Stacy Sladek
It is my personal belief each person is created to do something in amazing in this life.
I believe our bodies are capable of and strive to heal themselves, but at times things block that ability to self-heal. In those times, we can benefit greatly from someone to walk beside us as we learn how to tap into our strengths. Some of the specialized training I have to assist my clients in healing are EMDR and Lifespan Integration. I am EMDR II trained and have had extensive training and experience in using EMDR with children and teens. I am also trained in Lifespan Integration, which is a gentle way of guiding a client to connect the pieces of their lives into a coherent whole, without re-traumatizing the client in the process.
I have over twenty years of experience working in the counseling field and have been licensed in the state of Colorado since 2001. My experience includes working with adults individually and within group therapy, as well as working with children, teens and their families.
I have specialized training and experience in grief and loss, play therapy, trauma, attachment and working with military families. In addition, I have over a decade of early childhood (birth to age 8) therapy and consultation. I was one of the first 17 Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists in the state of Colorado.
I have extensive personal and professional experience dealing with grief and loss. I often say that I did not go looking to be a helper in this area of life, but grief and loss sought me out. It is a deep honor to me when others allow me to bear witness to their grief story and walk beside them as they find ways to navigate their new normal. One of the most powerful tools I personally have found regarding my own grief is humor.
One of my great passions is working with children birth to 18 and their support systems, whether that be their parents, guardians, siblings or any other place they find support. I absolutely love and feel energized by working with our younger generations. I find it especially rewarding to teach adults how to support and love the children and teens in their lives unconditionally. Play is a universal language and has such healing properties for all people age birth to 99+. One of my favorite moments in the therapeutic relationships is when I witness the magic that happens in play sessions as a client works through a problem. One of the modalities I have found very powerful in helping families to heal is Filial Therapy, in which I am able to help the adults learn to use non-directive play techniques with their children. This goes back to my desire to help adults learn to be non-judgmental and love unconditionally.
Social-emotional skills have to be taught just like every other skill we teach our children. The most powerful tool to teach social-emotional skills is the experience of being on the receiving end of positive social-emotional interaction. We must model these skills for our children. However, just like children aren’t born with these we as adults don’t always know how to effectively teach these skills to our kids. Child need their grown-ups to be emotionally regulated and teach the child how to regulate. I am able to assist parents in their own regulation skills.
Behavior always has something to communicate and most often challenging behaviors are telling us there is big emotions the child may not have the skills to express. I can help parents to view their child’s “behaviors” through a different lens.
I am a Colorado native, Army Brat and spent 8 years while I was a child/teen in Germany. I am the oldest of five children and had 11 school changes between Kindergarten and high school graduation. I have had to learn to tap into my resiliency and find satisfaction in helping others define what resiliency looks like for their life.
Let’s work together to determine which strengths you can utilize to build your resiliency and fulfill your unique purpose in this life.