her in front of peers for missing a lab abnormality that did not change treatment. That single event fused visibility with danger. EMDR gave us a way to reprocess that humiliation. In one extended session, the image of standing at the nurses’ station flushed her cheeks and clenched her jaw. We paused when a part showed up that said, do not you dare cry, you will look weak. Using IFS, we made space for that protector and learned it had saved her from ridicule in middle school. We thanked it, asked it to step back a little, and returned to the memory. After three sets of eye movements, her body released a long breath. New insights emerged: my supervisor was scared too, and they used shame to feel in control. The memory did not vanish. The charge dropped from a 9 to a 3. We wove in somatic skills for shift handoffs. Before walking onto the unit, Maya took 60 seconds to orient with her senses, noticing three colors, two sounds, one body place that felt neutral. She also practiced a 4 second inhale with a 6 second exhale to tilt her vagal tone toward rest. Within six weeks that routine felt like muscle memory. We scheduled an EMDR intensive over two half days to address two other targets: a childhood emergency room visit where she felt ignored, and a recent near miss with a medication order. By the end of the second day, her GAD-7 dropped from 16 to 7. That is not magic, it is the nervous system updating its rules with enough time and focus. Comparing the tools at a glance EMDR reprocesses stuck memories and present triggers, using bilateral stimulation to keep one foot in the present so the brain can update old alarms. IFS therapy builds a respectful relationship with protective parts and heals the younger parts that carry fear, so anxiety becomes information rather than a takeover. Somatic experiencing teaches the body how to complete stress cycles and return to baseline, lowering the floor of arousal so other therapies can go deeper. EMDR intensives concentrate work into longer sessions, which can accelerate change for well selected clients who need momentum. Combined, these approaches address thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and relational patterns, which is why the changes often hold. Measuring progress without guesswork Subjective relief matters, and numbers help too. I regularly use the GAD-7 every few weeks to track anxiety severity. Sleep metrics, either from a basic wearable or a simple sleep log, often show improvements in time to fall asleep and fewer night wakings after EMDR targets resolve. Clients note fewer reassurance texts sent per day, fewer loops of checking an email before sending, or shorter durations of post-meeting rumination. Heart rate variability can rise modestly with consistent somatic practice over two to three months. These concrete data points keep us honest, and they inform whether we continue with the same approach, shift to maintenance, or explore medical consultation. Where medication and lifestyle fit with therapy For some people, medication is part of the right plan. SSRIs and SNRIs can lower baseline arousal by 20 to 40 percent, giving you more room to do therapy. Buspirone helps a subset with generalized anxiety. Beta blockers can steady performance situations. These are tools, not admissions of defeat. If genes bias you toward faster alarms, using a pharmacologic brake while you rewire the loops is rational. I coordinate with prescribers and advise timing EMDR during windows of relative stability so we are not chasing side effects. Day to day physiology is not optional. Clients often report large gains when they trim caffeine, especially if they are slow metabolizers who get more anxious on what looks like a reasonable dose. Alcohol helps in the moment and worsens sleep architecture hours later, nudging next day anxiety up. Regular aerobic exercise, roughly 150 minutes a week, is one of the most reliable ways to lower overall anxiety. Resistance training adds a sense of agency in the body that many anxious people lack. Breath work, especially longer exhales or physiologic sighs, can be used right before entering known triggers. Magnesium glycinate at night helps a portion of clients sleep better. Cold exposure and heat therapy have their fans. I recommend caution, minimal dosing at first, and clear interoceptive tracking so we do not accidentally add stress to a taxed system. Limitations, risks, and good guardrails Therapy is powerful and it has edges. EMDR can stir up material between sessions. That is why preparation is not optional, and why a therapist should assess for dissociation and have stabilizing techniques ready. IFS done well avoids flooding, but meeting exiles too quickly can destabilize people who lack inner resources. Somatic techniques help many, yet a few people experience increased anxiety when they tune into body sensations. For them, we titrate gently and pair body work with external focus. There are conditions that mimic or amplify anxiety. Hyperthyroidism, arrhythmias, POTS, iron deficiency, and perimenopause can each present as nervousness or panic. ADHD and autism often come with sensory overload that looks like anxiety from the outside. Obsessive compulsive disorder can overlap with generalized anxiety but requires specific interventions, often ERP, which can be integrated thoughtfully with EMDR or IFS when indicated. If insomnia is severe, sleep medicine support may be necessary to open the window for therapy. Ethical practice means we are curious about these contributors, and we refer when needed. For parents who worry about passing it on If anxiety runs in your family, you are not powerless. Kids read nervous systems more than words. When you practice a daily 10 minute downshift ritual, your child learns rhythm. When you name your state, I am feeling revved up and need three slow breaths, you model regulation. When you repair after snapping, you teach that relationships survive rupture. Family culture matters. Keep routines, outdoors time, and supportive limits. Avoid using reassurance as the only tool. Gently coach approach instead of avoidance when safe. You will not do this perfectly. The goal is a good enough pattern that leaves kids with more flexibility than you had. Finding a clinician and planning the work Look for a therapist with formal training in EMDR and IFS therapy, not just a mention on a website. Ask how they assess readiness for reprocessing and what they do if things get intense. For EMDR intensives, ask about structure: how many hours per day, breaks, what preparation and aftercare look like, and how they handle emergent material after the intensive ends. Good programs include a pre intensive consultation, at least one preparation session focused on resourcing, clear goals, and a post intensive follow up. I share a written aftercare plan, including when to use grounding, how to contact me if needed, and a simple symptom log for the next month. Telehealth works well for many clients, especially for IFS therapy and parts of EMDR. Some components, like bilateral stimulation, translate to screen with taps or audio tones. For somatic work, camera angle matters. If you prefer in person, say so. The frame that makes your nervous system feel safest is the right one. Why this remains hopeful, even with a loaded deck I have worked with clients who can point to three generations of anxious relatives. I have watched them learn their system, process old alarms, and walk into the same life with a different body. The evidence base supports this quiet optimism. Heritability tilts the slope, and experience still changes the path. EMDR gives the brain a way to integrate what was too much at the time. IFS therapy replaces inner warfare with collaboration. Somatic experiencing teaches the body to finish what it started. Intensives provide a format that, for the right person, makes these changes in weeks. If you are wired for sensitivity, keep the gifts. Direct the vigilance where it serves you, like patient care, art, careful leadership, and let the reflexive fear relax. You do not need to wait for the world to become predictable. The work is to make your inner world more livable, then carry that steadiness with you. Alli Christie Counseling Name: Alli Christie Counseling Legal name: ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC Clinician: Alli Christie Disney, Licensed Professional Counselor Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Open-location code / plus code: H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Coordinates: 39.5516997, -104.8794188 Map/listing URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6 Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/ https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling https://x.com/alli_disney https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "MedicalBusiness", "@id": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/#localbusiness", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "legalName": "ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "areaServed": [ "@type": "City", "name": "Lone Tree" , "@type": "City", "name": "Centennial" , "@type": "City", "name": "Highlands Ranch" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Douglas County" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Denver Metro" , "@type": "State", "name": "Colorado" ], "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling", "https://x.com/alli_disney", "https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health therapy services from an office in Lone Tree, Colorado. The practice focuses on therapy intensives for high-achieving women who want focused support for trauma, anxiety, burnout, self-doubt, and related emotional patterns. Listed services include therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, Internal Family Systems therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Alli Christie Disney is listed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, with EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing training noted on the official site. The office is located at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202 in Lone Tree, near the I-25 and C-470 corridor in the South Denver metro area. The practice is locally positioned for clients in Lone Tree, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Douglas County, and nearby Colorado communities. Prospective clients can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about consultation options, availability, and fit. The public map listing for Alli Christie Counseling can help clients verify the Lone Tree office location before scheduling or planning an in-person appointment. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What is Alli Christie Counseling? Alli Christie Counseling is a mental health therapy practice in Lone Tree, Colorado, focused on therapy intensives for high-achieving women. Where is Alli Christie Counseling located? The listed office address is 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Who is the clinician at Alli Christie Counseling? The official site lists Alli Christie Disney as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. The footer lists Colorado License LPC.0016043 and NPI 1538708029. What services does Alli Christie Counseling provide? The practice lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer EMDR intensives? Yes. EMDR intensives are listed as one of the practice’s core service areas, along with therapy intensives and related trauma-focused approaches. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer online or video appointments? The connected scheduling portal lists a video office option and a Lone Tree location. Clients should confirm current appointment format and availability directly before scheduling. What are Alli Christie Counseling’s public hours? The matching public listing shows Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday closed. Appointment availability may vary, so clients should confirm directly with the practice. Is Alli Christie Counseling an emergency mental health provider? No emergency or crisis service was verified for this dataset. Anyone in immediate danger or experiencing a medical or mental health emergency should call 911, contact 988, or go to the nearest emergency room. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call (402) 765-8761, email [email protected], visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, or use the listed social profiles: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling, https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/, https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling, https://x.com/alli_disney, and https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Alli Christie Counseling is located in Lone Tree near the South Denver metro area, with an office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202. Clients near these landmarks can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about therapy intensives, consultation options, and appointment availability. Teddy Lane — The office street for the listed practice address; clients can use the map listing to verify the location before visiting. Park Meadows — A major Lone Tree shopping landmark near the I-25 corridor and a useful reference point for the local area. Sky Ridge Medical Center — A major healthcare landmark in Lone Tree; clients should contact Alli Christie Counseling directly for outpatient therapy scheduling. Lone Tree Arts Center — A well-known local venue and practical landmark for clients navigating Lone Tree. Lincoln Station — A nearby transit reference point for clients traveling within the South Denver metro area. RidgeGate Parkway — A major Lone Tree corridor near residential, medical, and business areas; nearby clients can call to ask about appointment options. I-25 and C-470 — A key regional interchange that helps orient clients coming from Denver, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, or Castle Rock. Bluffs Regional Park — A recognizable outdoor landmark in Lone Tree and a helpful reference for the surrounding community. Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel — A local golf and event landmark for clients orienting around central Lone Tree. Sweetwater Park — A neighborhood park reference point for nearby Lone Tree residents. Highlands Ranch — A nearby South Denver metro community; clients can contact the practice to ask whether services are a fit. Centennial — A nearby community north and east of Lone Tree; prospective clients can visit the website to learn about therapy intensive options.

Anxiety does not always look like panic. Often it shows up as a steady hum: an overpacked calendar, tight shoulders, snap decisions you regret, and a mind that will not power down after midnight. Many people live there for years, managing through willpower or routine coping skills. They do not feel distressed enough to go on leave, but they also don’t feel like themselves. When the usual weekly therapy cadence only scratches the surface, therapy intensives can open a different lane. I have used intensives with executives on the brink of burnout, creatives stuck in repetitive worry loops, and parents moving through postpartum anxiety that lingers long after the nursery is organized. Intensives concentrate therapy into longer sessions over a short window, often two to four consecutive days. The aim is not to white‑knuckle through more content. The aim is to create enough time, safety, and continuity for the nervous system to complete cycles it normally abandons once the 50‑minute clock buzzes. Done well, intensives allow people to shift from coping to genuine change. What makes an intensive different Weekly therapy tends to distribute effort across months. You open up, get regulated, touch a core memory or belief, then time is up. You stabilize and go home. For many issues that works fine. But anxiety, especially when rooted in developmental trauma, perfectionism, or chronic stress, often needs more uninterrupted depth time. Intensives gather that time in one place. Imagine three three‑hour sessions across a long weekend, or a single eight‑hour day with real breaks and movement. Instead of warming up and cooling down repeatedly, you stay near the material long enough to metabolize it. You have room to notice how your body participates in your worry. You can titrate between distress and safety at a pace that actually fits your nervous system, not an office calendar. The structure feels different. There is a clear arc: preparation, focused work, integration. No hurry to name every insight in three minutes for fear of losing it by next week. If EMDR intensives are part of the plan, the bilateral stimulation can proceed at a natural rhythm, rather than stalling when the hour ends. If you are using IFS therapy, there is space to meet several protective parts in one sitting, and to let exiled emotions surface and settle without being rushed. With somatic experiencing, you can track subtle shifts in breath and muscle tone over time, then confirm that new regulation sticks when you stand up, drink water, and walk outside. Not just more hours, a different contract The promise of an intensive is not speed for its own sake. It is depth with containment. In weekly therapy we toggle between your internal world and the pull of daily life. In an intensive we create a contained laboratory. The room, the schedule, even the snacks are designed to send your nervous system one message: you are safe enough to do this work. That containment allows you to contact sensations and memories that feel too slippery or too much during shorter sessions. I have seen clients move from a lifelong fear of disappointing others to a felt sense that their worth does not hang on every email. That did not happen because we tried harder. It happened because we had time for the fear to speak fully, for the body to tighten and then soften, and for a core memory to be reprocessed until nervous system learning updated. The tools mattered, but the container mattered more. When intensives help anxiety and burnout Anxiety tends to spread into everything unless you give it a clear target. Burnout complicates this by blunting motivation and shrinking the capacity for reflection. Intensives can help when: you know what triggers you, but your reactions feel automatic and out of proportion you have trained yourself to function, but you no longer feel much joy or agency your coping skills work only when life is quiet, and life is rarely quiet your schedule makes weekly therapy inconsistent your history includes early attachment injuries, medical trauma, or long periods of high stress I worked with a product lead who cycled between overdrive and collapse every quarter. Weekly therapy produced insight but not relief. We scheduled a Friday and Saturday intensive between release sprints. On Friday morning she arrived vibrating, hands cold, voice fast. By afternoon we had mapped the part of her that believed safety came only from perfect performance. In IFS terms, that part ran a constant threat analysis, pushing caffeine, late nights, and silence about her limits. With somatic tracking, we noticed how her chest tightened each time she pictured disappointing her team. We tested micro‑experiments in the room, like speaking a boundary while keeping her breath low and wide. Saturday we completed several EMDR sets around a college moment when a professor called her unprepared in front of peers. By the end she could recall the scene without the old drop in her stomach. On Monday she told her manager she would not take on a new feature without more staff. The anxiety did not vanish, but it finally felt like a signal rather than a command. EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, and somatic experiencing in practice Different modalities bring different levers for