CompassionWorks

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Plano, TX
CompassionWorks

CompassionWorks was founded in 1998 by Jordan Shafer, MS, LPC. Through EMDR we can let your brain change the way emotional information is linked.

CompassionWorks offers EMDR & Mindfulness Distance Counseling to individuals, EMDR training & Continuing Education courses to mental health professionals. EMDR is a type of therapy that helps people move past difficulties, so they can be more present and enjoy their daily lives. Similar to other psychotherapies, we talk about what is happening in your life and explore practical solutions. However, we take it another step further by leveraging EMDR processing to work directly with your ‘limbic’ brain. This process allows neural networks, old and new, to link-up allowing the mind to become more open in its ability to find creative solutions. As a result, anxiety will lessen and life can begin to ‘feel’ more manageable; even better. We offer EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) approved EMDR Basic Training to Mental Health Professionals such as psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, professional counselors and graduate students in the field of mental health (completing their internships). Partnering with the Advanced Education Institute, we teach the EMDR training program developed by DaLene Forester, PhD, LMFT. For EMDR trained therapists and mental health professionals, we also offer an EMDR Boot Camp. This is for professionals who have completed the basic training (previously EMDR L1 & L2) from an EMDRIA approved training or the EMDR Institute. This two day EMDR skills refresher course is specifically designed for professionals that have not had the opportunity to practice EMDR. This is the perfect course for professionals that would like hands on practice to their build technical competence. Continuing Education credits for EMDR trained professionals are also available. For more information, visit us at www.CompassionWorks.com or call (972) 342 - 2448.

09/26/2025

✨ Real Voices. Real Impact.

Learning goes beyond new techniques. For this EMDR Equine-Assisted Training participant, the experience offered both structure for their work and a deeper awareness of the horses’ role in the healing process.

💬 They left feeling empowered, prepared, and inspired to continue the journey.
These moments are why we do what we do.

📚 Explore EMDR trainings that make a lasting difference:
www.compassionworks.com

09/24/2025

🌿 New from The Founder's Corner
Seeming Reality vs. What’s Real

A mirage. A memory. A moment of panic.
Sometimes what we see or feel seems undeniably real—yet isn’t.

In this week’s blog, Jordan Shafer explores the subtle but profound difference between seeming reality and what is ultimately Real, through the lens of nondual awareness, trauma work, and a cliffhanger parable that ends—twice.

✨ What happens when we stop gripping for answers and begin to fall... into awareness?
It’s not about denying the pain. It’s about meeting life as it unfolds—without building our identity around the illusion.

🧠 Whether you're a therapist or simply curious about presence, perception, and the nervous system, this piece invites reflection and release.

👇 Read now and share your version of the story in the comments.
🔗 compassionworks.com/living-in-the-unknown

09/22/2025

Healing isn’t a single path—it’s a journey with many turns.

Recovery unfolds over time, revealing new layers and deeper truths as we grow.

In our latest blog post, we explore how EMDR can support clients not just during initial reprocessing, but throughout the evolving arc of healing—years later, in new roles, with fresh insight.

💡 Inside this post:
🛤️ Why healing themes may resurface (and what that really means)
🧠 How EMDR becomes a tool for long-term integration
🌱 What it looks like to meet old wounds with new capacity

Whether you're just beginning your EMDR training or supporting clients at later stages, this is for you.

📖 Read: The Ongoing Work of Healing: EMDR and Recovery as a Lifelong Path
👉 https://compassionworks.com/the-ongoing-work-of-healing/

09/18/2025

Recovery doesn’t move in a straight line. Some days feel lighter, others heavy. What matters is not perfection, but presence—the willingness to keep showing up for yourself. 🌱

If you’re in a season of setbacks, know this: they don’t cancel your growth. Healing often happens quietly, beneath the surface, before you even notice the change.

💬 What helps you stay compassionate with yourself when the journey feels hard?

09/15/2025

🥄 Life is Butter Dream?

Not quite what you learned in nursery rhymes—but maybe closer to the truth than it seems.

In this poetic reflection, Jordan Shafer invites us to explore the nondual view that life is less like a rigid timeline and more like a vivid dream—soft, slippery, and fleeting.

💭 What if we didn’t have to grip so tightly?
💭 What if suffering eases not because life gets easier, but because we stop mistaking it for the whole truth?

From EMDR sessions to everyday awareness, this post explores what it means to shift from doing life to witnessing it.

🔗 Read it here → https://compassionworks.com/life-is-butter-dream/

09/10/2025

📅 Ready to expand your impact as a trauma therapist?

Whether you're starting your EMDR journey or deepening your skills, we’ve got options to meet you where you are—in-person, online, or hybrid.

Swipe through for upcoming trainings 👇

💻 ONLINE EMDR TRAININGS
Train from anywhere. Learn with support. Grow your confidence.
✔️ Fall I: Sept 19–21 & Oct 17–19
✔️ Fall II: Oct 10–12 & Nov 7–9
✔️ Winter I: Jan 16–18 & Feb 20–22
✔️ Winter II: Jan 30–Feb 1 & Feb 27–Mar 1

📍IN-PERSON TRAINING
Hands-on learning with real connection.
Corpus Christi, TX
🗓️ Sept 26–28 & Oct 17–19

🔀 HYBRID TRAINING
A flexible path to certification—no need to choose between access and connection.
Houston (Katy), TX
🏫 On-site: Sept 26–28
🧑‍💻 Online: Oct 24–26

🐎 EMDR + Equine-Assisted Therapy Workshop with Dr. Amanda Martin
📅 Oct 4 | 9 AM – 6 PM | Live Online
Explore how horse-assisted healing and EMDR can work together.

