Meet Dr. Tina

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Hello! My name is Tina Schiefelbein, and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker–Supervisor. In 2013 I started working at the behavioral hospital where I had previously interned, and I noticed few people improved. I also saw the unintentional harm experienced by staff and students. These experiences led me to a deep dive into trauma work starting with the “gateway” book by Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (2014). Finally, my personal experiences with trauma, as well as those of my clients, made sense. We hold the stories in our bodies.

In my career as a social worker, I have seen the effects of trauma on communities as well as individuals. These experiences hardwire the nervous system towards protection and hypervigilance—sometimes this looks like anger and anxiety, and sometimes like sadness and being “checked out.” I’ve completed a certificate program with The Trauma Center and Trauma Research Foundation, then earned a Doctor of Social Work degree with a clinical research focus on traumatic stress—both direct and indirect—and ways to move through the trauma held in our bodies. I brought this knowledge to the work with veterans, first responders, and healthcare professionals that I saw while working in behavioral health at a VA outpatient clinic, as well as in private practice. 

I am a body-oriented practitioner that utilizes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy from an attachment focus as a base modality. I have been certified since 2020 in both EMDR and HeartMath and have used them daily while working with the Department of Veterans Affairs and in private practice. I have worked with individuals and families through grief and loss related to suicide, childhood experiences, combat, and ongoing stress of helping professions (law enforcement, first responders, and front-line workers). I incorporate knowledge from advanced trainings in using EMDR/ AF-EMDR with: chronic pain, addiction, integrative group treatment, early intervention and ongoing traumatic stress, dissociative spectrum and complex PTSD, among veterans/military populations, mindfulness practices, and memory consolidation/Flash technique. I see people individually for weekly sessions as well as EMDR intensives. When I am invited, I also present workshops on embodiment, self-care, and trauma stewardship.

Dr. Tina is a contractor.