Kari Fager, LCSW

Kari is an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) trained therapist and utilizes a client-centered, strengths-based approach to therapy. She seeks to serve as a guide for individuals who feel lost and burnt out in life. Creating a safe environment for clients to begin peeling back layers of pain and uncover healthier and more life-giving ways of being in the world.

She received her Masters of Social Work degree from Dominican University in River Forest, just outside of Chicago, and her Bachelors of Social Work from George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. Much of her clinical experience was gained working with women who had survived complex trauma and were living with issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and adjustment issues. Kari had the great honor of bearing witness as these women transformed from survivors to thrivers, proving how gritty and resilient the human spirit can be.

In her free time, Kari enjoys reading children’s books to her kids and helping them construct wooden train tracks and lego structures. She also enjoys exploring the outdoors with her husband. Outside of her relationships, she finds grounding and rejuvenation through running and contemplative faith practices.

Key Concepts: EMDR, collaboration, safe non-judgemental space, uncovering strengths, shame resiliency, connection, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, adjustment issues, trauma across the life span, human trafficking

o EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing): a highly structured form of therapy that is considered a “best-practice” for healing trauma. However, it can also be utilized with depression and anxiety. EMDR uses eye movements to help clients remain mindfully, safe in the present as he/she revisits unresolved traumatic memories. Through this process, the clients’ brain is able to heal itself and ultimately store traumatic memories in the past instead of them remaining a persistent companion in the present.