⏯️ ON-DEMAND LEARNING
Short on time? We’ve got you covered. Learn when you can, at your own pace.
🧠 EMDR Therapy: Ethical Considerations
🧠 EMDR Therapy: History & Preparation
🧠 EMDR + Equine-Assisted Workshop

✨ Your next step starts here.

Explore all upcoming trainings and claim your spot:
👉 www.compassionworks.com

09/05/2025

🕯️ National Su***de Prevention Month

Let’s talk about the connection that’s too often missed: trauma and suicidality.

Not everyone who experiences trauma becomes suicidal—but for many, unprocessed trauma fuels a nervous system in distress. Shame, dysregulation, and a sense of disconnection can quietly erode a person’s ability to hope, connect, or ask for help.

In our latest blog post, “When Trauma Leads to Despair: Su***de Through a Trauma-Informed Lens,” we explore:
🔸 How the nervous system adapts to chronic threat
🔸 Why shame and learned helplessness often go hand in hand
🔸 How EMDR can support clients experiencing suicidality rooted in trauma
🔸 Why a trauma-informed lens goes beyond symptom management

This isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about deep listening, relational safety, and reclaiming the will to live.

💬 Let’s move the conversation beyond risk and toward reconnection.

👉 Read the full post: https://compassionworks.com/trauma-and-suicidality-emdr/

***dePreventionMonth

09/03/2025

🧠 Trauma & Su***de: What Clinicians Should Know

Unprocessed trauma doesn’t just affect mood or behavior—it can quietly dismantle a person’s sense of safety, connection, and will to live.

According to the JED Foundation:
🔹 About 14% of trauma survivors
🔹 And nearly 1 in 3 people with PTSD have reported a su***de attempt.

Yet the signs are not always loud.
Some clients appear “high functioning” while silently battling hopelessness. Others may mask distress with a smile—or minimize their pain due to stigma, shame, or survival patterns.

⚠️ As therapists, we must stay attuned to:
• Sudden emotional withdrawal
• Loss of interest in meaningful activities
• Regressive behavior (in kids and teens)
• Feelings of burdensomeness or disconnection
• Noticeable shifts in mood or energy

💬 What helps you recognize silent suffering in session?
Let’s keep this conversation going.

🔗 Explore upcoming EMDR trainings at https://bit.ly/EMDR-Training-Schedule

***dePrevention

09/01/2025

🌱 Honoring Clinical Growth

Starting your EMDR journey can feel exciting—and overwhelming.
If you’re new to the work (or supporting those who are), this one’s for you.

👉 Swipe through for 5 truths we’ve learned along the way—insights we wish someone had told us early on.

From staying relational with the protocol to honoring the deep emotional layers that can surface, EMDR is as much about presence as it is about process.

💬 What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started?

🔗 Explore upcoming trainings: www.compassionworks.com

08/28/2025

🧠 EMDR + the Nervous System: Beyond Fight, Flight, Freeze

New on the blog — for EMDR therapists ready to go deeper.

Trauma isn't just in the memory. It's in the body’s expectations.

To work with trauma effectively, we need to meet the nervous system where it is—not where we think it should be.

This post explores:
✅ How Polyvagal Theory reframes client responses
✅ Nervous system cues you might be missing in session
✅ Simple, regulation-first techniques for every EMDR phase
✅ What it means to track the body as closely as the memory

Let the nervous system help shape your script—moment by moment.

👉 Read now: https://compassionworks.com/emdr-and-the-nervous-system/

08/26/2025

🗣️ Real Voices. Real Impact.

What makes a training truly stick? For many of our participants, it’s the energy, connection, and real-life insight our trainers bring into the room.

Whether you're just beginning your EMDR journey or looking to deepen your skills, our programs are designed to make a lasting impact—on you and your clients.

📅 Explore upcoming trainings: www.compassionworks.com

08/21/2025

🧠 The Long Haul of Healing

Trauma doesn’t always fade with time. For many, its effects linger—quietly shaping emotions, behaviors, relationships, and the body’s sense of safety.

📊 A study on 9/11 responders found that the median time to meaningful PTSD symptom improvement was 8.9 years (Mann et al. [2025]). That’s nearly a decade of living in survival mode.

And this isn’t limited to large-scale events. Chronic trauma—like childhood adversity, systemic oppression, or relational wounds—can also lead to long-lasting nervous system dysregulation if left untreated.

💡 But healing is possible. And it doesn’t have to take 9 years.
EMDR therapy offers a research-backed way to help clients access, process, and integrate unresolved trauma—at the pace their system can handle.

📚 Whether you’re just beginning or deepening your EMDR journey, our trainings can help you support long-term healing in your clients.

🔗 See upcoming EMDR trainings at compassionworks.com

Address

1709 Savage Drive
Plano, TX
75023

Telephone

(972) 342-2448

Website

https://compassionworks.com/

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