change. The art lies in matching them to your pattern of anxiety and to each other. EMDR intensives use bilateral stimulation, often eye movements or tactile pulses, to help the nervous system reprocess stuck memories and beliefs. Anxiety frequently ties to snapshots where your system learned to expect danger: a parent’s silence that meant rejection, a teammate’s glare that meant blame, a medical scare that meant helplessness. During an intensive, we can identify a cluster of these nodes and move through them in sequence. The extended time lets us finish a target fully rather than parking it half processed. Clients sometimes worry that EMDR will flood them. Careful pacing, frequent orientation to the present room, and planned breaks prevent that. The goal is not emotional fireworks. It is measurable desensitization and cognitive shift. You should leave feeling steadier than you started. IFS therapy focuses on internal parts, the protectors that manage anxiety and the exiles that carry fear, shame, or grief. In intensives, protectors often reveal how relentless their jobs have been. A hypervigilant part might admit it took over in middle school when chaos at home taught it that scanning for danger kept the family safe. When that part trusts you will listen, it relaxes a notch. Then you can contact the exiled feelings it has shielded you from, often intense loneliness or terror. In a three‑hour block, that sequence can unfold without rushing. You become more of the You who can lead the system, instead of being led by alarms. Somatic experiencing anchors the work in the body, using small, tracked doses of activation and settling to renegotiate threat responses. Many anxious clients live from the neck up. Phrases like I know I’m safe do little when your diaphragm is braced and your feet feel numb. Intensives give time to experiment with posture, pacing, and micro‑movements that let the body complete defensive responses that got stuck earlier in life. You might push lightly into the wall while picturing a time you could not say no, then let your arms soften and notice warmth in your hands. That kind of physical completion often shifts thoughts later without further coaching. No single modality owns change. In practice I cycle between them. We might begin with somatic orienting to establish safety, use IFS to meet a fierce critic part, then shift into EMDR to reprocess the moment the critic took charge. The longer arc lets these tools braid rather than compete. What an intensive day can include a detailed assessment and mapping of triggers, protective parts, and body patterns periods of EMDR or somatic processing with clear start and stop points integration breaks with movement, hydration, and food that supports steady energy brief IFS check‑ins to renegotiate consent with protectors as the work deepens review and consolidation, including a simple plan for the hours after you leave The day also includes ordinary human moments. You notice the late afternoon dip and decide whether to push or rest. You find yourself laughing mid‑session at an old belief that finally sounds obviously untrue. You learn what foods give you a crash, so next time you skip the muffin and choose protein and fruit. Little choices matter more when the work is this concentrated. Safety, pacing, and the myth of powering through A common misconception is that intensives are for the toughest people who can tolerate more. The opposite is closer to the truth. Intensives create enough buffer for sensitive nervous systems to move at a humane pace. If you feel fragile, that tells us how carefully to titrate. We might spend most of day one building regulation skills, including how to say stop in the middle of a set, how to widen your vision to soften sympathetic arousal, or how to anchor to the weight of the chair. Pacing is success, not avoidance. There are edge cases. Someone with unstable housing, active substance dependence, or uncontrolled medical conditions may not benefit from an intensive until key supports are in place. If you dissociate frequently or have a history of psychosis, the plan needs tighter coordination with your broader care team. Intensives are not quick fixes and they are not emergency rooms. The work is intense because it is focused, not because it is overwhelming. Preparing your life so the work can stick Anxiety thrives in noise. The week before and after an intensive, remove as much noise as you can. Treat the work like a medical procedure that deserves rest and space. Rearrange meetings, set an email autoresponder, and ask a trusted friend to be on call if you want company for a walk. Do basic body maintenance. Hydrate, choose stable meals, protect sleep. If caffeine usually sends you into a spin, downshift it. Bring layers so your body can stay comfortable in session. Quick readiness checklist: a clear therapeutic target or theme, even if broad, such as constant dread before presentations or relentless people‑pleasing practical support arranged, like childcare backup and flexible work hours known medications packed, plus water and stable snacks a plan for light movement after each day, such as a neighborhood walk consent from your internal protectors, meaning a felt willingness to try, not to force Clients sometimes ask for worksheets or pre‑reading. I offer brief journaling prompts if that fits their style, but I do not assign homework that becomes another performance task. Anxiety already makes enough demands. If you walk in rested and resourced, you have done enough. The arc from coping to change Coping skills are scaffolding. They keep you steady while the building work happens. Skills like box breathing or thought reframing matter. The risk is stopping there. If, months in, you are white‑knuckling the same triggers, the deeper work has not reached the stuck places yet. Intensives aim to update the underlying predictions your system keeps making about danger and worth. When those predictions shift, you still might feel a flutter before a hard meeting, but your body does not assume catastrophe. You recover faster and need fewer compensations. I remember a high school counselor who came in burnt out midyear, full of empathy yet numb at home. She feared she had chosen the wrong career. Over two half‑days we targeted three themes. First, early memories of being the family fixer. Second, the physical habit of compressing her breath and clenching her jaw during conflict. Third, a belief that self‑care meant selfishness. We used IFS to let her inner fixer step back once it saw that adult her was present. Somatic work brought awareness to her jaw. We paired EMDR sets with gentle jaw release and longer exhales. By Sunday evening she texted a photo from her porch, dog at her feet, face softer than I had ever seen it. She later implemented small changes at school, like two five‑minute quiet breaks between crisis meetings. Six weeks out she reported feeling more capacity, not because she learned a new trick, but because the old urgency had lost its grip. Burnout merits particular care Burnout is not simply too much work. It is prolonged demand with too little control and too little recovery. Many anxious clients accelerate into burnout by doubling down on output and abandoning replenishment. Intensives can help by restoring a sense of agency. You choose when to push and when to rest. You see that your body can move from activation to calm without collapsing. That felt motor of control is what many people have missed for years. Still, intensives cannot salvage a toxic environment. If your workplace punishes boundaries, you may need structural change, not just internal work. In those https://charlievkxm274.image-perth.org/somatic-experiencing-for-chronic-tension-and-stress cases, the intensive can clarify options. I have seen clients leave with a plan to renegotiate roles or to exit over a six‑month horizon, with tracking to make sure the plan stays aligned with their values rather than fear. Cost, access, and practical math Intensives require planning and investment. In most markets, fees range widely. A half‑day might fall between 600 and 1,500 dollars, a full day between 1,200 and 3,000, depending on clinician training, location, and whether additional support like co‑facilitators is included. Insurance coverage varies. Some plans reimburse extended sessions under out‑of‑network benefits, others do not. If cost is a barrier, ask about condensed formats, group intensives for shared themes like public speaking anxiety, or sliding scale slots. Some clients choose a single day every quarter as a reset, paired with monthly check‑ins. That hybrid model stretches gains without overextending finances. Travel logistics matter too. If you are flying in, arrive the day before and leave the day after. Build in movement, sunlight, and simple meals. Alcohol, excessive screens, and late nights after an intensive usually make the nervous system murkier the next morning. Clarity comes from rituals that signal safety, not from numbing. Aftercare and integration Many transformations fade because life resumes at full speed. Plan the first 72 hours after the intensive with care. Keep social plans light. Choose activities that help your body trust the change. Gentle exercise, time outside, and tasks that give a sense of completion, like cooking or tending a small area of your home, reinforce new predictions of safety. If you use a wearable, do not obsess over metrics. Notice trends like steadier heart rate variability, but let your felt experience lead. I give clients a simple integration page: new insights captured in plain language, specific body cues that signal early dysregulation, and two or three practices that worked well in the room. Not twenty practices. Two or three. If EMDR targeted a memory tied to medical procedures, the integration might include a short orienting ritual before any appointment, and a plan to ask for a pause if anxiety spikes. If IFS work revealed a young part that panics when ignored, integration might include a five‑minute daily check‑in where you listen on purpose. Small, consistent acts demonstrate reliability to your system. A brief follow‑up session one to two weeks later helps consolidate gains and troubleshoot. Clients sometimes report a delayed wave of fatigue. That is common. The body finally felt safe enough to downshift. Respect it. Extra sleep and hydration often clear the fog. Choosing the right clinician Credentials matter, but fit matters more. Look for someone who can articulate how they tailor intensives to anxiety, not just how they run a long session. Ask how they combine EMDR, IFS therapy, and somatic experiencing if those are relevant to your goals. Listen for comfort with pacing and with saying no if an intensive is not indicated. You want a clinician who names limits. If they promise a cure in a weekend, keep looking. Good providers track outcome markers beyond feeling better. They might use brief measures of anxiety and functioning at baseline, immediately after, and one month out. They should also attend to cultural context. Anxiety does not arise in a vacuum. It reflects environments, identities, and histories. An intensive that ignores those layers risks pathologizing coping that made sense in a prior context. What changes feel like on the other side People expect fireworks. More often, the shift is quiet. A client who used to reread every message now writes and sends with a calm she recognizes only afterward. A parent who dreaded school pickup notices their shoulders stay down as the car line inches forward. A leader who once needed three back‑to‑back runs to take the edge off now takes one steady jog and feels done. The drama lightens. The ordinary gets easier. One of my favorite moments came three weeks after a two‑day intensive with a startup founder. He had lived with a chronic hum of what if we fail since childhood, when a family business did fail. We did targeted EMDR on the night he overheard his parents arguing about money. We worked somatically with how his body braced when he pictured payroll. During IFS work he met the part that believed his worth and his team’s survival were the same thing. Three weeks later he said he still felt urgency near investor updates, but when he looked at his toddler’s face at dinner, the old background hiss was gone. He could taste his food. That kind of mundane joy is not a small thing. A measured, humane path forward Anxiety tries to convince you that more is the answer. More control, more effort, more vigilance. Therapy intensives invite a different experiment. They gather time and attention so you can learn your system from the inside, shift patterns that keep looping, and practice choosing rather than reacting. EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, and somatic experiencing each offer distinct tools. Together, in a container that respects your pace, they can move you from coping toward change that your body believes. If you are considering an intensive, start with one clear question: what would feel measurably different if my anxiety changed. Write one concrete scene, like sending a difficult email in 10 minutes instead of 90, or falling asleep within 20 minutes without replaying the day. That scene becomes the north star for planning. Build the right container, choose the right tools, and give yourself permission to work deeply for a short season. Transformation rarely arrives with fanfare. It often looks like ordinary life, finally unburdened. Alli Christie Counseling Name: Alli Christie Counseling Legal name: ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC Clinician: Alli Christie Disney, Licensed Professional Counselor Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Open-location code / plus code: H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Coordinates: 39.5516997, -104.8794188 Map/listing URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6 Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/ https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling https://x.com/alli_disney https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "MedicalBusiness", "@id": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/#localbusiness", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "legalName": "ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "areaServed": [ "@type": "City", "name": "Lone Tree" , "@type": "City", "name": "Centennial" , "@type": "City", "name": "Highlands Ranch" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Douglas County" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Denver Metro" , "@type": "State", "name": "Colorado" ], "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling", "https://x.com/alli_disney", "https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health therapy services from an office in Lone Tree, Colorado. The practice focuses on therapy intensives for high-achieving women who want focused support for trauma, anxiety, burnout, self-doubt, and related emotional patterns. Listed services include therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, Internal Family Systems therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Alli Christie Disney is listed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, with EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing training noted on the official site. The office is located at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202 in Lone Tree, near the I-25 and C-470 corridor in the South Denver metro area. The practice is locally positioned for clients in Lone Tree, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Douglas County, and nearby Colorado communities. Prospective clients can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about consultation options, availability, and fit. The public map listing for Alli Christie Counseling can help clients verify the Lone Tree office location before scheduling or planning an in-person appointment. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What is Alli Christie Counseling? Alli Christie Counseling is a mental health therapy practice in Lone Tree, Colorado, focused on therapy intensives for high-achieving women. Where is Alli Christie Counseling located? The listed office address is 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Who is the clinician at Alli Christie Counseling? The official site lists Alli Christie Disney as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. The footer lists Colorado License LPC.0016043 and NPI 1538708029. What services does Alli Christie Counseling provide? The practice lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer EMDR intensives? Yes. EMDR intensives are listed as one of the practice’s core service areas, along with therapy intensives and related trauma-focused approaches. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer online or video appointments? The connected scheduling portal lists a video office option and a Lone Tree location. Clients should confirm current appointment format and availability directly before scheduling. What are Alli Christie Counseling’s public hours? The matching public listing shows Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday closed. Appointment availability may vary, so clients should confirm directly with the practice. Is Alli Christie Counseling an emergency mental health provider? No emergency or crisis service was verified for this dataset. Anyone in immediate danger or experiencing a medical or mental health emergency should call 911, contact 988, or go to the nearest emergency room. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call (402) 765-8761, email [email protected], visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, or use the listed social profiles: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling, https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/, https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling, https://x.com/alli_disney, and https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Alli Christie Counseling is located in Lone Tree near the South Denver metro area, with an office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202. Clients near these landmarks can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about therapy intensives, consultation options, and appointment availability. Teddy Lane — The office street for the listed practice address; clients can use the map listing to verify the location before visiting. Park Meadows — A major Lone Tree shopping landmark near the I-25 corridor and a useful reference point for the local area. Sky Ridge Medical Center — A major healthcare landmark in Lone Tree; clients should contact Alli Christie Counseling directly for outpatient therapy scheduling. Lone Tree Arts Center — A well-known local venue and practical landmark for clients navigating Lone Tree. Lincoln Station — A nearby transit reference point for clients traveling within the South Denver metro area. RidgeGate Parkway — A major Lone Tree corridor near residential, medical, and business areas; nearby clients can call to ask about appointment options. I-25 and C-470 — A key regional interchange that helps orient clients coming from Denver, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, or Castle Rock. Bluffs Regional Park — A recognizable outdoor landmark in Lone Tree and a helpful reference for the surrounding community. Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel — A local golf and event landmark for clients orienting around central Lone Tree. Sweetwater Park — A neighborhood park reference point for nearby Lone Tree residents. Highlands Ranch — A nearby South Denver metro community; clients can contact the practice to ask whether services are a fit. Centennial — A nearby community north and east of Lone Tree; prospective clients can visit the website to learn about therapy intensive options.

