At Modern Alchemy Community & Counseling, I offer compassionate, evidence-based therapy for caregivers and families navigating the emotional, relational, and practical challenges that accompany memory loss and cognitive change. Whether your loved one has recently received a diagnosis or you have been caregiving for many years, therapy provides a space where you can finally exhale and remember yourself.

With more than 20 years of experience supporting individuals and families affected by dementia, I understand that caregiving is about much more than managing appointments or medications. It is a journey filled with love, grief, uncertainty, resilience, and profound transformation.

Caregivers often experience emotions that can feel overwhelming or difficult to express, including:

• Caregiver burnout and chronic stress
• Anxiety about the future
• Anticipatory grief and ongoing loss
• Depression and loneliness
• Guilt for wanting time for yourself
• Anger, resentment, or frustration
• Changes in identity and purpose
• Family conflict around caregiving decisions
• Difficulty balancing work, relationships, and caregiving responsibilities
• Compassion fatigue
• Sleep difficulties and constant worry
• Feeling isolated or misunderstood

These emotions are not signs of failure. They are common human responses to an incredibly demanding role.

Many people associate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with trauma, but it can also be incredibly effective for caregivers who have experienced months or years of chronic stress. Caregiving often involves repeated moments that overwhelm the nervous system: medical emergencies, difficult behaviors, heartbreaking conversations, witnessing cognitive decline, or making impossible decisions. Over time, these experiences can leave the brain feeling "stuck," making it difficult to fully recover between stressful events.

EMDR helps the brain naturally process these experiences so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity. Clients often find that they are able to respond with greater calm, clarity, and confidence instead of feeling trapped in cycles of anxiety, guilt, or emotional exhaustion.

EMDR may help caregivers:

• Reduce anxiety and chronic stress
• Process traumatic caregiving experiences
• Ease feelings of guilt and self-blame
• Navigate grief and ambiguous loss
• Build emotional resilience
• Improve sleep and nervous system regulation
• Feel more present with loved ones while also caring for themselves

One of the most common things I hear from caregivers is:

                                           "I don't even know who I am anymore."

It's easy to lose yourself in a sea of emergencies, requests from medical teams and so much focus on another persons needs. Together, we'll create space to process difficult emotions, strengthen your resilience, set appropriate boundaries, reconnect with your own identity, and develop practical strategies that allow you to care for yourself while caring for someone you love.

Healing doesn't mean loving your person any less. It means remembering that you matter. 

Receiving a diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or early-stage dementia can change life in an instant. Along with questions about the future often come waves of fear, sadness, anger, uncertainty, or grief. 

While there is no cure for Alzheimer's, therapy offers a space to process these experiences, strengthen resilience, and reconnect with what remains meaningful and possible. One of the unique strengths of EMDR is that it does not rely on a person telling their story repeatedly or remembering every detail of an event. Rather than requiring perfect recall, EMDR works with the emotions, physical sensations, images, and beliefs connected to an experience. This can make it an especially valuable option for individuals whose episodic memory may not be as strong as it once was, while other forms of memory and emotional processing remain intact.

For many people with MCI or early dementia, therapy may focus on experiences such as:

• Receiving a life-changing diagnosis
• Fear of losing independence
• Anxiety about the future
• Changes in identity and self-confidence
• Grief over changing abilities
• Medical procedures or hospitalizations
• Embarrassing or frightening moments related to memory loss
• Relationship changes with spouses, children, or friends

EMDR helps the brain naturally process these emotionally charged experiences so they become less overwhelming. While it does not treat the underlying neurological disease or restore lost memory, it can reduce the emotional distress surrounding difficult experiences, allowing individuals to respond with greater calm, flexibility, and self-compassion.

Treatment is always thoughtfully adapted to each person's cognitive abilities, pace, and comfort level. Sessions may be shorter, include additional grounding techniques, involve caregivers when appropriate, and emphasize present-day coping skills alongside EMDR processing. The goal is to create a safe, supportive environment that honors each individual's strengths while respecting the changes they may be experiencing.

While memory may change over time, every person deserves the opportunity to feel seen, supported, and emotionally whole. EMDR and therapy can be one meaningful part of that journey.

Memory loss affects entire families. Adult children, spouses, siblings, and grandchildren often experience different emotions and perspectives, making communication difficult during an already stressful time. Family therapy can help create healthier conversations, set boundaries around care schedules, improve understanding and facilitate navigating difficult decisions.

You deserve support just as much as the person you care for. If you're navigating Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), or caregiver burnout, I would be honored to walk alongside you. Together, I can help you move from surviving to thriving so you can live the life you always dreamed for yourself.