About Dr. Curtis

The Spark

I discovered Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in graduate school after exploring multiple therapy modalities that didn’t resonate with me. Something about EMDR felt different. It was logical, efficient, and addressed the root of people’s suffering rather than just managing symptoms. I don’t like wasting people’s time, and I saw its value immediately. I created an independent study to be trained during my first master’s program and began using it during my internship.

I also experienced EMDR myself, as graduate school required us to engage in personal therapy to understand the client experience. Choosing EMDR to process my own past trauma, I found lasting relief. Ten years later, those symptoms are gone. Learning that so many people live with untreated trauma, for example, one in four women and one in six men experience sexual abuse in the U.S., I realized that trauma treatment would be my path.

The Evolution

During my internship and early career, I witnessed how traditional talk therapy sometimes fails clients. Progress would be made in weekly sessions, but then clients would stop coming or return months later still struggling. It became clear that the “one step forward, two steps back” cycle happens when trauma is not fully addressed. Symptoms may improve temporarily, but the root memory remains stuck.

That is what drew me to intensive therapy. When trauma is processed in a concentrated week rather than scattered across years, clients actually heal. Momentum is not lost, and the work gets completed.

The Vision

I have always known I wanted my own practice, but for years my heart was with underserved populations at Fairbanks Native Association, supporting people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and other challenges. I brought EMDR to FNA in 2013. Leaving was difficult, but now several providers at the facility offer EMDR and trauma treatment, expanding access beyond substance use support. It was time to bring these skills to a broader population.

I am client-centered and outcome-focused. My measure of success isn’t dollars, it’s seeing clients move past trauma, free from symptoms, and in control of their lives. Clients do not have to spend years reliving trauma. With EMDR, they can put the past in the past and move forward with a new understanding of how their brain works, and much of this can happen in just one week.

Alaska offers something unique for this work. The northern lights, endless summer sunlight, and vast natural spaces create the perfect setting to reset, restore, and engage deeply in healing. I want clients to experience transformation they did not think was possible, share their recovery with others, and create a ripple effect, because too many people are still suffering and are unaware that this level of recovery exists.