Caregivers often move through their day with a quiet resolve. Medications organized, https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ifs-therapy rides scheduled, meals prepared, bills arranged, socks tracked down from beneath the couch. Then, sometime after 10 p.m., a wave of irritation or exhaustion hits out of nowhere. You snap at a text, stare at a sink full of dishes, and wonder how your patience seemed to vanish overnight. This is not a personal failing. It is the predictable result of long exposure to strain while holding responsibility for another person’s wellbeing. Burnout is not a mood or a phase. It is a physiological, psychological, and relational state that builds slowly, often invisibly, until it takes center stage. Internal Family Systems, often shortened to IFS therapy, offers a respectful, effective way to work with burnout because it does not shame or label the caregiver. It maps the inner dynamics that have been trying to help for years. When combined with body based modalities like somatic experiencing and, in some cases, targeted trauma reprocessing such as EMDR intensives, caregivers can recover a workable rhythm. Not a perfect one, a human one. The quiet math of caregiver strain The hours tell part of the story. Many caregivers put in the equivalent of 20 to 40 unpaid hours a week on top of jobs and family duties. Phone calls to insurance, trips to the pharmacy, bedtime routines that stretch, constant vigilance for falls or medication side effects. The nervous system stays on alert. Over weeks, then months, that vigilance becomes the default setting. Add the emotional layer. Caregivers hold fear about the future, grief for what changed, resentment about what did not, and love that keeps showing up even when patience is thin. If you care for a parent with dementia or a child with a chronic condition, you might feel stuck in loops of urgency mixed with helplessness. Anxiety feels like a smoke alarm that never quits, a worn but familiar background noise that you do not have time to address. This is the landscape where burnout grows. Not from lack of commitment, but from a long run of mismatched demands and resources. IFS therapy helps by mapping how different parts of you have adapted to that mismatch. What burnout looks like from the inside It rarely arrives with a dramatic headline. Instead, it slips into everyday choices. You might notice a tighter jaw by noon or a heavy slump by mid afternoon. Pleasure shrinks. Even ten quiet minutes with coffee feels unproductive. Decision fatigue rises. Simple questions like what to make for dinner feel strangely hard. Caregivers often describe losing their usual voice. You swallow requests because it seems easier than repeating yourself. You say yes when no is true. Over time, this stretches your internal rubber band to the point where it either snaps or lies limp. Both lead to distance from the people you love, including the person you are caring for. In my practice, I have seen caregivers who are brilliant at logistics but who have forgotten how to feel safe pausing. Their nervous systems trust movement more than stillness. If you recognize that, you are in good company. A short, honest checklist for caregivers Irritability that surprises you, especially at night or first thing in the morning Sleep that feels shallow, even if you clock 7 to 8 hours Loss of appetite or grazing with little satisfaction A sense that small decisions take too much energy Frequent thoughts that you are failing, even when evidence says otherwise If three or more of these show up most days for a few weeks, burnout is breathing down your neck. This is not a reason to judge yourself. It is a reason to change the plan. Why caregivers struggle to seek help Two beliefs tend to block support. First, some part of you might believe that if you relax, everything will fall apart. Second, help might feel like an additional task. Vetting a therapist, juggling schedules, arranging coverage, explaining your situation over and over, it is a lot. This is why format matters. Many caregivers make better use of focused time blocks than weekly 50 minute sessions. Intensives, including EMDR intensives and IFS based intensives, compress work into 3 to 6 hour windows across one or two days. They require planning, but they reduce the inefficiency of stopping and starting. When done well, intensives build momentum, establish a clear map, and provide specific tools you can carry into daily life without more appointments than you can handle. What IFS therapy actually is IFS therapy is not about shaming your inner critic into silence or forcing relaxation. It starts from the premise that your mind is made up of parts, each with a job it took on to protect you. No part is inherently bad. The harsh voice that scolds you for missing a medication reminder does so because, at some point, it learned that criticism keeps you vigilant. The planner that schedules every minute took on its role to prevent chaos. The part that wants to hide in the bathroom and scroll for half an hour is not lazy, it is trying to give your system a pressure release. In IFS language, protector parts run the day. When they are overwhelmed or boxed in, you experience symptoms like anxiety, numbness, or explosive anger. Beneath the protectors live the more vulnerable parts that carry burdens of fear, grief, shame, and loneliness. IFS calls these exiles, not to dramatize them, but to acknowledge how they have been pushed out of daily awareness so you can function. At the core is what IFS calls Self, a state characterized by calm, clarity, curiosity, and compassion. Self is not a technique. Most people can recognize moments when it shows up, like the surprising softening you felt when you watched your parent struggle with a zipper, or the quiet confidence that guided you through a middle of the night fever. IFS therapy helps you access more Self more often, then relate to your parts from that state. A small story from the field A father of a teenage daughter with a seizure disorder came to an IFS intensive after months of waking every two hours to check the baby monitor. He was working full time and felt rage simmering beneath the surface. He disliked this rage. In session, we met a part that barked orders at him all day. It insisted he keep moving, checking, fixing. Another part hid in the garage at 6 p.m. To avoid the evening routine. Over a few hours, as he learned to approach the barking part with curiosity rather than contempt, it finally told the truth: it began shouting when his daughter’s seizures first spiked two years ago, and it believed that if it rested, she might die. That belief softened when he, from a steadier place, could share how he would protect her using clear protocols, not constant motion. The garage hiding part relaxed when it felt seen and reassured that stepping outside for ten minutes was not a betrayal. He did not become a new person, but his nights changed. He set alarms for medication checks instead of checking every twenty minutes. He allowed a family member to sleep over one night a week. The rage did not vanish, it shrank enough that he could be gentle again. Working with protectors rather than against them Burnout often triggers a control surge. You try to do more, plan harder, and hold it all together. Protectors thrive on that energy, until they do not. If you try to wrestle them into compliance, they escalate. If you treat them like colleagues with good intentions and outdated strategies, they tend to soften. In practice, this looks like naming the protector’s job out loud. For example: the part that triple checks the med box is trying to prevent an error that could have real consequences. Thank it. Then, from Self, offer it a specific boundary that maintains safety without burning you out. Perhaps you set one consistent time of day for checks, use a checklist, and let that part know you will revisit the system in two weeks. When protectors trust that you, not they, are in charge, they often reduce the intensity of their tactics. Edge cases matter. If you are caring for someone with unpredictable medical needs, you cannot simply turn down vigilance. You can, however, redistribute it. This might mean alternating nights with another family member, hiring a nurse for short windows, or using technology that actually reduces cognitive load rather than adding one more app to check. The goal is not to eliminate protectors, it is to ask them to update their methods. Meeting exiles without flooding Caregiver burnout often hides grief. Maybe you lost the parent you knew years before their death. Maybe the child you love lives with a condition that robbed your family of a simple ease you once pictured. These are not thoughts you can fix with a reframing exercise. They are losses to be felt and held without drowning in them. IFS therapy approaches this in stages. First, ensure protectors trust the process. Then, titrate contact with the grief carrying parts in small doses. Somatic experiencing offers a useful complement here. It teaches you to track sensations that signal overwhelm and to pendulate between activation and rest. You might feel a lump in your throat when you look at your mother’s hands. Rather than pushing through or collapsing into sobs, you could place a hand over your chest, name the feeling, look at a stable object in the room, then return your attention to the memory for a brief window. This gradual exposure helps your system process what it has been holding while staying within a range that does not fray you further. Anxiety, the body, and somatic experiencing Anxiety in caregivers is often a body first experience. On a busy morning, your heart paces, your breath sits high in your chest, your shoulders hover. Your mind rushes to supply reasons. The reasons matter less than the cycle. Somatic experiencing helps interrupt the loop by restoring options in your physiology. Small, concrete practices tend to work best. A 90 second orienting pause, where you turn your head slowly to scan the room and name three neutral objects, can bring your nervous system out of tunnel vision. Micro relaxations of large muscle groups, like a 30 second release of the glutes while seated, nudge your system toward safety without requiring privacy or special equipment. Over a day, these resets add up. They do not remove the caregiving load, but they lower baseline activation enough that you can make decisions without the clamp of panic. IFS and somatic experiencing work well together because both respect pacing and both assume your system has reasons for its current settings. When you treat those reasons with respect, change is more likely to stick. When EMDR intensives are a good fit Not every caregiver needs trauma reprocessing, and not every therapy modality fits every nervous system. For caregivers who carry specific traumatic memories that keep looping, EMDR intensives can compress months of progress into a few focused days. The word intensives points to time structure, not emotional pressure. A typical EMDR intensive might include two to three extended sessions in a week, with preparation and follow up built in. The trade offs are real. Intensives require arranging coverage and protecting recovery time afterward. They also allow you to clear old landmines that keep detonating under stress, such as the memory of a medical crisis where you felt helpless or shamed by a professional. If you find that certain flashbacks spike your anxiety during caregiving tasks, an EMDR intensive may reduce the charge so that present day challenges do not ignite a past fire. Some clinicians blend EMDR with an IFS lens, working with protector parts to gain permission before processing. That consent matters. It prevents internal backlash and reduces the risk of feeling emotionally raw when you return to daily life. Choosing between weekly sessions and intensives The right format depends on your bandwidth, stability of the care situation, and your goals. Weekly therapy provides steady support and time to integrate changes between sessions. It can feel grounding, especially if the care situation is volatile and you need a consistent anchor. Intensives harness focus. They are efficient when logistics make weekly attendance hard, or when you feel stuck and want a jump start. A simple test: if you routinely cancel weekly commitments due to caregiver demands, but can secure help for a half day once a month, an intensive may serve you better. If you hunger for a regular space to think and feel, and your schedule can support it, weekly sessions might fit. There is no single right answer. Many caregivers use a hybrid, an initial intensive to build momentum, then monthly or quarterly check ins. A brief IFS informed practice you can try today Set a short timer, 7 to 10 minutes. Reduce interruptions as best you can. Ask inside: who is up right now. Notice a part without judging it. It might be the planner, the critic, the avoider. From as much Self as you can access, greet that part. Thank it for how it has helped. Ask what it is worried would happen if it did not do its job for the next hour. Write down the worry in its words. Offer one small boundary or support that addresses the worry. For example, I will set a med alarm for 8 p.m. So you do not have to nag me all afternoon. Check your body for a 10 percent shift toward ease. If you feel none, shorten the goal, or choose a smaller part to meet. This is not a cure. It is a way of relating to yourself that, repeated over days, reduces friction and builds trust with the parts that have been carrying the load. Building boundaries without guilt Boundaries are not speeches. They are patterns. A clear boundary speaks through repetition and follow through far more than a dramatic conversation. For caregivers, the most reliable boundaries are concrete and measurable. You might decide that medication prep happens at 9 p.m. And no later. You might place all non urgent texts on do not disturb between 6 p.m. And 7 p.m., the hour you bathe your father and clean the kitchen. You might choose a visiting schedule that you can actually maintain rather than one that wins temporary approval from extended family. Guilt often rises when you protect these edges. In IFS terms, a caretaker part may equate boundaries with abandonment. Meet that part. Explain the math. When you sleep, take short breaks, and keep your work hours intact where possible, you remain a safe caregiver longer. Burnout leads to brittle care. It also increases medical errors. Protectors tend to listen when you translate boundaries into safety language. Systems reduce decision fatigue Burnout feeds on decision density. Build systems that have defaults. Meals rotate on a two week plan. Medications are loaded Sunday nights with a checklist. Rides are scheduled on the 15th of the prior month. Doctor questions are kept in a shared note, not scattered across texts and scrap paper. Each system begins clunky, then relieves you by 10 to 20 percent once it runs. Use technology as a servant, not a new manager. Choose one calendar, not three. Turn off non essential alerts. Wearables can help if they reduce your need to hover. If they increase it, delete them. This is not about rigidity. It is about creating rails so your nervous system can rest between stations. What progress realistically looks like Expect subtle changes first. You might notice that you exhale more fully after a tense moment. You might catch a harsh inner comment and soften it by a few degrees. Your body may feel a little less braced at bedtime. These are real wins. Over a few weeks, decision fatigue can lighten. Your tone with the person you care for may warm again. Friends may comment that you seem more present. Set a few metrics. Rate your daily anxiety from 0 to 10. Track sleep quality. Note irritability spikes. If numbers improve by 10 to 30 percent over a month, the work is landing. If nothing moves, or if you worsen, it is not a failure. It is feedback to adjust dosage or method. You may need more body based work, a different therapist, or better support in the home. Sometimes the right move is not inside your psyche. It is a practical change like adding four hours of respite care a week. When you may need a higher level of care If you experience persistent thoughts of harming yourself or the person in your care, if panic attacks increase in frequency, or if you find yourself using substances to get through most days, do not white knuckle it. Reach out to a professional immediately. Short term intensive outpatient programs can stabilize you and protect the caregiving relationship. In acute situations, inpatient care is not a betrayal of your duties, it is what preserves you to continue them. Discuss emergency plans with at least one trusted friend or family member so you are not the only person who knows what to do if you need to step back quickly. Finding a therapist attuned to caregivers Ask about experience with caregivers, not just general anxiety or depression. Inquire how the therapist integrates parts work like IFS therapy with body approaches such as somatic experiencing. If trauma is in the mix, ask about their comfort with EMDR and whether they offer intensives. Notice whether they can flex around your schedule and whether they respect your expertise about the person you care for. A good fit is not just warmth. It is a practitioner who understands the logistics of caregiving, who will help you choose doable steps, and who is comfortable naming trade offs. If a clinician insists you add a daily 45 minute meditation without discussing who handles dinner, keep looking. A closing note for the part of you that never rests There is a part that believes it must hold the roof up with its hands. It has been doing this a long time. It may not trust any process, any therapist, or any family member to help. It deserves respect. If all you do this week is thank that part in a quiet moment and let your shoulders drop a fraction, you have begun. Caregiving asks more than most roles. It strains joints you did not know you had, in your schedule and in your heart. With a map like IFS, body tools that meet anxiety where it lives, and formats like intensives that honor your time, you can rebuild capacity. Not by pretending the load is light, but by carrying it with support, clarity, and the kind of steadiness that comes from being on your own side. Alli Christie Counseling Name: Alli Christie Counseling Legal name: ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC Clinician: Alli Christie Disney, Licensed Professional Counselor Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Open-location code / plus code: H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Coordinates: 39.5516997, -104.8794188 Map/listing URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6 Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/ https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling https://x.com/alli_disney https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "MedicalBusiness", "@id": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/#localbusiness", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "legalName": "ALLI CHRISTIE COUNSELING LLC", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "areaServed": [ "@type": "City", "name": "Lone Tree" , "@type": "City", "name": "Centennial" , "@type": "City", "name": "Highlands Ranch" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Douglas County" , "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Denver Metro" , "@type": "State", "name": "Colorado" ], "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/", "https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling", "https://x.com/alli_disney", "https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://maps.app.goo.gl/uv7r79vU4qUivyaw6" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health therapy services from an office in Lone Tree, Colorado. The practice focuses on therapy intensives for high-achieving women who want focused support for trauma, anxiety, burnout, self-doubt, and related emotional patterns. Listed services include therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, Internal Family Systems therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Alli Christie Disney is listed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, with EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing training noted on the official site. The office is located at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202 in Lone Tree, near the I-25 and C-470 corridor in the South Denver metro area. The practice is locally positioned for clients in Lone Tree, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Douglas County, and nearby Colorado communities. Prospective clients can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about consultation options, availability, and fit. The public map listing for Alli Christie Counseling can help clients verify the Lone Tree office location before scheduling or planning an in-person appointment. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What is Alli Christie Counseling? Alli Christie Counseling is a mental health therapy practice in Lone Tree, Colorado, focused on therapy intensives for high-achieving women. Where is Alli Christie Counseling located? The listed office address is 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Who is the clinician at Alli Christie Counseling? The official site lists Alli Christie Disney as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. The footer lists Colorado License LPC.0016043 and NPI 1538708029. What services does Alli Christie Counseling provide? The practice lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety therapy, and burnout therapy. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer EMDR intensives? Yes. EMDR intensives are listed as one of the practice’s core service areas, along with therapy intensives and related trauma-focused approaches. Does Alli Christie Counseling offer online or video appointments? The connected scheduling portal lists a video office option and a Lone Tree location. Clients should confirm current appointment format and availability directly before scheduling. What are Alli Christie Counseling’s public hours? The matching public listing shows Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday closed. Appointment availability may vary, so clients should confirm directly with the practice. Is Alli Christie Counseling an emergency mental health provider? No emergency or crisis service was verified for this dataset. Anyone in immediate danger or experiencing a medical or mental health emergency should call 911, contact 988, or go to the nearest emergency room. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call (402) 765-8761, email [email protected], visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, or use the listed social profiles: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling, https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/113022167/, https://www.tiktok.com/@allichristiecounseling, https://x.com/alli_disney, and https://www.youtube.com/@traumahealingtherapist. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Alli Christie Counseling is located in Lone Tree near the South Denver metro area, with an office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202. Clients near these landmarks can call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ to ask about therapy intensives, consultation options, and appointment availability. Teddy Lane — The office street for the listed practice address; clients can use the map listing to verify the location before visiting. Park Meadows — A major Lone Tree shopping landmark near the I-25 corridor and a useful reference point for the local area. Sky Ridge Medical Center — A major healthcare landmark in Lone Tree; clients should contact Alli Christie Counseling directly for outpatient therapy scheduling. Lone Tree Arts Center — A well-known local venue and practical landmark for clients navigating Lone Tree. Lincoln Station — A nearby transit reference point for clients traveling within the South Denver metro area. RidgeGate Parkway — A major Lone Tree corridor near residential, medical, and business areas; nearby clients can call to ask about appointment options. I-25 and C-470 — A key regional interchange that helps orient clients coming from Denver, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, or Castle Rock. Bluffs Regional Park — A recognizable outdoor landmark in Lone Tree and a helpful reference for the surrounding community. Lone Tree Golf Club & Hotel — A local golf and event landmark for clients orienting around central Lone Tree. Sweetwater Park — A neighborhood park reference point for nearby Lone Tree residents. Highlands Ranch — A nearby South Denver metro community; clients can contact the practice to ask whether services are a fit. Centennial — A nearby community north and east of Lone Tree; prospective clients can visit the website to learn about therapy intensive options.

