EMDR Therapy in Peoria, AZ
In-Person Sessions | 9139 W Thunderbird Rd #210, Peoria, AZ 85381 | (623) 257-5054
Getting to Inside Out from Glendale
Inside Out Therapy + Consulting has been part of the Peoria community since Christina Behrens, LPC opened the practice with a clear intention: to offer the kind of trauma-informed, EMDR-centered care that the West Valley did not have easy access to.
Peoria is a city that holds a lot of different lives. First responders and their families. Moms navigating the particular weight of caregiving. High-achieving professionals managing anxiety that has been functional for years and is starting not to be. Kids and teens who need a therapist equipped to work with younger nervous systems. Older adults navigating the transitions that come with this chapter of life.
Inside Out serves all of them. From one location in Peoria, with a team of EMDR-trained clinicians, a therapy dog named Liberty, and an office that does not look or feel like a medical waiting room.
Who we work with in Peoria
Our Peoria clients include:
Adults navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, and the patterns that have not shifted despite understanding where they come from
First responders, nurses, and helping professionals carrying the cumulative weight of years in high-exposure work
Moms and parents managing the mental load of caregiving alongside their own unprocessed history
Couples navigating relationship strain, communication breakdown, and the slow erosion that happens when two people stop really connecting
Children as young as five who need a therapist who works in their language through play therapy and sand tray
Teens navigating anxiety, identity, school stress, and the particular difficulty of adolescence in a high-expectation environment
Older adults managing grief, life transitions, and the losses that accumulate with time
How we work
Every clinician at Inside Out is trained in EMDR through the same instructor, grounded in Francine Shapiro's foundational eight-phase protocol. EMDR is not one option on a menu here. It is the clinical standard the entire practice is built on. Learn more about EMDR therapy and what distinguishes a well-trained provider.
Beyond EMDR, we offer sand tray therapy for both children and adults, and animal-assisted therapy through Liberty, our Great Dane service dog in training. These are not add-ons. They are clinically integrated approaches that expand what is available to clients depending on what the work requires.
What we treat
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Trauma + PTSD
Peoria residents navigating trauma that has not shifted through previous approaches, or that has been functioning quietly underneath a life that keeps moving, find EMDR-trained care at Inside Out without the drive. Every clinician is trained in EMDR through the same instructor, grounded in Francine Shapiro's foundational model. This is not a practice where the quality of care depends on which clinician you are assigned to.
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Anxiety + Chronic Stress
For Peoria adults whose anxiety has been the background noise of daily life for so long it has started to feel like personality, Inside Out offers an approach that works at the level where anxiety is actually stored. The high-functioning presentation that looks capable on the outside while running on empty underneath is one of the most common things we see. It is also one of the most treatable.
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Attachment Wounds + Relationship Strain
Peoria couples and individuals navigating the patterns that keep showing up in relationships despite everything they understand about where those patterns came from find attachment-focused EMDR at Inside Out reaches the nervous system level where those patterns are actually held. Understanding them is not the same as being free of them. The work closes that gap.
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Children's Emotional + Behavioral Regulation
Peoria families bringing children to Inside Out find a practice equipped to work with children as young as five using sand tray therapy, play therapy, and EMDR adapted for younger nervous systems. We also work with parents alongside their children, because the most effective support for a struggling child is almost always a regulated parent. The whole family system is welcome here.
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Grief, Loss + Life Transitions
Grief in Peoria looks like the first responder family carrying what the job has cost over years without a space to name it. The mom navigating a version of motherhood that does not match what she expected. The adult carrying a loss that others have moved on from while they are still in it. Inside Out holds space for all of it, including the grief that does not have a recognized category or a clear timeline.
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First Responders + Helping Professionals
Peoria is home to a significant first responder and healthcare community. Inside Out was built in part with those professionals in mind. The culture of service, the expectation that you manage rather than process, the particular difficulty of asking for help when your identity is built around not needing it. Christina Behrens and the Inside Out team understand that culture from the inside. EMDR is where the work happens. Peoria is where the practice is.
Ready to take the next step?
Inside Out Therapy + Consulting is accepting new clients in Peoria and across the West Valley. In-person sessions for adults, teens, and children as young as five. Reach out and we will help you find the right fit.
Meet Liberty
Inside Out is home to Liberty, a Great Dane service dog in training who works alongside Christina Behrens, LPC. Liberty detects physiological distress and responds with grounding physical presence during sessions. She is one of the most distinctive and clinically meaningful things about this practice.
Our therapy office in Peoria, AZ
We are located at 9139 W Thunderbird Rd #210, Peoria, AZ 85381. If you have driven past a therapy office that looked sterile, clinical, or unwelcoming, ours does not look like that.
There are no degrees on the walls. No desk between you and your therapist. Just lamps, couches, blankets, rugs, coasters, and a bookshelf that functions as a community library. The waiting area has snacks, water, and seating that feels like a living room rather than a waiting room. The overhead lights stay off.
We built the space the way we did intentionally. The nervous system takes in information about whether a place is safe before the thinking brain has processed a single word. We wanted every person who walks in to have that question answered before they sit down.
Mental health resources in Peoria
If you or someone you know is in crisis, NAMI Arizona maintains a helpline and a directory of local mental health resources. For veterans in acute distress, the Veterans Crisis Line is available at 988, then press 1.
The City of Peoria maintains community resources for residents across a range of needs. For clinical mental health care in Peoria, Inside Out is one of the few practices in the West Valley where every clinician is EMDR-trained to the same standard and where the full range of trauma-informed modalities is available under one roof.
Common questions from Peoria residents
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A few things. Every clinician on our team is trained in EMDR through the same instructor, which is not standard for group practices. We also offer sand tray therapy and animal-assisted therapy through Liberty, our Great Dane service dog in training. The office environment is intentionally warm and non-clinical. And we do not put our degrees on the wall, which says something about how we think about the therapeutic relationship.
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We work with children as young as five through older adults. Children's therapy uses play therapy, sand tray, and EMDR adapted for younger nervous systems. We also have clinicians who specialize in teens, adults, and older adult presentations. When you reach out, we will help match you with the right fit.
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EMDR is a type of therapy that works through the nervous system rather than primarily through conversation. It is one of the most researched and effective treatments available for trauma, anxiety, and patterns that have not responded to insight-based approaches alone. Our EMDR therapy page explains the process in plain language and helps you assess whether it is the right fit.
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Yes. We have multiple clinicians who work with children, and families where more than one member is seeking care can often be seen by different clinicians on the same day. We also see parents individually to support the work their child is doing in therapy, which is one of the most effective things a parent can do alongside their child's treatment.
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Liberty is a Great Dane service dog in training who works alongside Christina Behrens, LPC. She detects physiological distress and responds with grounding physical presence during sessions. She is not a mascot. She is a working clinical partner. Her presence in a session is always optional and by request.
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Reach out by phone at (623) 257-5054 or through the contact page. We will ask a few questions about what brings you in and help match you with the right clinician. From there, scheduling is straightforward. If you are not sure where to start, our team page gives you a sense of who we are and what each clinician focuses on.