Devon Davasher, LCSW

08/15/2025

Clients are graduating and growing which means more openings and clearing out the wait list! It has been a while since I have taken on new clients but I have some (limited) upcoming availability for telehealth. Openly LGBTQIA+ therapist with a non-judgmental approach. Reach out today to learn more! www.devondlcsw.com

08/01/2025

I've had a lot of conversations in my work with other gay men about this recently.

Ghosting and blocking: It’s maddening, but there are a few overlapping forces at play that make ghosting and blocking so common:

1. Digital Disinhibition

Behind a screen, it’s far easier to disappear than to face someone’s hurt. The “block” button is literally one tap—no awkward conversation required. This low-effort escape hatch has become normalized.

2. Fear of Confrontation

Many people simply panic at the thought of having to explain themselves or deliver bad news. So rather than say “I’m not interested,” they bail to avoid feeling guilty or uncomfortable.

3. Attachment Styles

Avoidant types will ghost when things get even slightly serious—they pull away to protect their autonomy.

Anxious types may chase, but then overcorrect and ghost when they feel out of control.

If someone hasn’t done the inner work around healthy attachment, they default to avoidance.

4. App Culture & Abundance Mindset

When you’re swiping through dozens of profiles a day, it’s easy to treat each match like a disposable option. That abundance mindset erodes the sense of mutual respect—“Why bother explaining when there’s always someone new?”

5. Communication Skills Gap

Most of us never learn how to end things kindly. We get good at starting conversations, but we’re terrible at finishing them. Ghosting fills that gap, even though it inflicts real pain.

Bottom line:
Ghosting and blocking aren’t about you—they’re about someone else’s inability to hold discomfort. It sucks, it stings, but your values—clarity, respect, honesty—are exactly what will guide you to people who know how to stay. You’re not weird for expecting basic courtesy; you’re raising the bar for the kind of connections you truly deserve.

05/06/2025

Sometimes grief, depression, or trauma doesn't just feel like sadness—it feels like something is missing inside you. Like a piece of your spirit has gone quiet, or hollowed out.

Melancholy, a sculpture created by Albert Gyorgy, captures that feeling in a way words often can't. The weight. The vacancy. The invisible ache.

If you feel like this—know you are not alone. Therapy can be the space where we begin to gently call those missing pieces home again. Not to fix you, because you're not broken—but to witness you, hold space, and help you reconnect with what’s been buried or silenced.

Healing doesn’t mean rushing back to wholeness.
Sometimes it just means letting someone sit with you in the emptiness.
And even when it’s quiet between us, the door to joy isn’t closed—it’s just waiting for peace to walk in first - nothing is beyond repair.

If you’re ready to start that process, I’m here. Just reach out. ❤

04/22/2025

A broken heart can feel overwhelming, isolating, and heavy—but it's also a powerful reminder of our capacity for love and connection. Sometimes we may have regrets, unspoken words, or a lack of opportunity for closure - which can leave us feeling confused and stuck. Remember, healing isn't linear, and it's okay to feel the full spectrum of your emotions. You're not alone. I'm here to support you through the journey. Visit www.devondlcsw.com 💔🐻

04/16/2025

🌈 Did you know your thoughts are shaped by how safe your nervous system feels? This unconscious “threat detector” (called neuroception) plays a huge role in how you see the world. When you feel safe, your thoughts tend to be clearer and more positive. But when your body senses danger? Anxiety, fear, and hypervigilance can take over — even when there’s no real threat.

Traditional talk therapy and CBT can be powerful, but sometimes your body needs help too. That’s where ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) comes in. It helps rewire the brain’s fear center (the amygdala), so you can truly feel safe — not just think you should be.

💻 Curious? Visit www.devondlcsw.com to learn more or book a session.

04/09/2025

Feeling exhausted, anxious, stuck in self-sabotage or unhealthy habits? These symptoms may actually be trauma responses—not personality flaws. Trauma shows up in unexpected ways: chronic fatigue, GI issues, procrastination, emotional numbness, shame. These are protective patterns your mind developed to survive, but they can keep you from truly living.