Anger that surges without warning can wreck a morning, a meeting, a marriage. Most people I meet are not trying to suppress their anger forever, they simply want the fury to make sense. They want to stop apologizing after every outburst, to stop watching their partner flinch or their child shrink. They want to feel like they have a say, not just a front-row seat to a storm. Internal Family Systems, or IFS therapy, gives a practical framework to make sense of anger that feels ungovernable. It does not demonize the feeling. It helps you get related to it with enough compassion and clarity to change its job description. I have sat with hundreds of clients in the first fragile minutes after a blowup. The stories vary, but the texture is similar, a jolt in the body, a heat in the face, a tunnel vision that erases nuance. Sometimes, twenty minutes later, the person cannot explain what set it off. Underneath, we often find old injuries, loneliness, humiliation, exhaustion, or a nervous system still scanning for danger. IFS therapy invites us to see anger not as a single thing, but as a protective part of a larger internal community. This reframe sounds soft, but it is powerful, because it points to levers that actually move. What anger is doing for you, whether you asked for it or not Anger gets a bad reputation, yet it has a job. In the IFS model, anger is usually a protector part that steps in fast to prevent pain. That is why the feeling can be so quick and blunt, it does not pause to consider tone and timing. It detects a threat, then either raises a shield or swings a sword. Many people tell me their anger shows up when they feel cornered, dismissed, or disrespected. Others feel it after weeks of white-knuckling a difficult situation, holding it together for too long. The anger is not random. It is working from a rule book it wrote years ago, sometimes when you were a child. Here is the crucial move: rather than trying to crush anger, you learn how to relate to it. You get to know what it is protecting and what it fears would happen if it eased off. At first this may sound like indulging the feeling. It is not. It is due diligence. If you rip a protector away without understanding its role, the system tends to escalate. That is why willpower-only strategies often fail by Friday afternoon. The IFS map in plain language IFS therapy views the mind as a system of parts plus a core Self. The Self has qualities like curiosity, calm, and compassion. Parts carry roles and burdens. When anger feels out of control, protector parts have moved in front of Self and are running the show. Another category of parts, often called exiles, carry raw wounds, such as shame after a parent’s rage or the terror of being left out. Protectors work to keep these exiles from getting triggered. Some protectors are managers that try to prevent problems, others are firefighters that react fast when pain breaks through. This is not multiple personalities. It is a normal way the human mind organizes experience. You already talk this way, part of me wants to yell, part of me wants to leave, another part wants to fix it. IFS simply treats these statements as accurate descriptions. The goal is never to evict anger. The goal is to help Self lead. Self is not a fancy state that only monks can access. You have been in Self when you handled a hard conversation with unexpected patience, or when you comforted a friend with ease. In IFS sessions, we help clients notice the difference between a part’s intensity and the steadier quality of Self. Then we invite protectors to relax enough to show us the injured parts they guard. Anger calms when it no longer carries the whole burden of protection. When anger starts running your life I pay attention when I hear phrases like, I do not remember what I said, or I blacked out in that meeting, or My reactions keep surprising me. Unmanaged anger tends to narrow your options and expand your regret. It also feeds secondary problems, anxiety before conflict, burnout from constant tension, and strained relationships that once felt safe. Sometimes the cost is concrete, a warning at work, a partner threatening separation, a teenager avoiding you. Other times the cost is quieter, you lose your own respect. If your body cues come late or not at all, anger can feel like a jump cut. Many clients describe the warning signs only after the fact, a tight jaw, hot ears, quick shallow breaths, a thought like Here we go. The nervous system was already mobilized. IFS does not replace physiology, it works with it. I often supplement IFS therapy with somatic experiencing to help people notice and discharge the body’s fight energy without acting it out on others. This is not theory, it is sweat-in-the-room practice, learning to track a pulse of heat in the chest until it moves on its own. The first small wins: visibility and pacing One client, a mid-career software lead, came in after a rough performance review. He was brilliant under pressure, but his team avoided him. In our second session he said, If one more person misses a deadline, I will lose it. We slowed down the moment he imagined, feeling into his body. A part of him clenched behind the eyes, as if bracing for incompetence. Another part felt tired to the bone. The angry protector was running interference to cover up the fatigue and fear that he would be blamed. The first win was not a perfect week. It was visibility. He could feel the sequence as it started. Anger was not a single smash, it was a protector stepping in to keep others at a distance so they could not drop the ball on him again. Once he could see the pattern, we negotiated with the protector for a pause. One breath at a time, then thirty seconds before responding, then a brief walk around the building after a triggering update. This was not a hacks-only approach. We coupled it with dialogues in session where he asked his anger what it was afraid would happen if it did not tighten the screws. The answer was fast, They will think I am weak, and I will get crushed like before. There was an old story in there, high school, a group project, and a teacher who made an example of him. The body remembered. The part was not irrational. It was specific. Recognizing when anger is trying to help If you want to tame your anger, first respect its function. Protectors are more willing to relax when they feel understood. You can do a simple inventory of anger’s common jobs in your system. The list below is not exhaustive, but it helps many clients name the pattern. It blocks shame or humiliation by going on offense. It enforces boundaries when you do not feel you can say no. It discharges fight energy from chronic stress or burnout. It protects a younger part that learned the world is unsafe. It pushes people away to avoid attachment injuries. When you see your own version clearly, the work moves faster. You stop arguing with the part on the surface and start engaging the fear underneath. A protector does not retire because you tell it to. It retires when it believes the system is safer. How an IFS session engages anger without making a mess People often worry that if they let themselves feel anger, they will blow up. In the IFS frame, we ask protectors for permission to witness the feelings they guard, and we keep a negotiated pace. That word matters. You are not surrendering control, you are building trust inside your system. A typical sequence might look like this in a session. We identify the angry part. We locate it in or around the body, behind the face, in the shoulders, hovering like a fog. We ask how the rest of you feels toward it. If you feel only contempt, we are not in Self yet, so we slow down. We do not bully a bully. We get curious. We ask the part how old it feels, how it learned its job, what it worries would happen if it stepped back for a minute. We listen without debate. When the part senses that you are not trying to exile it, it usually reveals what it has been guarding. Sometimes that is a memory that arrives with surprising clarity, a slammed door at age eight, a father’s silence at age fifteen, a broken promise at twenty-three. Now we have the right target for healing. When the injury is intense, I may recommend weaving in EMDR intensives to move trauma memory processing along in a bounded, focused way. EMDR can reduce the charge around specific scenes that keep fueling the protector’s alarm. Intensives allow us to condense what might take months into several concentrated days, with the right preparation and aftercare. This does not replace IFS therapy, it supports it, because once the alarm falls, the angry protector does not have as much to do. A body-forward way to lower the temperature Anger is a whole-body event. If you only think about it, you will miss the levers within reach. Somatic experiencing gives simple doors back to the body. I may guide a client to track the first flutter of heat in the chest and let it expand by five percent, pause, then let it settle by five percent. That slight pendulation teaches the nervous system that the wave will crest and ebb without words or action. Over a few sessions, people learn to notice micro-cues earlier, a shoulder inching toward the ears, a jaw setting. Those are windows where choice lives. Breathwork gets thrown around casually, but with anger you want specificity. Big deep breaths can sometimes spike agitation. I often recommend shorter inhales and longer exhales, four counts in, six out, for two to three minutes. That ratio recruits the vagus nerve gently. Pair that with grounding the feet and you shift the chemistry enough to bring Self back online. A rule of thumb from experience, if you cannot speak two slow sentences without rushing, you are not ready to engage the topic at hand. Buy time. Excuse yourself briefly. Do not process while the house is on fire. A brief field guide for the hardest moments Clients often ask for something they can use when their anger spikes. Here is a compact sequence that can work in real life. Practice it when you are calm so it is more available when you are not. Name and locate: Say in your mind, Anger is here, and point to where you feel it. Unblend a little: Remind yourself, A part of me is angry, not all of me. Breathe with ratio: Four counts in, six counts out, for 90 seconds. Ask for space: Tell the part, I see you, give me a little room to handle this, I will come back to you. Choose the next right move: Delay the email, step outside, or state one clear boundary without analysis. This is not a cure. It is a bridge. It keeps you from adding more mess while you work the deeper layers in therapy. Why some people’s anger is louder than others There is no single cause. Family culture plays a role. If you grew up in a home where anger solved problems, your protectors learned to speak up fast. If you grew up in a home where anger was punished or mocked, you may have protector parts that flip between silence and explosion, since you never practiced middle ground. Trauma matters too. If you had to fight to survive emotionally or physically, the nervous system sets a lower threshold for triggering. Attachment injuries also shape the story. If closeness was unpredictable, anger may push people away before they can hurt you. I have also seen a striking link between chronic burnout and irritability. Burnout shrinks bandwidth. Small frustrations feel like violations. Anger that once protected you becomes a hammer searching for nails. When a client’s professional life is grinding them down, I do not wait for self-care to drift in. We audit commitments and reduce energy leaks. Otherwise, the anger work stalls because the system is still on fire. What progress actually looks like Real change is usually quieter than people expect. You may not become someone who never feels angry. That would be a red flag in itself. Instead, you may find that the first flash is less hot, that you can see three choices instead of one, that you can circle back after an argument and repair in hours, not days. Your partner may comment that you look like you are listening even when you disagree. Colleagues may risk bringing you bad news because they trust you not to shoot the messenger. One client tracked their outbursts in a simple way. Over eight weeks, the average duration of post-anger shame dropped from 48 hours to 6. Frequency of snappish comments fell from daily to twice a week. They still had a couple of big blowups, but they came with faster recovery and cleaner repair. That is progress. Numbers help here because memory tends to paint with the most dramatic brush. The repair that makes anger safer for everyone else No one does this perfectly. You will still miss a cue sometimes and say something sharp. The difference is how you repair. A clean repair does not justify or cross-examine. It names impact, takes responsibility, and states what you are practicing. I am sorry I raised my voice. I see that it shut you down. I am practicing taking a minute before I speak when I feel that rush. If you are willing, let us try again later today. You do not owe anyone a full IFS map of your parts, you owe them safer behavior. Repair is not groveling, it is a structural beam in a relationship. When to consider intensives and other adjuncts Some patterns are sticky. Weekly therapy can feel like trying to turn a ship with a teaspoon. That is where intensives can help. A structured IFS intensive, sometimes blended with EMDR intensives, allows for deeper work without the stop-start of weekly sessions. We can establish safety, negotiate with protectors, and process high-charge memories over a few days with time for integration. People often report that the anger that used to sprint out of the gate now walks. Intensives are not for everyone. If your life is chaotic or you lack support, the post-intensive integration can be rough. I assess readiness with care. The question is not Can you power through. It is Will your system land softly enough to consolidate gains. Somatic supports matter as well. If your body is dysregulated by chronic pain, sleep deprivation, or stimulants, anger will be hair-trigger. In some cases, coordinating with a physician about sleep or medication is part of responsible care. I have seen modest improvements in sleep quality change the arc of anger work more than any insight. What to do when anger guards grief A common pivot point comes when anger allows us to meet the grief it has been protecting. I think of a client in his sixties who had always been the fixer in his family. His anger rose fastest when anyone implied he was not doing enough. After weeks of patient negotiation with that protector, he finally let us meet a tired, young part that believed love depended on usefulness. The grief when he touched that belief filled the room. He did not smash anything. He wept. During that same month, his angry outbursts dropped by half, not because he muscled them down, but because they were no longer the first line of defense. The system recalibrated around a truer message, I am worthy even when I rest. Grief work is not a side quest. It is often the main event. If you reach this layer, go slow, enlist support, and respect how much courage it takes to set down very old tools. How partners and teammates can help without walking on eggshells If you live or work with someone whose anger has run the show, you deserve safety too. While the person doing IFS therapy must own their work, loved ones can participate in ways that improve outcomes. Ask the angry person what helps them unblend when they feel the heat rising. Agree on a hand signal or a brief phrase that means pause. Do not diagnose them in the moment. Save system-language for calmer times. If repair happens, receive it without immediate counterattacks if you can, and state your needs clearly, not just your hurts. At work, leaders can implement guardrails that reduce triggers for everyone. Clear decision rights reduce the helplessness that often fuels rage. Reasonable capacity planning and predictable check-ins lower anxiety before crunch times. Boundaries do not coddle people, they create containers that make self-control possible. If you are afraid of what will surface Many people avoid this work because they fear what they will find if they slow down. The fear makes sense. If anger has been shielding you for decades, the idea of putting it at the side for even a minute can feel like standing without armor. Here is what I can say from the chair across the room. The parts you are afraid to meet do not hate you. They have been waiting. When they feel the steadiness of Self for the first time, they are usually relieved. They do not need you to relive every second of pain. They need you to see them and to stop leaving them alone. Courage in this context is not a grand gesture. It is a sequence of small decisions, booking the appointment, telling the truth in the room, pausing at the first heat, asking your anger what it needs, practicing one boundary cleanly. Over weeks and months, these choices stack into a new baseline. The long arc Anger does not vanish. It becomes more honest. It stops impersonating you. It returns to its rightful role, alerting you to crossed lines, powering your no, fueling action against injustice, without running roughshod over your day. IFS therapy is not the only path to https://gregorykhuf511.yousher.com/emdr-intensives-for-complex-trauma-a-practical-guide this kind of change, but it is one of the most respectful and durable I have used, because it does not fight your nervous system or shame your story. It meets the protectors with the dignity they deserve, invites the exiles home, and returns leadership to the part of you that has been here all along. If your anger feels out of control, you are not a lost cause. You are likely running a brave but outdated internal strategy. With thoughtful IFS work, supported by somatic experiencing, and, when appropriate, EMDR intensives or other targeted approaches, you can update that strategy. The people around you will feel the difference. More importantly, you will. You will know the flare is coming and choose your response. You will say what you mean without breaking what you love. And when you do get it wrong, you will know how to make it right. That is what control feels like from the inside, not rigidity, but choice. Name: Alli Christie Counseling Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Open-location code (plus code): H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Map/listing URL: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "areaServed": "Colorado", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health services centered on therapy intensives for high-achieving women in Colorado, with an office in Lone Tree. The site highlights EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and focused support for concerns such as anxiety, burnout, panic, trauma, and self-doubt. The practice is led by Alli Christie Disney, LPC, and the Colorado location page says the office works with women from across the state, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. For local visitors in Lone Tree, the office is listed at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. The practice appears best suited for women ages 16 and up who want a structured, longer-format therapy option rather than standard weekly sessions alone. The official Colorado page also says online sessions may be available for people who prefer virtual work or want follow-up support after an in-person intensive. To ask about fit or scheduling, call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/. For map directions and public listing context, see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What services does Alli Christie Counseling offer? The official site lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety support, and burnout-focused therapy content. Who is the practice designed to serve? The Colorado location page says the practice specializes in working with high-achieving women ages 16 and up, including entrepreneurs, executives, and women in demanding fields. Where is the Lone Tree office located? The contact page lists the office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Does Alli Christie Counseling only offer intensives? The homepage says the practice primarily offers intensive healing experiences, while also keeping limited availability for some ongoing sessions in a more traditional format. Does the practice offer online sessions? Yes. The Colorado location page says online sessions are available for people who prefer virtual work or want remote follow-up support after an in-person intensive. What issues are mentioned on the Colorado page? The site names trauma, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, burnout, self-doubt, and phobias among the concerns addressed through intensives. What therapy approaches are mentioned on the site? The practice highlights EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) as the main modalities used in its intensive work. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call tel:+14027658761, visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, and follow https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ and https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Park Meadows — Park Meadows is one of Lone Tree’s best-known destinations and is described by its official site as Colorado’s biggest shopping mall. If you are near Park Meadows, Alli Christie Counseling’s Lone Tree office is a useful local reference point for planning therapy visits. Lone Tree Arts Center — The Lone Tree Arts Center is a major local arts and culture venue and a recognizable anchor in the city. If you spend time near the arts center, the Lone Tree office gives you a simple nearby point of reference for counseling and intensive therapy services. I-25 and Lincoln Avenue — The Sky Ridge at Lone Tree Station mobility hub project identifies the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange as a major transit and access point in Lone Tree. If that corridor is part of your regular route, the office location is easy to place within the same local area. Lone Tree City Center — The city describes Lone Tree City Center as east of I-25 between Lincoln Avenue and RidgeGate Parkway, with a walkable mixed-use focus and light rail access. If you are near City Center or RidgeGate, the office is part of the same broader Lone Tree service geography. High Note Park and Happy Canyon Trail — The city’s High Note Park page highlights the Happy Canyon Trail connection running under RidgeGate Parkway and linking toward Lincoln Avenue. If you live or work near the RidgeGate trail network, the Lone Tree office is a practical local counseling reference. Bluffs Regional Park and Trail — Lone Tree’s resident guide identifies Bluffs Regional Park and Trail as a major local trail area with a loop trail and trail connectors. If you use the bluffs or nearby trailheads as your local frame of reference, Alli Christie Counseling remains a clear Lone Tree destination to work from.

