About Kristina

Hello, I’m Kristina de Bree, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with a private practice in Valencia, California. I’m EMDRIA Certified in a technique called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and am also an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, which allows me to train other therapists.

My personal experience with a lifelong progressive genetic disease, and consequent trauma, spurred my desire to work with others living with the effects of medical or sexual trauma. During my own time in therapy, I struggled to find treatments that both addressed and alleviated my symptoms.

Fortunately, my education, training and experience helping fellow trauma survivors have helped me understand how deeply trauma can affect life both emotionally and physically. My goal is to provide the kind of treatment and relief I myself could not find through traditional talk therapy.

My approach in each working relationship is to connect to each individual on a personal level to build trust and safety. I have found that change is often made through relationships that are trusting, caring and safe.

Core Values

Compassion & Authenticity:

People are more than the sum of their pain and related behaviors. Each person’s story is unique and requires an equally individualized approach, and all people deserve relief from their difficult life experiences and associated symptoms.

Outreach & Education:

Meeting with members of communities facing trauma, extending resources for trauma-informed protocols and practices, and identifying communities and organizations that might benefit from trauma-informed education.

Normalization & Connection:

Trauma and coping are part of the human experience, and pulling back the veil of secrecy and shame surrounding trauma is essential to healing individuals, communities, and society. Seeing, accurately identifying, and connecting to those living with pain is imperative for a mentally well society.

Specializations

EMDR:

Kristina is an EMDR certified therapist and approved consultant, meaning she is qualified at the highest level to both practice and teach EMDR. This therapy uses a standard protocol, which can easily be combined with a variety of other therapeutic techniques, to reduce the distress that comes with painful memories, strengthen positive beliefs about the self and quell the body’s stress response. The combination of tactics works to rewire neural pathways in the brain and alleviate trauma responses.

It was through her own experience with EMDR that Kristina came to find the right modality—one that addressed her personal traumas in a way that finally brought some relief. In addition to psychotherapy, Kristina places an emphasis on teaching and educating other practitioners who wish to implement EMDR into their own practices.

PTSD, Sexual Trauma & Medical Trauma:

Kristina’s wide range of knowledge on PTSD and various other types of trauma has informed two subspecialties in her practice: working with individuals faced with (1) sexual trauma and/or (2) medical trauma. Kristina’s therapeutic approach and keen insight into the physical and emotional impact of trauma allow her to connect with and understand her clients as they unravel their own stories, and begin building their own toolkit for mental wellness.