Healing is possible. Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps address the root of trauma—not just the symptoms—so you can finally break free from survival mode and feel like yourself again.

Ready to begin your healing journey? Visit www.devondlcsw.com to learn more or get started.

04/02/2025

Trauma doesn’t just live in your mind—it lives in your body too. Chronic pain, digestive issues, fatigue, and even heart problems can all be signs of trauma stored in the nervous system. While traditional talk therapy helps many, it often doesn’t reach the deeper, somatic level where trauma truly resides.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) uses calming eye movements to reprogram how trauma is stored in your body and mind—without reliving the pain. It’s a powerful, body-based approach to healing that helps restore balance from the inside out.

Curious if ART might help you? Visit www.devondlcsw.com to learn more or book a consultation.

Trauma leaves a deep imprint on both your mind and body. Colleen Clark, Master Certified Accelerated Resolution Therapist, describes trauma as a “virus in the human encoding system,” disrupting mental and physical processes. It’s not just in your brain—trauma is stored in your cells, affecting your entire being.

Physical Effects of Trauma:
•Chronic Pain: Headaches, neck tension, or back pain without physical injury.
•Digestive Issues: Nausea, IBS, or appetite changes due to stress.
•Sleep Problems: Insomnia, nightmares, or constant fatigue.
•Autoimmune Disorders: Chronic stress overworks your immune system.
•Heart Issues: Trauma keeps you in fight-or-flight, increasing heart disease risk.

Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough:
Trauma operates in the survival brain and body, bypassing rational thought. Traditional therapies like talk therapy or CBT target the logical brain but often fail to resolve trauma stored in your cells. Your body continues to react as if the trauma is ongoing, no matter how much you rationalize it.

Why ART Works:
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) bridges the gap by addressing both the mind and body. Using lateral eye movements, ART calms the amygdala, resolves somatic memories, and changes how trauma is stored—without requiring you to relive the pain. It works directly with the nervous system to reprogram the “virus,” restoring balance and helping you heal holistically.

To understand more about trauma, how it works in the body, and how it affects your day-to-day life, pick up a copy of "Compassion, the Soulful ART of Healing Trauma" www.ingeniumbooks.com/colleen-clark

Find an ART trained therapist near you. Visit www.ARTworksnow.com

03/26/2025

Struggling with a harsh inner critic? Those self-doubting voices often stem from unresolved trauma, keeping you stuck in cycles of self-judgment and shame. Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps reframe painful memories, easing the burden of the past so you can embrace self-compassion and lasting change. If you're ready to silence the inner critic and step into a more empowered version of yourself, visit www.devondlcsw.com to learn more.

03/18/2025

Your trauma isn’t something you can just “think” your way out of. Traditional talk therapy can sometimes fall short because your brain is wired to prevent past pain from happening again. It’s not being irrational—it’s protecting you. That’s why worst-case scenario thinking and hypervigilance become so automatic.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) works differently. Instead of trying to rationalize trauma away, ART speaks its language. Through bilateral eye movements and visualization, ART helps rewire the way trauma is stored in the brain and body—without having to relive the details. It’s a bottom-up approach that fosters real healing, allowing you to move forward without forcing yourself to “just be positive.”

Your trauma wants to be heard. ART helps you answer in a way your brain understands.

💡 Learn more at www.devondlcsw.com

𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢.

The reason why CBT and other talk therapies don't always work for trauma survivors is that it is hard to challenge thinking patterns when the worst-case scenario has already happened. You were caught off guard before. Your brain is wired to say, “Let’s make sure that doesn't happen again!" How can you blame it? It is hypervigilant, scanning for potential danger matches in your environment. This is a defense mechanism.

People in this state may have developed a habit known in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as the cognitive distortion of "Catastrophizing."

To shield yourself in the future, you may start imagining the worst-case outcomes in every situation as you fear another unexpected blow.

Your brain and body have been wired to remember. And while you'll never forget this trauma, you can change how it is stored in the body and brain.