Relationship anxiety does not usually arrive as a single fear. It tends to spread out like roots, touching jealousy here, hypervigilance there, a sudden urge to check a phone, a dizzying need for reassurance, then a quiet conviction that leaving is the only safe move. For some clients, the worry hums constantly in the background. For others, it hits in spikes after a text goes unanswered or plans change. IFS therapy, with its gentle precision, gives us a map and a method for untangling these reactions without shaming them or dismissing the history that shaped them. I have sat with couples and individuals for years who say, I know my partner loves me, and yet I panic when I do not get a response. Or, I keep pulling back as things get closer. They are not confused about facts. They are blended with parts that carry fear, grief, or memories of unpredictability. A part that learned, decades ago, to anticipate loss can hijack a moment as effectively as if the threat were in the room. IFS therapy gives those parts a voice and a role, then helps the person’s core Self lead again. How IFS maps relationship anxiety IFS therapy starts with a simple, humane proposition: we all contain many parts, and all parts are trying to help. Some parts protect us by managing, planning, and controlling. Others protect us by fighting, fleeing, or numbing when threat hits a certain threshold. Underneath are younger, more sensitive parts that carry pain, shame, and unmet attachment needs. When relationship anxiety flares, we are seeing protectors in action, often running strategies that were essential at an earlier time. A familiar example: a client texts their partner, spots the three grey dots, then nothing. A manager part jumps in to preempt disaster. It drafts three follow ups, inspects recent conversations, and triggers a mental slideshow of breakups or betrayals real and imagined. Another protector, the firefighter, wants the discomfort gone now. It scrolls, drinks, flirts online, or picks a fight to force clarity. If those protectors were not working so hard, we would find a younger exile part underneath that learned silence meant abandonment, that quiet meant danger, that love could vanish unexpectedly. In IFS language, relationship anxiety is not a defect. It is a system response tuned to old environments, now reacting to new stimulus as if it were still 1998, 2006, or last year’s devastating rupture. The work is to help protectors relax and make contact with exiles, not to bully or override the system. Common patterns I see in the room Clients tend to recognize themselves in these patterns once we name them in clean, non-pathologizing language. A pursuing part interprets distance as proof of rejection, cranks up closeness demands, and texts rapidly. An avoidant protector thinks, if I need less, I cannot be hurt, then exits emotionally. Testing parts orchestrate small set ups: I will wait to see if they notice I am off. If they ask, it means I matter. If not, I was right all along. Underneath these moves are usually specific memories, not just traits. The body remembers sounds, looks, schedules, even the feel of a parent’s absence at 5:30 on weeknights. Those memories guide protectors like a GPS with outdated maps. It helps to remember that protectors thrive on speed, exiles ask for slowness, and Self is the one who can pace both. If we rush, protectors dig in. If we bypass them, symptoms intensify. I have watched reassurance spirals slow down the minute a client turns to a vigilant protector with genuine curiosity and says, I get why you are scanning every fifteen seconds. You kept me safe for years. A short field guide to signs of relationship anxiety Persistent body tension, especially in the chest or gut, when contact is delayed or uncertain Frequent reassurance seeking that soothes briefly, then resets within hours Jealousy or mental simulations about betrayal that feel compelling despite little evidence Testing or withdrawing to provoke a reaction or to preempt expected hurt Rapid cycling between pursuit and shutdown, often after small relational cues If you recognize yourself in a couple of these, you are not alone. The key is not to suppress the signs but to trace them back to the parts and the stories they hold. What an IFS session actually looks like for this work Clients often arrive expecting to analyze patterns conversationally. We do some of that, especially early, but an IFS session tends to shift gently inward once safety is established. I might ask, as you describe the fear when your partner is late, where do you feel it in your body right now? Suppose the client points to the throat. We might invite that tightness to show us an image or a phrase. A protector part could appear as a sentry with a clipboard. We are not making this up for entertainment. We are using focused attention to access implicit memory and internal roles. I ask permission from protectors before contacting younger exiled parts. The order matters. If we push past the protector who writes rules like never need too much, we risk a flood of feeling that leaves the client raw all weekend. When protectors trust that Self is present, they usually soften. Calm and compassion are recognizable to them, even if they have been in charge for decades. We then meet the exile who holds the original fear. Sometimes it is a scene in a dim bedroom, waiting for a parent who works a night shift. Sometimes it is a schoolyard humiliation that taught the nervous system to expect a social cliff to open without warning. We do not retell the story for drama. We witness it from Self and update the nervous system with new resources. This is not positive thinking. It is memory reconsolidation, anchored by respect for the part’s original role. Bringing the body back online Relationship anxiety rarely lives only in thoughts. The body stays on alert. Somatic experiencing https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ifs-therapy blends naturally with IFS work here. When a protector part watches the partner’s location ping on a map, the diaphragm tightens. I invite clients to track micro-shifts: the pressure in the chest, the urge to lean forward, the heat in the neck. We do not force relaxation. We help the system complete activation cycles that have been paused for years. When a wave of jealousy rises, we might orient first. Eyes away from the phone, let the head turn slowly and register the room. Count three colors, feel the weight in the pelvis, name one supportive contact with the chair. Protection becomes less frantic when the body recognizes present-time safety. This bodily literacy makes IFS dialogue more honest; parts do not have to shout through a tense throat to be heard. A practical unblending exercise you can try Notice a triggering cue, such as a delayed response or a canceled plan, and pause for one full breath. Name the part that shows up, without debate: a panicked part, a testing part, a numb part. Ask where it lives in or around the body, and place a hand nearby if that feels respectful. From the best Self energy available, say internally, I see you. No need to solve this right now. I am here. For two minutes, track any shift in body sensation and the part’s intensity, then decide from Self whether to act, wait, or soothe. Two minutes of sincere contact often reduces the urgency by 20 to 40 percent. The point is not to eliminate anxiety but to lead from Self so actions fit the current moment, not the old map. An integrative lens: EMDR intensives, IFS, and somatic work Many clients arrive with stacked experiences of loss, betrayal, or chaotic caregiving. For them, weekly sessions sometimes feel too slow. Intensives, whether one day or a focused series, can accelerate the work by maintaining momentum while staying within a safe therapeutic window. I have found that pairing IFS therapy with EMDR intensives, especially when guided by a parts-informed approach, helps unlock stuck loops. Protectors often fear that trauma processing will bulldoze them. If we first befriend those parts and invite them to co-design the target list and pacing, EMDR targets become accessible and the nervous system tolerates the reprocessing. During an intensive, we might spend the first hour mapping protectors, the next hour resourcing through somatic experiencing, then run short EMDR sets while staying in active dialogue with parts. Sessions include frequent consent checks. A manager that worries about losing control gets a clear role, such as tracking time or choosing breaks. This integrated structure reduces backlash and allows deeper exiles to receive care without overwhelming the system. Some clients worry that intensives will leave them depleted. It is a fair concern. We plan recovery windows, simple meals, sunlight, and movement. I advise against squeezing an intensive between demanding workdays or long drives. Protectors need time to notice that you kept your promise to slow down. The reassurance trap and how IFS loosens it Reassurance, in fair amounts, is part of loving partnership. The trap is frequency. If a protector insists on hourly confirmation, the nervous system never experiences uncertainty without pain. In IFS terms, reassurance aimed at appeasing a protector can inadvertently exile the exile further. The younger part learns, I only get attention when the house is on fire. We handle this by separating comfort from compulsion. Partners can offer planned, warm check-ins at agreed times, while the anxious partner practices unblending during the gaps. The message is, your fear is welcome, and we will not organize our entire life around it. That boundary, set with affection rather than contempt, creates space for Self to emerge and for exiles to receive care directly, not via the partner as a regulator. When protectors play tug-of-war I often meet clients whose systems split between a vigilant pursuer and a cool-surfaced avoider. One texts and calls, the other cancels plans hours later just to regain space. Both are protectors, both tired, both convinced the other will ruin everything. In session, I invite each to speak to me, not to each other, at first. The pursuer fears that if it stops, pain will swallow the client whole. The avoider fears that if it stops, engulfment is inevitable. When Self hears both, it becomes clear that they share a goal: keep the exile from overwhelming the present. The solution is not compromise in the middle. It is a new leader who can offer direct care to the exile so neither protector has to run the entire show. As that leadership grows, the client learns to communicate with their partner from Self, not from the battlers. Requests shift from disguised tests toward clear asks. I need a message when your flight lands, not because you owe me constant access, but because my 10-year-old part panics when hours pass without contact. I am taking care of her here, and a quick text helps. Naming burnout in the system Therapy often reveals not only anxiety but burnout. Protective parts keep watch through long nights, then go to work the next day pretending nothing is wrong. Partners burn out too, often without saying so until resentment leaks through sarcasm or shutdown. In couples work, I encourage candid naming: I am at 70 percent capacity. I can offer warmth and one check-in tonight. I cannot debrief for an hour. On the individual side, we look for subtle rest debt. Even a 10 minute midafternoon reset, eyes closed, hands on the ribcage, can reduce baseline arousal by a few beats per minute. Burnout is not proof that love is weak. It is a sign that protectors have been sprinting a marathon. A brief vignette A client in her late thirties described a pattern that cost her two relationships. She would date someone kind, feel safe, then panic whenever business travel took them out of contact. She knew it was disproportionate. In session, a vigilant manager appeared as a school crossing guard. It insisted that if she relaxed, she would be hit by the same car as when she was seven, which in this case was a father’s sudden departure. We spent several sessions building trust with that guard. Only after it softened did a small exile show up, sitting on a curb with a backpack, convinced she had been left behind for good. We did targeted EMDR within an IFS frame during a half-day intensive. The guard chose the target image and the stop signal. After three short sets, tears came, then a slow exhale. The client described a bodily sense of someone older wrapping a blanket around the child. Two weeks later, when her partner traveled, anxiety rose as usual, then settled at half intensity without any reassurance texts. The guard reported that it still preferred daily check-ins but no longer needed five. Over months, the system continued to reorganize. Progress looked like better sleep, fewer late night spirals, and conversations that asked for care instead of testing for proof. Boundaries, attachment, and earned security People often frame relationship anxiety as a mismatch of attachment styles. Labels can be useful, but they can also freeze a story. I prefer to treat styles as clusters of protective strategies with histories. Earned security grows when Self leads with clarity and warmth. Boundaries are not weapons. They are agreements that protect tenderness. The anxious partner learns to signal need early rather than erupting at midnight. The avoidant partner learns to set limits without punishing distance. Both learn to repair quickly. Five minutes of clean repair after a rupture does more for nervous systems than three hours of defending positions. IFS helps here because it disarms shame. No one has to be the problem. Each part has a job, a story, and a set of conditions under which it will relinquish control. The therapist’s task is to help the system discover those conditions. Working with cultural and contextual layers Relationship anxiety does not occur in a vacuum. Marginalized clients often carry layers of vigilance rooted in real-world conditions that taught their systems to expect unpredictability or danger. IFS therapy can hold these truths without collapsing into individual blame. We acknowledge context explicitly. The goal is not to adapt you to an unjust environment but to restore choice inside your system so you can meet the world with options. Somatic experiencing supports this by widening capacity, not by asking you to be less sensitive to genuine cues. Practical expectations and pacing Clients like numbers, and for good reason. Change feels vague until it lands in daily life. Early signs that IFS therapy is helping relationship anxiety include shorter rumination loops, reduced frequency of checking behaviors, and quicker recovery after a trigger. Some see meaningful shifts within 6 to 10 sessions. Others, especially those with complex histories, benefit from a longer arc or from intensives that condense work into 4 to 12 hours across a few days. I prefer to reassess every four sessions using concrete markers, like nightly screen time, mornings without dread, or a week’s worth of communication that stayed clear even when stressed. We also build in plateaus. Protectors sometimes increase activity just as exiles begin to heal. That is not failure. It is a system testing the new normal. If sleep drops or irritability spikes, we slow the pace, return to resourcing, and re-engage consent with parts before pushing deeper. Safety limits and red flags IFS therapy does not solve everything. If there is ongoing coercion, stalking, or violence in a relationship, treatment priorities change. Safety planning, legal counsel, and community resources come first. We can still offer care to parts, but not at the expense of present-time safety. When substance use or compulsive behaviors surge after sessions, it may be a sign that firefighters are overwhelmed. In those cases we enact shorter sessions, more somatic support, and narrower targets. The work is precision, not heroics. How to find a good fit Look for a therapist trained in IFS therapy who can also speak fluently about attachment and the body. If intensives are on your mind, ask about structure, integration plans, and how they collaborate with protectors. If you are considering EMDR intensives, ask whether the therapist integrates parts work explicitly so that reprocessing does not outpace consent. A brief phone consultation can reveal a lot. Does the therapist respect your protectors, or do they talk about getting past them as quickly as possible? Do you feel more choice after the call, not less? What early sessions often include In the first three meetings, I map the client’s inner system lightly. We identify two or three main protectors that show up during relational triggers. We test a short unblending exercise. We establish a repair plan for after rough sessions, which might include a 15 minute walk, an early bedtime, or a check-in email the next day. We involve partners thoughtfully, either by bringing them into a session focused on education or by equipping the client to share what would actually help, in plain language. I often draft a one sentence request with the client, such as, When I text after 9 p.m., I am usually blended. Please invite me to speak in person the next morning. The arc of change IFS therapy does not eliminate risk or guarantee harmony. It increases leadership from Self so that risks and repairs land differently. Over time, relationship anxiety morphs from a driver into a messenger. The same client who once scrolled for hours may now notice a pang at 8 p.m., greet a protector, check the facts, and choose a warm but boundaried request. The body learns the feel of uncertainty without catastrophe. Partners learn how to meet needs without feeding compulsions. Sessions shift from crisis containment to refinement. I have watched people build lives they trust in numbers that matter: five mornings in a row without dread, three honest apologies in a tense week, two fewer fights in a month, one moment during a hard conversation when a client realized, I am still here, and so is love. That kind of arithmetic changes everything. Name: Alli Christie Counseling Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Open-location code (plus code): H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Map/listing URL: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "areaServed": "Colorado", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health services centered on therapy intensives for high-achieving women in Colorado, with an office in Lone Tree. The site highlights EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and focused support for concerns such as anxiety, burnout, panic, trauma, and self-doubt. The practice is led by Alli Christie Disney, LPC, and the Colorado location page says the office works with women from across the state, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. For local visitors in Lone Tree, the office is listed at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. The practice appears best suited for women ages 16 and up who want a structured, longer-format therapy option rather than standard weekly sessions alone. The official Colorado page also says online sessions may be available for people who prefer virtual work or want follow-up support after an in-person intensive. To ask about fit or scheduling, call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/. For map directions and public listing context, see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What services does Alli Christie Counseling offer? The official site lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety support, and burnout-focused therapy content. Who is the practice designed to serve? The Colorado location page says the practice specializes in working with high-achieving women ages 16 and up, including entrepreneurs, executives, and women in demanding fields. Where is the Lone Tree office located? The contact page lists the office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Does Alli Christie Counseling only offer intensives? The homepage says the practice primarily offers intensive healing experiences, while also keeping limited availability for some ongoing sessions in a more traditional format. Does the practice offer online sessions? Yes. The Colorado location page says online sessions are available for people who prefer virtual work or want remote follow-up support after an in-person intensive. What issues are mentioned on the Colorado page? The site names trauma, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, burnout, self-doubt, and phobias among the concerns addressed through intensives. What therapy approaches are mentioned on the site? The practice highlights EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) as the main modalities used in its intensive work. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call tel:+14027658761, visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, and follow https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ and https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Park Meadows — Park Meadows is one of Lone Tree’s best-known destinations and is described by its official site as Colorado’s biggest shopping mall. If you are near Park Meadows, Alli Christie Counseling’s Lone Tree office is a useful local reference point for planning therapy visits. Lone Tree Arts Center — The Lone Tree Arts Center is a major local arts and culture venue and a recognizable anchor in the city. If you spend time near the arts center, the Lone Tree office gives you a simple nearby point of reference for counseling and intensive therapy services. I-25 and Lincoln Avenue — The Sky Ridge at Lone Tree Station mobility hub project identifies the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange as a major transit and access point in Lone Tree. If that corridor is part of your regular route, the office location is easy to place within the same local area. Lone Tree City Center — The city describes Lone Tree City Center as east of I-25 between Lincoln Avenue and RidgeGate Parkway, with a walkable mixed-use focus and light rail access. If you are near City Center or RidgeGate, the office is part of the same broader Lone Tree service geography. High Note Park and Happy Canyon Trail — The city’s High Note Park page highlights the Happy Canyon Trail connection running under RidgeGate Parkway and linking toward Lincoln Avenue. If you live or work near the RidgeGate trail network, the Lone Tree office is a practical local counseling reference. Bluffs Regional Park and Trail — Lone Tree’s resident guide identifies Bluffs Regional Park and Trail as a major local trail area with a loop trail and trail connectors. If you use the bluffs or nearby trailheads as your local frame of reference, Alli Christie Counseling remains a clear Lone Tree destination to work from.

Remote work promised freedom. For many people it delivered flexibility, saved commutes, and a chance to live closer to nature or family. It also produced a quieter kind of strain that creeps in without the cues of office life. The day stretches without a commute to bookend it. Feedback funnels through screens. Boundaries take on the shape of apps and calendars. Over months, the body starts to protest with subtle signals that are easy to ignore until they are not: jaw tension, shallow breath, irritability that lingers, a sense that your edges have blurred. I have sat with engineers, product leads, founders, and clinicians who were fluent in productivity systems but could not feel their own limits until their body ground to a stop. The pattern repeats. A quarter begins, the calendar fills, the home office pulls them into a tunnel, and by week seven there is a jittery fatigue paired with a surprising drop in motivation. They tell me they are fine, just stressed. Then they describe waking at 3 a.m. With a racing heart and scrolling through emails to calm down. That is not fine. That is the nervous system pulling the emergency brake while still flooring the gas. This piece brings two frames together, both grounded and practical: somatic experiencing and Internal Family Systems. Somatic work leverages physiology to release stuck activation rather than arguing with it. IFS therapy gives language and process to the warring inner strategies that drive overwork, avoidance, and the perfectionism that remote work can mask as discipline. You do not need a full retreat to use them, though intensives and even EMDR intensives can help when weekly therapy is not moving the needle. The concepts and practices here are built for real schedules and laptop lives. What remote burnout looks like in the body Burnout is not just moral injury or workload. It is also what months of micro-stressors do to a human nervous system with limited opportunities to discharge. Every Slack ping, calendar shuffle, and unfinished task keeps a little charge in the system. In an office you walk between rooms, chat briefly, and reset without noticing. At home, the reset points vanish unless you intentionally create them. The body reports this backlog long before the mind admits there is a problem. During the first five minutes of a session, I watch for how someone breathes, where they fix their gaze, and how quickly their answers come. A fast, shallow inhale, a fixed stare, and rapid speech tell me they are mobilized inside. If they sigh heavily, look down often, and move slowly, they may be heading toward collapse. When clients learn to track themselves this way, they intervene weeks earlier. A short checklist you can run midweek helps you find the edge before you tip over. Breath sits high in the chest, and yawns feel stuck or incomplete. Shoulders, jaw, or pelvic floor feel braced even during rest. Sleep is either thin and restless or heavy but unrefreshing. You avoid simple tasks that carry interpersonal risk, like sending a draft or asking a question. Pleasure activities feel flat, and your brain searches for screens or sugar. If you recognize two or more of these most days, your system is likely in a loop of activation without full resolution. The work is not to power through. The work is to help your body complete cycles and reintroduce rhythm. Somatic experiencing, adapted for a home office Somatic experiencing begins with a simple proposition: your body knows how to return to baseline if you give it time, signals, and exits for trapped energy. You do not need to relive every stressful moment. You need to titrate, pendulate, and orient. These techniques fit inside a normal workday if you remove the mystique and build them into existing transitions. Consider a real example. A design director in Boston told me she felt waves of anxiety before every design review, despite strong feedback. We mapped her bodily sequence: an email reminder would land, her vision would narrow, and her forearms would buzz. She would then rehearse every slide while holding her breath. Our first task was not to relax. It was to let her nervous system move from sympathetic spike back toward neutral without getting stuck. We built a 90-second pre-meeting practice. Step one, orient: turn the head and eyes to look at three stable objects in the room, then out a window, letting the gaze settle on the farthest shape. Step two, deliberate breath: an exhale slightly longer than the inhale, about 4 seconds in, 6 seconds out, for five cycles. Step three, resource: place one hand on the back of the neck, one on the sternum, and wait for a swallow or a deeper breath. She reported a small wave of warmth followed by a distinct drop in heart rate. After two weeks of this micro-practice, her self-rated anxiety before reviews dropped from 7 or 8 out of 10 to 3 or 4. The slides did not change. Her physiology did. Somatic tools work best in tiny, frequent doses. The nervous system maps safety to repetition, not heroics. A few principles help: Titrate. Do less than you think. Two or three breaths at a safe edge often outperform a ten-minute drill you will skip by Friday. Pendulate. Alternate attention between a small area of tension and a place of ease. For example, notice your tight jaw for three seconds, then the softness of your palms for five, moving back and forth a few times. This oscillation trains flexibility rather than collapse. Orient visually. Remote work reduces peripheral scanning. A fixed gaze tells the body a threat is near. Reintroducing slow head turns and looking to the horizon, even through a window, reopens the map of safety. Ground through joints. Press your feet into the floor for a count of three, release for three, and repeat. Or gently push your palms together for a short isometric contraction. Muscles complete actions, and completions discharge. Pause after relief. When a sigh comes, or you sense heat, tingling, or a drop in arousal, wait a few extra seconds. The pause lets your nervous system encode the change. I also ask clients to make their work settings friendlier to physiology. Laptop cameras pull us forward. A tall chair and high desk keep hip flexors gripped. If someone sits for hours like that, no amount of breath work will offset it. A cheap footrest, a lower keyboard, and the permission to stand during calls change the input at the source. For fiddly hands, a soft therapy putty on the desk quietly bleeds off activation during long meetings. If a pet calms you, schedule the dog’s walk at 2 p.m. And keep that promise as if it were a meeting with your VP. Your nervous system does not care that the calendar block says “personal.” It only knows whether you cycle activation into rest consistently. IFS therapy for the politics inside your head Internal Family Systems is a clear map when remote work stirs parts of you that fight for control. You have likely already met them, even if you do not call them parts. The Achiever says yes to a sixth project because it fears your value is conditional. The Critic rewrites emails 12 times. The Avoider scrolls to get you away from dread. The Rescuer spends Saturday fixing a teammate’s deck to avoid their discomfort. These are not enemies. They are protectors with strategies that once worked. In IFS therapy, protectors tend to fall into two camps. Managers prevent pain through control, perfectionism, and people-pleasing. Firefighters try to stop pain fast when it breaks through, often with numbing or distraction. Both protect exile parts that carry the raw burdens, like shame after a harsh review at age 12, or fear from a chaotic home. Remote work can amplify managers because there is less external feedback. Slack becomes a truth oracle, and you collect green dots like oxygen. The move is not to bully the protectors into quitting. It is to get curious about what they are trying to prevent, then give them other options. This is practical, not abstract. I once worked with a senior PM who dreaded one-on-ones with a new VP, then over-prepared so much that he arrived brittle and defensive. His inner Critic said, “If you do not know every answer, you are replaceable.” We found an exile holding a memory of being humiliated in middle school for not having homework. Once that part felt seen and less alone, the Critic loosened its grip. The PM tested a new plan: bring one strong question and one request for guidance. Two months later, the relationship had normalized. He did not become lazy. He became braver and less compulsive. A simple IFS micro-practice for workdays fits into three to five minutes and does not require a therapist. Name the part that is loud, using its language: “A Doubter is here,” or “My Pusher is back.” Ask where you feel it in your body, and notice sensations without fixing them. Get curious: what is this part trying to protect me from right now? Ask the part what it needs for the next two hours, not forever. Negotiate something concrete. After trying the plan, check back and thank the part for its effort, even if it went poorly. Two things make this work better. First, keep the time horizon short. Parts trust you faster when you do not promise a life makeover. Second, separate contact from compliance. You can listen to a Pusher for one minute without agreeing to add four hours to your day. Over time, these micro-negotiations reduce the background civil war that feeds burnout. Anxiety, remote rhythms, and how they feed each other Anxiety in remote work often shifts from spikes before big events to a more continuous hum. You might find yourself bracing during an ordinary standup or feeling dread on Sunday night without any specific reason. When the nervous system is already elevated, ambiguity becomes threat. A short status request reads like criticism. Delayed feedback feels like impending failure. In that state, work quality usually dips, which then reinforces fear. The loop tightens. Somatic experiencing interrupts the loop at the physiological level. IFS therapy loosens it at the narrative and relational level. Rather than choosing one, treat them as a braid. If you only track sensations, the same anxious stories will rebuild the state by afternoon. If you only talk to parts, your body will drag you back to high alert. A practical blend might look like this: orient for 30 seconds, name the part that is activated, ask what it fears in the next meeting, and agree on a small boundary. Then collect a somatic marker that the system shifted, like a deeper breath, and proceed. Anxiety also hides in the calendar. Remote workers often stack tasks that require different states without transitions. You write specs from 9 to 11, dive into a conflict at 11:05, then sprint into a sales call at noon. The body needs gears. Small interstitial rituals can do more than an extra hour of rest at day’s end. Three cycles of 4-6 breathing between meetings is fast enough to be realistic. A 60-second orient-and-stretch on the balcony catches more charge than a 20-minute meditation you will skip once the quarter heats up. When intensives and EMDR intensives make sense Weekly therapy has limits when your system sits at a high baseline most days. You build insight on Wednesday, then get swept back into the river by Friday. In those cases, structured intensives offer a jump start. An intensive is a focused block of therapy, typically from half a day to several days, devoted to a theme or a set of target memories and patterns. Done well, intensives create momentum, reduce avoidance, and allow enough time for your nervous system to downshift, process, and stabilize before returning to work. IFS-based intensives might focus on mapping your protector system around work and building trust with two or three key parts, then doing deeper healing with a couple of exiles that keep driving the panic at review time or the overwork after dark. Somatic experiencing during an intensive often includes longer titration and pendulation cycles, guided orienting outdoors, and co-regulation with the therapist to help your body learn a new baseline, not just a coping trick. EMDR intensives have a different flavor. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to process memories and beliefs that keep your system stuck. If your burnout is entangled with specific incidents, such as a humiliating layoff, a public mistake, or years with a hypercritical manager, EMDR intensives can neutralize the charge much faster than weekly sessions. Clients often report a quiet shift from “I am not safe unless I overperform” to “I can do good work without bracing,” and the body follows. Somatic tracking during EMDR helps ensure the work stays in your window of tolerance. Not everyone needs an intensive, and they are not a badge of honor. Good candidates tend to show a few markers: persistent anxiety or burnout symptoms despite several months of quality weekly therapy, a cluster of clear target memories or patterns, and sufficient life support to rest afterward. Contraindications include recent major destabilization, active substance dependence not in treatment, and an environment that will not respect recovery time. The best intensives include a clear intake, pre-work to build regulation skills, and aftercare plans that include brief follow-ups. A well-run three-day intensive can equal months of weekly therapy in depth. A poorly timed one can flood you and delay healing. Choose with care, and vet the provider’s experience with remote work stressors, not just trauma in general. The role of leaders and teams Burnout is not just a personal problem solved by better breathwork. Structures matter. Leaders shape the nervous systems of their teams more than they realize. I have coached managers who understood product trade-offs down to the decimal but had never considered how a 7 a.m. Status ping lands in a junior engineer’s body when their Slack lights up in bed. Remote teams need explicit agreements about pace, responsiveness, and deep work. They also need modeled boundaries, not just verbal permission. One VP of engineering I worked with changed one habit. He stopped sending weekend messages, even scheduled ones, and started a Monday morning note that held low-stakes wins from the week before. He also named when he was taking a midday walk. Within two months, weekly survey responses showed a 20 to 30 percent drop in reported anxiety across the team, especially among newer hires. Nothing exotic. The nervous system reads consistency. Team rituals can blend somatic and IFS sensibilities without getting too clinical. A 90-second silent arrival breath at the start of standup will feel odd the first week and normal by the third. A rotating “I appreciate a part of me that…” closer on Fridays teaches people to name inner experience without judgment. If you call it optional and keep it tight, cynics usually relax. Measurement without obsession Track what matters for a month, then adjust. You are not a lab rat, but you are also not a mystery. Choose three signals: sleep efficiency or hours, self-rated anxiety twice a day on a 0 to 10 scale, and a simple work engagement rating like “How much did I want to start my first deep work block today?” Mark your somatic practices in the same place. After four weeks, look at patterns