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Heather Severn, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

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Heather Severn, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Skylight Counseling, LLC
(2 Reviews)
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275 E. South Temple Suite 101 Salt Lake City, UT 84111
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About

Heather Severn, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Mental Health Counseling for Couples, Individuals, and Families.
Primary Specialty

Marriage & Family Therapist

Gender Female
Map and Directions
275 E. South Temple Suite 101, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Services EMDR, EFT Tapping, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Guided Imagery Additional Services Depression, Anxiety, Trauma
Consumer Feedback
(2 Reviews)
Environment
5 star average for Environment
Expertise
5 star average for Expertise
Recommended
4.5 star average for Recommended
Value
4.5 star average for Value
Service
5 star average for Service
View All 2 Reviews Add a Review
Recent Reviews
Film captures a photograph or videotaped image so too can the mind can trap traumatic events holding these memories for years. People with trapped memories may be your neighbors, the person next to you in the pew at church, the person who waves at you as you are out walking, the woman next to you at the grocery store, maybe even you.

I had a job where experiencing traumatic events sometimes multiple times in the course of a shift was normal. Asking for mental health assistance to deal with these events was less than desirable when I first began working this job and many years into my career. Those who asked for mental health help often had questions asked about their “fitness for duty” and some co-workers refused to work with “the crazy person.” This attitude made many issues worse and I lost many coworkers to suicide during these years. Slowly this is changing with Employee Assistance Programs, Critical Incident Stress Management, and other programs for stress reduction and mental health gaining acceptance.

I spent twenty-three years working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) leaving me with non-visible and yet very real scars. Often seeing things my mind wishes my eyes had not seen. Perhaps the image of a battle-scarred veteran came to mind as you read that last sentence. The cop, the firefighter and EMT are on the front lines fighting for people lives. These fights are no less harmful to these people then battle is to the combat veteran when it comes to mental health. These are the people called on when lives are at risk.

I knew the things I was seeing, were bothering me and people I worked with. I volunteered for a Critical Incident Stress Management team becoming a peer counselor and helping others deal with things they had experienced. My hope was that somehow this could help me. For some time it did. Yet in hidden recesses of my mind, many events lay hidden.

I later sought counseling trying different types of counseling and counselors and for a time each seemed to help. When the memories kept coming back, I knew something else had to be out there. Something had to be available to help my emotional pain, to help heal the scars, some pill, some holistic medicine, some doctor, maybe another counselor.

In 2014, I met with my Bishop (a spiritual advisor in my church) and he recommended counseling. I initially told him “go to hell.” I explained my reason for that reply, I had tried counseling the most recent counselor telling me “Put it all in a box and seal the box.” My thought on this was “Where did you go school.” That was my last session with that counselor. My Bishop knew as well as I knew that I needed help. I was not ready.

Later I met with the Bishop again and he said, “I believe you need counseling and you will know when the time is right.” At work one night, my manager realized I was not doing well. We talked for a while (he had worked as an EMT also) and he too recommended I get counseling. Was it becoming that obvious and why could I not admit it to myself? That night I called a mental health facility and the next morning went for a visit. The time was right.

My next adventure with trying to heal my mind was to be “Group Therapy” this was the treatment at the mental health facility mentioned earlier. I told them on day one; I really believe that I will need one on one counseling for the best treatment. One of the staff told me, “Give this a try”. My insurance allowed a limited number of visits so this course of treatment was ineffective.

Feeling lost, and betrayed with counseling, and group therapy, and disheartened with the insurance industry, I went again to my Bishop this time more willing to listen. Through his contacts, he was able to get me in touch with Heather Severn. Years of seeking for the right counselor and the right therapy finally paid off. Heather practices Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. This has worked wonders

I talked with Heather about my experiences and mentioned to her that I had experienced many traumatic experiences and had a list of about 25. She explained that this would take some time to process and that by working on the most traumatic, the most bothersome it would be beneficial and the others would begin to be less traumatic. I picked the worst two. Heather asked me on a scale of 1-10, 10 as the worst, what number would I give the experience. I told her 1000 for each, to see what I saw and feel how I felt the pain was that bad. No one should have had to experience what the parents involved in these incidents did to their children.

With one session of EMDR, my number went from 1000 to 0 that is from one thousand to a zero. This may not be the case with everyone. I know I was ready, I was looking for answers and I had researched the therapy. I needed the means to put mind back in order and EMDR worked. The same was true of the next incident and as Heather told me the others have fallen into place. I feel better about life than I have in years and can say I survived PTSD and will continue doing so. Because of therapy, I am going to speak publicly about my experience and hop that doing so will help other first responders.
by Vern xxx.xxx.94.130
May 14, 2014
Heather Severn is amazing. My boyfriend and I saw her for counseling and I saw her on my own as well. Heather is kind, non-judgmental and really cares. She made us both feel really comfortable and we felt like we could tell her anything. We agreed that Heather was REAL. She was relatable and didn’t have that therapist personality you see on TV. We knew what she was thinking and her opinions and input were honest, personal and gentle. This meant a lot to both of us. What I loved most about our sessions though was that I left every single time feeling like something had been accomplished and like my partner and I understood each other more. Heather would start off the session by having us bring up issues. Then she would ask us what we wanted accomplished and help us set goals. These goals were realistic and measurable. By the end of each session, we would have tools to make it possible and a plan. Heather really helped us understand one another better and all the fighting that would have happened had my partner and I had the conversation without her, was avoided. She is an excellent mediator and kept us “on track”. She had all kinds of exercises and activities that helped me get through some of my own personal family issues really quickly. Within 6 or 7 weeks, I had overcome personal family-related trauma and my boyfriend and I worked out a lot of our issues. I would recommend Heather to anyone (I already referred a friend), especially people who are nervous about seeing a therapist. She will take good care of you and make you comfortable.
by R.C xxx.xxx.193.237
October 15, 2013
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