𝘼𝙍𝙏 helps to rewire parts of the brain by speaking the language of trauma.
By employing bilateral eye movements and somatic, bodily experiencing, 𝘼𝙍𝙏 adopts a "Bottom-up" approach, addressing trauma at a fundamental level, reaching parts of the brain formed before language development. Instead of "rationalizing" and "talking sense into" your negative thoughts,” 𝘼𝙍𝙏 uses metaphors and visualization.

The body needs to feel these sensations and emotions through the processing. 𝘼𝙍𝙏 creates new perspectives and thought restructuring around the trauma. So you may walk away with a more "Positive outlook" around the trauma, but not because you yelled at yourself to "Be positive.” It’s because you have created new understandings and new neural connections.

𝘼𝙍𝙏 offers a holistic and neurologically-driven approach to healing, bypassing the limitations of verbal communication and reaching the root of where trauma is stored.

So you can stop the shaming self-talk for being "Too negative."
You can stop feeling annoyed with your anxiety.
Your brain was trying to protect you.

Your trauma wants to be heard.
Answer it in a language it understands.
Find an 𝘼𝙍𝙏 trained therapist near you.
www.ARTworksnow.com

03/04/2025

Does your brain replay the same painful images over and over? You don’t have to stay stuck. Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) uses Voluntary Image Replacement (VIR) to help you rescript distressing memories, replacing them with neutral or positive images. The memory remains, but the emotional weight lifts—like rewriting a scene in a movie. Many clients describe their old painful images as feeling distant, no longer holding power over them. Healing is possible. Learn more at www.devondlcsw.com.

02/26/2025

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is more than just feeling anxious—it can disrupt work, relationships, sleep, and even physical health. Constant worry, perfectionism, and stress take a toll, making it hard to enjoy life.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps rewire how the brain processes anxiety, calming the nervous system and reducing distress quickly. Many clients experience relief in just a few sessions.

Anxiety doesn’t have to control your life. Learn more at www.devondlcsw.com and take the first step toward relief.

02/19/2025

Feeling Stuck in Trauma?

Trauma rewires the brain, keeping the amygdala—the body’s alarm system—on high alert. This constant state of vigilance can leave trauma survivors emotionally exhausted, struggling to distinguish real threats from perceived ones.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps calm the overactive amygdala, allowing the brain to reprocess distressing memories and find relief from the cycle of hypervigilance. By rewiring how the brain stores traumatic experiences, ART promotes lasting healing and a renewed sense of safety.

You don’t have to stay stuck. Healing is possible.

🔹 Learn more at www.devondlcsw.com 🔹

Trauma can make you feel stuck.

Trauma has a profound impact on the brain, particularly on the amygdala, our body's alarm system. For trauma survivors, this often means being on permanent alert, a state of heightened sensitivity geared towards self-protection. The amygdala, responsible for processing emotions like fear and stress, becomes overactive, making it challenging for individuals to experience a sense of calm and safety.

In this perpetual state of vigilance, trauma survivors may find themselves emotionally exhausted, as their brains struggle to distinguish between real and perceived threats. It's a survival mechanism that, while initially helpful, can hinder long-term well-being.
Enter Accelerated Resolution Therapy (𝘼𝙍𝙏), a groundbreaking approach designed to address the impact of trauma on the brain. 𝘼𝙍𝙏 works by calming the hyperactive amygdala, providing relief from the constant state of alertness. By soothing the amygdala, 𝘼𝙍𝙏 creates an opportunity for the brain to undergo a transformative process of rewiring.

Through this calming and rewiring process, 𝘼𝙍𝙏 aims to facilitate permanent healing from trauma. The therapy empowers individuals to reframe their experiences, fostering a healthier relationship with past events and promoting a sense of emotional well-being. By targeting the root of the trauma and offering a path to lasting healing, 𝘼𝙍𝙏 represents a beacon of hope for those navigating the challenging journey of recovery. It's a testament to the evolving landscape of trauma therapy, where science meets compassion to bring about meaningful and enduring change in the lives of survivors.

Trauma doesn’t have to plan the trajectory of your life.
Find an 𝘼𝙍𝙏 trained therapist near you.
www.ARTworksnow.com