rather than single days. Do you see lower morning anxiety on days after evening screens end by 9 p.m.? Does a 60-second orient between meetings predict better engagement in the afternoon? If you change nothing else, keep what moves the needle 20 percent of the time or more. That is a healthy ratio in living systems. I also ask clients to score burnout drivers each Friday across five dimensions: workload realism, perceived control, fairness, community, and values alignment. A 0 to 5 check-in per category takes two minutes. Over two or three cycles you will see where the chronic rub is. Somatic and IFS tools help you regulate and choose, but if your values alignment sits at a 1 for three months, the solution may be a role change or a new boundary, not a better breath. A short case vignette “Sam,” a pseudonym for a 39-year-old staff engineer, came in after two months of waking at 3:30 a.m. And a growing sense of dread before code reviews. He worked fully remote, had two kids, and loved the technical puzzles but had started to hate his days. He tried meditation apps, coffee reduction, and a strict calendar. Nothing stuck. In session, his breath lived high, and his throat tightened when he mentioned a new director with a blunt style. We mapped parts: a Pusher that insisted he was only safe if he fixed others’ bugs, a Pleaser that said yes to late requests, and an exile that carried a memory of public embarrassment in a high school math class. We did short somatic sets at first: orienting, then a few cycles of gentle push and release through his feet, waiting for the swallow. His body learned that he could move from activation to a softer state. We then used IFS to ask the Pusher what it feared if Sam slowed down for 30 minutes in the morning. The answer: “He will be seen as average. Average is dangerous.” We met the exile behind that and did brief EMDR during an intensive day to process the classroom memory. Post-intensive, Sam kept two daily rituals: a five-minute orient-and-breathe block before Slack, and a two-minute IFS check before code reviews. He also made one structural change: he reserved 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. For unit tests and stopped taking ad hoc requests then. After six weeks, Sam’s morning wake-ups dropped to once a week, then once every two weeks. His pre-review anxiety fell from an 8 to a 3 or 4. His output did not decrease, but he stopped firefighting on weekends. The key was not heroism. It was a blend of physiological pacing, parts negotiation, and one calendar guardrail. Pitfalls and edge cases Two common mistakes undermine good intentions. The first is using somatic tools as suppression. If you treat every anxious surge as a bug to fix fast, you teach your system that anxiety itself is dangerous. Your window of tolerance shrinks. Allow small waves to pass without action at least once each day. The second is using IFS https://raymonduhxs249.huicopper.com/somatic-experiencing-for-boundaries-and-safety as self-critique. Parts work gets harsh when the Critic masquerades as curiosity. If your inner dialogue sounds like “Why are you still like this?”, you have a protector running the show. Ask that part to step back for 60 seconds, then try again. Another edge case involves neurodivergence. Some autistic and ADHD clients report that orienting and slow breath feel irritating or even dysregulating at first. That is not failure. Adjust the dials. Try shorter sets, eyes open, or movement-based grounding like rocking or a slow walk. Use weights or compression clothing if that helps. For IFS, replace extended inner dialogue with one-sentence check-ins and quick agreements. The principles hold. The packaging changes. Trauma history adds complexity, too. If your system carries significant unresolved trauma, certain somatic sensations or parts explorations can open more than you can close solo. That is where guided work or intensives make sense. Do not push through red flags like sudden numbness, dissociation, or panic spikes that do not resolve with simple grounding. Safety first, speed second. Bringing this into a real week Burnout resolves through rhythm, not a single breakthrough. Pick a small set of anchors that can survive a bad day. Morning: avoid Slack and email for the first 10 minutes. Orient to three objects, step onto the balcony or porch if possible, and breathe with a longer exhale for a minute. Name which part is most likely to run your morning and ask what boundary it can accept for two hours. Midday: take a real break after your highest-stakes meeting. Stand, look far, and do one isometric press with hands or feet for a few slow counts. Let the breath come back on its own. If a difficult exchange happened, jot which protector stepped in and what it was trying to do for you. Afternoon: block one hour for focus. Put your phone in another room. If a part screams that this is irresponsible, negotiate a 45-minute promise with a five-minute check-in after. Evening: choose a technology off time that is honest for your role. For many, 9 p.m. Is achievable. After that time, do not open apps that wake your nervous system. The cost to sleep is too high. If you must check later, time box and end with a body cue you use every night, like a hand-to-chest hold and a few slow exhales. Once a week: review your simple metrics, look for one pattern, and adjust one thing. Complexity kills adherence. Wins accrue. Final thoughts from the field Burnout in remote work is solvable, not by willpower alone but by listening more closely to the body you carry to your desk and by making peace with the inner team that keeps you safe. Somatic experiencing gives you levers at the level of breath, muscle, and gaze. IFS therapy teaches you to negotiate rather than bulldoze. Intensives, including EMDR intensives, can compress months of work when you are stuck, provided the timing and containment are right. Leaders shape the waters their teams swim in, and small, consistent changes shift anxiety more than grand speeches. If you try just one thing this week, make it brief and daily. Thirty seconds to look up and out before the call. A quiet acknowledgement to the part of you that wants to say yes to everything, paired with a small, specific no. The nervous system learns through repetition. Burnout unwinds the same way. Name: Alli Christie Counseling Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Open-location code (plus code): H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Map/listing URL: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "areaServed": "Colorado", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health services centered on therapy intensives for high-achieving women in Colorado, with an office in Lone Tree. The site highlights EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and focused support for concerns such as anxiety, burnout, panic, trauma, and self-doubt. The practice is led by Alli Christie Disney, LPC, and the Colorado location page says the office works with women from across the state, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. For local visitors in Lone Tree, the office is listed at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. The practice appears best suited for women ages 16 and up who want a structured, longer-format therapy option rather than standard weekly sessions alone. The official Colorado page also says online sessions may be available for people who prefer virtual work or want follow-up support after an in-person intensive. To ask about fit or scheduling, call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/. For map directions and public listing context, see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What services does Alli Christie Counseling offer? The official site lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety support, and burnout-focused therapy content. Who is the practice designed to serve? The Colorado location page says the practice specializes in working with high-achieving women ages 16 and up, including entrepreneurs, executives, and women in demanding fields. Where is the Lone Tree office located? The contact page lists the office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Does Alli Christie Counseling only offer intensives? The homepage says the practice primarily offers intensive healing experiences, while also keeping limited availability for some ongoing sessions in a more traditional format. Does the practice offer online sessions? Yes. The Colorado location page says online sessions are available for people who prefer virtual work or want remote follow-up support after an in-person intensive. What issues are mentioned on the Colorado page? The site names trauma, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, burnout, self-doubt, and phobias among the concerns addressed through intensives. What therapy approaches are mentioned on the site? The practice highlights EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) as the main modalities used in its intensive work. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call tel:+14027658761, visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, and follow https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ and https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Park Meadows — Park Meadows is one of Lone Tree’s best-known destinations and is described by its official site as Colorado’s biggest shopping mall. If you are near Park Meadows, Alli Christie Counseling’s Lone Tree office is a useful local reference point for planning therapy visits. Lone Tree Arts Center — The Lone Tree Arts Center is a major local arts and culture venue and a recognizable anchor in the city. If you spend time near the arts center, the Lone Tree office gives you a simple nearby point of reference for counseling and intensive therapy services. I-25 and Lincoln Avenue — The Sky Ridge at Lone Tree Station mobility hub project identifies the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange as a major transit and access point in Lone Tree. If that corridor is part of your regular route, the office location is easy to place within the same local area. Lone Tree City Center — The city describes Lone Tree City Center as east of I-25 between Lincoln Avenue and RidgeGate Parkway, with a walkable mixed-use focus and light rail access. If you are near City Center or RidgeGate, the office is part of the same broader Lone Tree service geography. High Note Park and Happy Canyon Trail — The city’s High Note Park page highlights the Happy Canyon Trail connection running under RidgeGate Parkway and linking toward Lincoln Avenue. If you live or work near the RidgeGate trail network, the Lone Tree office is a practical local counseling reference. Bluffs Regional Park and Trail — Lone Tree’s resident guide identifies Bluffs Regional Park and Trail as a major local trail area with a loop trail and trail connectors. If you use the bluffs or nearby trailheads as your local frame of reference, Alli Christie Counseling remains a clear Lone Tree destination to work from.

Chronic tension has a way of becoming invisible. Neck tightness that seemed odd the first week becomes normal by month three. Jaw clenching that only showed up on bad days settles in as a nightly ritual. https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/contact People arrive in my office with descriptions like wired and tired, or constantly braced. They have tried stretching, magnesium, even a new pillow. What they have not been taught is how the nervous system learns to hold tension after prolonged stress or shock, and how it can learn to release. Somatic experiencing is a body based approach developed by Peter Levine that helps the nervous system complete interrupted survival responses. It sits in the lineage of trauma therapies that respect physiology at least as much as psychology. Rather than focusing on telling the story of what happened, somatic experiencing helps you notice how your body organizes around perceived threat, then guides it toward settling. I have used it with clients facing high pressure careers, long recoveries after accidents, panic that came out of nowhere, and the grinding fatigue of burnout. The results are rarely overnight, but they are often durable: softer muscles, steadier breath, fewer spikes of anxiety, more access to rest. Why muscles stay tight when life has moved on If you jump out of the way of a cyclist, your body races through a well rehearsed sequence. Eyes widen, pupils adjust, breath shortens, shoulders lift, weight shifts. This happens in fractions of a second, and if you make it to the curb safely, the pattern usually unwinds on its own. You might smile nervously, take a fuller breath, and feel your shoulders drop. Under prolonged or overwhelming stress, that reset does not complete. Imagine a two year project with shifting deadlines and layoffs in the background. Imagine a childbirth with complications, or a collision at an intersection you still drive through every day. The body keeps looking for the danger, sometimes long after the danger has passed. It tightens, not to hurt you, but to keep you ready. Over time, the readiness becomes your baseline. Physiologically, this looks like higher muscle tone in the neck, shoulders, pelvic floor, and jaw, a bias toward shallow breathing, and a nervous system that climbs the arousal ladder quickly. You can see it in numbers. Heart rate variability, a measure of flexibility in the autonomic nervous system, often trends low in people with chronic tension. Pain thresholds shift. Startle responses are strong. None of this means anything is broken. It means the body learned a strategy that worked once and has not been shown a safe way to stand down. What somatic experiencing changes Somatic experiencing, or SE, uses several core processes. Titration means working with small amounts of sensation or emotion at a time, rather than diving into the deepest part of the pool. Pendulation means moving attention back and forth between activation and settling, like rocking gently between two shores. Orientation means letting the eyes and neck explore the space, which begins to tell the deeper parts of the brain that you are not trapped. Completion means allowing impulses that were paused in the moment of stress to move again, sometimes as micro movements of the hands or chest, sometimes as a bigger breath or a trembling release. One client, a 38 year old software lead, sat with his shoulders slightly lifted and his ribs hardly moving. He had been living with near constant anxiety since his team’s merger. We spent the first fifteen minutes orienting together, simply letting his gaze follow curiosity around the room, then out the window to a cedar tree. His breath dropped on its own by the end of that practice. Later, as he tracked the difference between a cool sensation in his forearms and a hot pressure in his upper chest, a small ripple of shaking moved down his arms. He looked startled, then relieved. He reported sleeping through his alarm twice that week, the first time in years. The change does not come from force. It comes from precision and respect. We are not stretching a tight muscle, we are negotiating with a survival reflex that believes it is still needed. How a session actually feels Clients often expect a deep dive into history. We do talk about what brought you in, but the bulk of the time is spent tracking present moment experience. Here is a typical arc for a 60 to 75 minute session, especially early in the work: Establish safety, including agreements about pace and consent, then orient using eyes, ears, and skin contact with the chair to find a sense of here and now. Choose a small, workable target such as jaw clenching, a knot under the shoulder blade, or the moment before a panic spike, and spend time describing it in sensory terms, not analysis. Titrate attention on the target for a few seconds, then pendulate to a neutral or pleasant resource like the feeling of the feet on the floor or a spot in the room that feels easy to look at. Track natural impulses to move, breathe, or adjust, and allow completion of micro movements like a longer exhale, a shrug, or pressing the palms slightly into the thighs. Integrate, which means noticing the whole body again, what is the same, what is different, and deciding together whether to continue, pause, or close. Most people feel more settled and clear by the end of the first appointment. The changes are often subtle at first, then more obvious in daily life. Headaches arrive later and leave earlier. The Sunday dread softens. That one meeting that always spiked your heart rate becomes manageable. Measurable shifts, like improved sleep onset time or fewer stress related stomach issues, tend to show up over six to ten sessions, though I have seen meaningful improvement sooner. Anxiety, burnout, and the cost of staying braced Anxiety is not only a thinking problem. You can challenge catastrophic thoughts all day and still feel keyed up if your interoceptive system, the sense that reads your internal signals, is convinced there is a threat. SE gives anxious bodies something to do other than spiral. It offers a way to work with the hands-on reality of a tight diaphragm and a hyperalert neck. Burnout complicates this. By the time someone says the word out loud, their system is often swinging between agitation and numbness. Cortisol rhythms are out of sync, which shows up as second wind at 10 p.m. And grogginess at 8 a.m. Many clients fear that if they let go of the tension, they will lose their edge. In practice, the opposite happens. Once their body stops spending 30 to 40 percent of its energy on guarding, they get more selective about what deserves effort. One director tracked her hours and saw a 15 percent drop in time spent on rework and late night fixes over eight weeks, right after adding biweekly SE to her routine. None of this means that somatic experiencing is a cure-all. If you are sleeping four hours a night, drinking five coffees a day, and working weekends, your body will keep telling the truth. SE helps you hear the truth earlier, and then supports you as you change the conditions. Where SE fits among other therapies Therapists blend approaches in practice, not in theory. Still, it helps to know how SE compares to other evidence informed modalities. EMDR is well known for its structured sets of bilateral stimulation paired with memory targets. It can be very effective for single incident trauma. I often use EMDR intensives when someone has a discrete event that keeps flashing back, like a crash or a frightening medical procedure. Intensives compress the work into one to three days, often with sessions of 90 to 120 minutes, which allows the nervous system to complete larger arcs of processing without losing momentum. For those whose symptoms are primarily physiological, EMDR often moves faster if we add somatic experiencing principles first, so the body can tolerate the surges that come with reprocessing. IFS therapy