Gabrielle Azmy, LPCC #11186
she / her / hers
About Me.
I'm Gabrielle, a Certified Brainspotting therapist focused on helping you get unstuck from difficult emotions and past experiences to improve your relationships with yourself and others, and get to the life you want to lead.
Together, we'll create a compassionate space where you can understand how past experiences have created the roots of anxiety, depression, stress, low self-worth, nervous system dysregulation, relationship difficulties, and triggers.
I will help guide and support you in building tolerance to your emotions and pain, gain skills to support your nervous system, rework your relationship with yourself and address self-judgments, and provide mind-body interventions to heal past trauma.
If you're ready to understand yourself, break patterns that you can't seem to shake, and feel more connected in your life, you're in the right place.
Whether you've been in therapy before and are seeking a different approach, or if you're ready to work on healing for the first time, an integrative approach can make a difference.
For in-depth healing, we won't just be sitting around talking about things.
We'll use mind and body focused tools like somatics and brainspotting to help you heal unresolved trauma, release the body-based memories of difficult experiences, and re-connect you with your ability to be present and fully engaged in your life.
When brainspotting, we'll find eye locations or brainspots that correspond with emotional distress, memories, or somatic sensations. The occipital nerve gives us access to lower brain centers (subcortex and brain stem) to help you access emotional and sensory components of distressing memories and traumatic material.
We'll be allowing your mind and body to fully process these experiences, without overwhelming your system, so that the intensity or activation can decrease, your body can release nonverbal memories, and your nervous system can properly regulate around the triggers.
Education.
I graduated with my Bachelors of Science from Ohio State University. I majored in Psychology and minored in Neuroscience. I graduated with my Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of San Diego (CACREP Accredited Program).
Specialized Trainings.
Brainspotting
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Brainspotting Phase 1 led by Lisa Larson
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Brainspotting Phase 2 led by Lisa Larson
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Brainspotting with Emergency Responders and Families led by Jennifer Alexander
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Brainspotting & Parts Work led by Cynthia Schwartzberg & Cherie Lindberg
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Brainspotting Intake & Assessment led by Lisa Larson
Applying Polyvagal Theory to Improve Client Outcomes, taught by Deb Dana, LCSW, PESI
Peter Levine's Trauma Master Class: Somatic Experiencing® in action with deep-rooted trauma, attachment wounds, and chronic pain, PESI
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) Intensive Training
Experience.
I've worked at residential treatment centers for Veterans experiencing difficulties with substance use and homelessness, intensive outpatient treatment centers, residential treatment centers for individuals experiencing homelessness, and a holistic group practice.
I've worked with first responders and veterans, as well as their spouses, and adults dealing with a wide range of symptoms. I'm also a first responder spouse.
The majority of my experience has been working with complex trauma and post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, substance use, life transitions, identity issues, and self-worth.
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What will the first session look like?Before the first session, you'll gain access to your online secure portal and fill out all the necessary paperwork. When we meet, we'll review the information you provided, explore your history, and begin creating a supportive space for you. Together, we'll create initial goals to highlight what is priority to start working with. We may meet for up to 70 minutes, subsequent sessions are typically 50 minutes.
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Do you offer virtual or in-person sessions?Yes! Both options are available. Virtual therapy sessions are an option to adults throughout California. A limited number of in-person therapy sessions are offered on Tuesdays. UPDATE: Tuesday availability is currently full at this time.
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What are your session fees?Individual therapy is $200/50 minute session and $300/75 minute session. I have a limited amount of sliding scale spots in my schedule. If you are not able to afford our full fee, do not hesitate to reach out. I'm also happy to provide referrals to other clinicians and unlicensed therapists who can accommodate a lower rate.
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Do you take insurance?I accept out of network benefits and can assist you by providing a Superbill for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. I also work with Mentaya, a platform that helps clients get money back on out-of-network therapy sessions. If you have out-of-network benefits, Mentaya will file claims and handle the insurance paperwork to make sure you get reimbursed. They charge a 5% fee per claim and have helped people get thousands of dollars back per year.
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How often should I go to therapy?A weekly cadence is recommended at the start of therapy to help establish a positive relationship and trust with a therapist. However, the goal is to not be in therapy forever! As things improve, typically we'll adjust down to bi-weekly, and monthly for maintenance when appropriate. The frequency and duration of treatment varies based on your specific needs and we'll work together to find what is the best fit for you.
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What forms of payment do you accept?You can use any major debit or credit card, as well as HSA cards for payment.