ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS
Rate: $95/ (53 min session). Abby is able to work on a flexible sliding scale if needed. Please contact us to learn more about working with one of our interns. At times, our intern program may have a waiting list.
Graduate Program: Messiah University Department of Counseling
Areas of Interest: Narrative Therapy, Attachment Theory, EFT, EMDR, IFS, Somatics, Expressive Arts
Abby Williamson (She/Her/Hers) is a clinical intern at Phoenix Center for Experiential Trauma Therapy, and a third-year Clinical Mental Health Counseling student at Messiah University. After working for 15 years in the arts, arts education, and international development, she decided to go back to school to become a clinical therapist. Part of her international work experience has included working with individuals with backgrounds of abuse and trafficking, life transitions, and working in integrative ways to provide wrap-around support for people on their reintegration and healing journey from trauma. Abby’s understanding of these experiences, has led her to integrate movement and creative arts to work on somatic aspects of healing, recognizing that trauma is often stored within the nervous system.
Therapeutic Approach & Clinical Style
She has enjoyed working with youth/young adults as they go through life transitions. She also enjoys working with clients on issues of shame, anxiety, and grief, using holistic, narrative, and evidence-based approaches to address the whole self. Abby has completed advanced trauma in EMDR and look forward to integrating this modality with clients.
“Ultimately, my goal is to provide a flexible, responsive approach that honors each client’s unique needs and strengths. I aim to support clients in developing insight, resilience, and a stronger sense of self, while fostering meaningful change in their internal experiences and external relationships.”
She is here to walk with you as you reframe, rebuild, and step forward from wherever you find yourself. Abby wants to work creatively alongside you in meaning-making by exploring the narratives and systems that have shaped you, while holding compassion for yourself and others. She works from a person-centered, trauma-informed approach, drawing from attachment theory, narrative therapy, gestalt techniques, somatic practices, and EMDR. As a developing clinician, I value collaboration, cultural humility, and ongoing learning in her clinical work.
Abby holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography, as well as a certification in Montessori education and in Critical Thinking Through the Arts. Through a wide range of work and life experiences in the arts, education, and cross-cultural work in Afghanistan, South Korea, and Nepal, she brings a value of curiosity and compassion to her clinical work. Her early career in the arts and performance developed an appreciation for collaboration and witnessing someone’s unique voice develop in the world.