focuses on inner parts, such as the manager that keeps lists, the firefighter that reaches for wine, or the exile that carries shame. Many people with chronic tension have parts that carry vigilance and parts that fear collapse. SE and IFS pair well. When a client says a part of them wants to sit up straight and another part wants to curl up, we can explore both while tracking the body, letting tiny impulses show themselves without judgment. That combination lowers conflict inside and reduces the muscular choreography that keeps the conflict alive. Somatic experiencing is not a substitute for medical care, physical therapy, or psychiatric medication when those are indicated. It is a complement. For example, someone with pelvic floor overactivity may need a coordinated plan with a pelvic health PT. The PT helps change the tissue level patterns and motor habits. SE helps the autonomic system stop sending an unending tighten signal. Together they cover more ground than either alone. What an SE intensive looks like People ask whether they can make progress faster. The answer is yes, with care. SE intensives are built around longer sessions across one to three consecutive days. A typical structure might be two sessions per day, each 75 to 90 minutes, with a 90 minute break between. The focus stays on nervous system capacity, not content. We work in short arcs, then rest, often adding gentle movement, a walk outside, or nourishment between sessions. I ask clients to keep other demands light for 24 hours after the final meeting. Intensives help when regular weekly appointments are not feasible, or when your system needs the continuity. They are not right when someone is in active crisis, in withdrawal, or without a stable place to land after the work. Screening matters. I have turned down more than one intensive because the person needed steadier, ongoing support first. EMDR intensives follow the same logic, though they tend to involve more structured preparation and more specific targets. SE intensives spend more time attending to the rhythms of activation and rest. Working safely with strong reactions People worry about getting overwhelmed. That fear is wise. Flooding the system rarely helps. In SE, we watch for the early signs of too much. Attention narrows, the breath holds, color drains, the temperature in the hands changes. We slow down at the first hints, not the last. If someone arrives dissociated, we build orientation and grounding skills for as long as it takes. If panic has been frequent, we practice mapping the first two minutes of a panic wave, such as the throat tightening, the ribs lifting, the impulse to pace, then we interrupt the automatic sequence with a small exhale and a change in posture before the wave crests. I also ask clients to check medical conditions that could be contributing. Thyroid issues, iron deficiency, sleep apnea, and perimenopause can all magnify tension and anxiety. Medication side effects matter too. This is not to medicalize stress, but to respect that the body is a system. You get better outcomes when you look at the full picture. At home practices that actually help Most clients want something to do between sessions. I prefer simple practices that take less than five minutes and have clear, felt effects. The goal is not to force relaxation but to teach your system what settling feels like so it can find the path more easily. Orient with your eyes by turning your head slowly to look for three interesting or pleasant things in the room or outside a window, then rest your gaze on the one that feels easiest for a few breaths. Practice small exhales by breathing in gently through the nose, then letting the exhale be 10 to 20 percent longer than the inhale for five cycles, without strain. Release the jaw by placing the tip of the tongue on the ridge behind the front teeth and letting the molars float apart for 30 seconds, noticing any impulse to swallow or sigh. Do a foot check by sensing the heel, the ball, and the outer edge of each foot on the floor, then shifting your weight so you feel 5 percent more in one foot, 5 percent less in the other, and returning to center. Micro stretch the shoulders by lifting them toward the ears for three seconds, pausing one second, then allowing them to settle down with gravity and noticing any warmth, tingling, or breath change. These practices are not meant to be performed perfectly. Use a light touch. If one makes you feel worse, stop and let your eyes explore the room again. If you notice that you hold your breath during emails or clench your jaw while driving, that awareness is already progress. Many people see more change from doing two minutes twice a day than from doing twenty minutes once a week. Measuring progress without becoming rigid Subjective shifts matter. If your partner says you feel more present at dinner, that counts. So do practical wins like fewer headaches or less ibuprofen. Still, numbers help some clients trust the process. A simple 0 to 10 scale for daily tension gives quick feedback. Track sleep onset time or the number of nighttime awakenings for two weeks before starting, then check again at weeks four and eight. If you want more precision, some people use heart rate variability from a chest strap or a reliable wearable, not as a score to obsess over but as a window into trends. I look for a gentle upward drift in HRV and a lower resting heart rate, along with a steadier energy curve through the day. Do not turn your nervous system into a project. Curiosity works better than control. If a metric dips during a tough week, let it be a data point, not a verdict. Edge cases and judgment calls There are moments when SE requires extra care or is not the right first choice. Complex trauma with active self harm calls for a broader safety plan, often with psychiatric support. Severe dissociation may need a slower, longer preparation phase, sometimes months of building orientation and containment before touching trauma related material. Chronic pain flares, especially with conditions like fibromyalgia or Ehlers Danlos syndrome, can improve with SE, but pacing is critical. The goal is to expand tolerance without triggering a multi day flare. In these cases I coordinate with pain specialists and physical therapists, and we set tight feedback loops so we can adjust quickly. Telehealth works for SE, with adaptation. I have guided many clients over video and seen solid outcomes. The main difference is that I ask for more active participation. We use props like a weighted blanket or a firm pillow. We plan for small breaks. If the internet cuts out mid release, we have a standing plan to reorient and settle. Some people prefer in person work for the felt sense of shared space. Both are valid, and the choice often comes down to logistics and comfort. How SE blends into daily movement and work life Once the system learns to settle, ordinary activities become part of the therapy. Running can be a pendulation practice if you notice the moments when your breath naturally lengthens and your vision softens on the horizon. Strength training becomes an exploration of activation and completion if you feel the impulse to brace and experiment with reducing it by a few percent while maintaining form. At work, you can move a standing check-in to near a window and add an orientation moment at the start. I have teams try three minutes of visual orientation before a tense meeting. The outcomes are subtle but real, often a 10 to 20 percent reduction in interruptions and a bit more space before reactive comments. Leaders wrestling with burnout benefit from renegotiating their relationship with urgency. The body often confuses loud with important. After several weeks of SE work, one VP began asking her team to rank requests by reversibility first, then impact. The result was fewer 9 p.m. Slacks and more deliberate mornings. That is not a breathing trick, it is a nervous system being less hijacked by the felt sense of alarm. When to add or switch modalities If you feel stuck after six to eight SE sessions, it can help to add targeted EMDR, especially for a specific memory that keeps intruding. If inner conflict is loud, adding IFS therapy can unburden parts that maintain vigilance. If hypervigilance drops but depressive symptoms rise, that is a signal to reassess supports, including possible medical evaluation. Therapy is not a contest of brands. It is a collaboration with your body and mind to find what unlocks movement. I also consider EMDR intensives when a client has limited availability or when life events are clustered, like before a medical procedure or a court date. If the main pattern is chronic tension without a single defining event, SE intensives can create momentum, then we taper to weekly or biweekly. The decision always considers stability at home, current workload, and the person’s ability to downshift after sessions. What change looks like over time Progress is rarely linear. The early weeks often bring noticeable relief, then a plateau. A plateau is not failure. It is the system consolidating. This is the moment to refine targets. Instead of the whole neck, we might work with the right sternocleidomastoid, that cord like muscle from ear to collarbone, and the way it changes when the eyes look softly to the left. Instead of general anxiety, we might map the transition from work mode to the first ten minutes at home, when many people brace out of habit. Tiny adjustments here produce outsized results, like fewer evening arguments or less late night scrolling. Vignettes help make this real. A nurse in her 40s with chronic pelvic tension started SE after years of Kegels made things worse. By session five she noticed that her glutes clenched whenever a code blue was called at work, even if she was not on the team. We practiced micro releases at the first sound of the overhead page. Within two months, her pain went from daily to two or three days a week, and her sleep improved by about 45 minutes per night. A contractor in his 50s who had been rear ended twice found that driving past the site of the second crash made his hands sweat and his jaw ache. We mapped the route, rehearsed orientation at safe pull offs, and allowed his hands to press into the steering wheel in a contained way to complete a stopped push he felt in his chest at impact. He now drives that route daily without symptoms, and his jaw clenching decreased enough that his dentist commented at his six month checkup. Finding a practitioner and preparing well Certification matters less than fit, though both count. Look for someone with formal SE training and enough experience to talk comfortably about pacing, dissociation, and medical coordination. Ask how they decide between weekly work and intensives. Ask how they incorporate EMDR or IFS therapy when helpful. You should feel that you can pause anything at any time, and that the practitioner respects your consent with specifics, not platitudes. Before your first session, block time on either side if you can. Eat enough that blood sugar is steady. Wear clothes you can move in. Plan a low demand task for after, like a walk or light admin. If you are tracking symptoms, jot a baseline week with sleep, tension, caffeine, and stressors. We are not trying to engineer perfection. We are trying to notice cause and effect. A practical way forward Chronic tension and stress build slowly, so it is no surprise that unlearning them takes practice. The work is not dramatic. You pay attention to small signals, you let the body complete a bit of what it could not finish before, and you protect the conditions that allow that completion. Over weeks and months, your baseline changes. You still meet deadlines, but without the extra 20 percent of bracing that used to come standard. You still feel strong emotions, but you pass through them instead of getting stuck. If you recognize yourself in these patterns, somatic experiencing offers a humane path out. It honors that stress responses once kept you safe, and it teaches your system how to stand down without losing your competence or your drive. Whether you work weekly, schedule an SE intensive, or blend with EMDR intensives or IFS therapy, what matters is that the approach fits your body’s pace. The nervous system does not negotiate with demands or slogans. It responds to felt safety, clear signals, and time. When you give it those, it tends to return the favor. Name: Alli Christie Counseling Address: 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124 Phone: (402) 765-8761 Website: https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/ Email: [email protected] Hours: Sunday: Closed Monday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Wednesday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Thursday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Open-location code (plus code): H42C+M6 Lone Tree, Colorado, USA Map/listing URL: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx Embed iframe: Socials: https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Alli Christie Counseling", "url": "https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/", "telephone": "+14027658761", "email": "[email protected]", "address": "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202", "addressLocality": "Lone Tree", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80124", "addressCountry": "US" , "openingHoursSpecification": [ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Monday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Tuesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Wednesday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Thursday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" , "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "https://schema.org/Saturday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "18:00" ], "areaServed": "Colorado", "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/", "https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/" ], "geo": "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 39.5516997, "longitude": -104.8794188 , "hasMap": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx" 🤖 Explore this content with AI: 💬 ChatGPT 🔍 Perplexity 🤖 Claude 🔮 Google AI Mode 🐦 Grok Alli Christie Counseling provides mental health services centered on therapy intensives for high-achieving women in Colorado, with an office in Lone Tree. The site highlights EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and focused support for concerns such as anxiety, burnout, panic, trauma, and self-doubt. The practice is led by Alli Christie Disney, LPC, and the Colorado location page says the office works with women from across the state, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. For local visitors in Lone Tree, the office is listed at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. The practice appears best suited for women ages 16 and up who want a structured, longer-format therapy option rather than standard weekly sessions alone. The official Colorado page also says online sessions may be available for people who prefer virtual work or want follow-up support after an in-person intensive. To ask about fit or scheduling, call (402) 765-8761 or visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/. For map directions and public listing context, see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alli+Christie+Counseling/@39.5524957,-104.8803997,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876c859f7a8fa043:0x7712f13d361a1824!8m2!3d39.5516997!4d-104.8794188!16s%2Fg%2F11h2cf2bsx. Popular Questions About Alli Christie Counseling What services does Alli Christie Counseling offer? The official site lists therapy intensives, EMDR intensives, IFS therapy, Somatic Experiencing, anxiety support, and burnout-focused therapy content. Who is the practice designed to serve? The Colorado location page says the practice specializes in working with high-achieving women ages 16 and up, including entrepreneurs, executives, and women in demanding fields. Where is the Lone Tree office located? The contact page lists the office at 9362 Teddy Ln, Suite 202, Lone Tree, CO 80124. Does Alli Christie Counseling only offer intensives? The homepage says the practice primarily offers intensive healing experiences, while also keeping limited availability for some ongoing sessions in a more traditional format. Does the practice offer online sessions? Yes. The Colorado location page says online sessions are available for people who prefer virtual work or want remote follow-up support after an in-person intensive. What issues are mentioned on the Colorado page? The site names trauma, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, burnout, self-doubt, and phobias among the concerns addressed through intensives. What therapy approaches are mentioned on the site? The practice highlights EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) as the main modalities used in its intensive work. How can I contact Alli Christie Counseling? Call tel:+14027658761, visit https://www.allichristiecounseling.com/, and follow https://www.facebook.com/allichristiecounseling/ and https://www.instagram.com/allichristiecounseling/. Landmarks Near Lone Tree, CO Park Meadows — Park Meadows is one of Lone Tree’s best-known destinations and is described by its official site as Colorado’s biggest shopping mall. If you are near Park Meadows, Alli Christie Counseling’s Lone Tree office is a useful local reference point for planning therapy visits. Lone Tree Arts Center — The Lone Tree Arts Center is a major local arts and culture venue and a recognizable anchor in the city. If you spend time near the arts center, the Lone Tree office gives you a simple nearby point of reference for counseling and intensive therapy services. I-25 and Lincoln Avenue — The Sky Ridge at Lone Tree Station mobility hub project identifies the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange as a major transit and access point in Lone Tree. If that corridor is part of your regular route, the office location is easy to place within the same local area. Lone Tree City Center — The city describes Lone Tree City Center as east of I-25 between Lincoln Avenue and RidgeGate Parkway, with a walkable mixed-use focus and light rail access. If you are near City Center or RidgeGate, the office is part of the same broader Lone Tree service geography. High Note Park and Happy Canyon Trail — The city’s High Note Park page highlights the Happy Canyon Trail connection running under RidgeGate Parkway and linking toward Lincoln Avenue. If you live or work near the RidgeGate trail network, the Lone Tree office is a practical local counseling reference. Bluffs Regional Park and Trail — Lone Tree’s resident guide identifies Bluffs Regional Park and Trail as a major local trail area with a loop trail and trail connectors. If you use the bluffs or nearby trailheads as your local frame of reference, Alli Christie Counseling remains a clear Lone Tree destination to work from.