I offer supervision to associates working towards their hours for licensure through the nonprofit, Connective Intelligence. Through the private practice, I provide consultation to licensed clinicians looking for EMDR consultation towards EMDRIA certification and added support in other specialities.
I aim to provide a calm and supportive learning environment for clinicians to bring a listening ear and their whole selves to the supervision hour. My goal is to help others grow in being am educated and caring therapists to their clients.
Our Psychotherapy Team
Nikki Gruver (associate #15531) earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Palo Alto University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. She previously trained in psychodynamic therapy at The Maple Counseling Center, working with a diverse population facing various challenges such as trauma, depression, loss, anxiety, and navigating relationships with others. Nikki is passionate about collaboratively discovering with clients how their past, relationships, and culture impact the good, the bad, and the ugly. Nikki strives to provide a safe, warm, nonjudgmental space for clients to process intense feelings, heal wounds, make life-enhancing decisions, and connect with the deepest part of themselves.
Emily Collard (associate #142948) graduated from Messiah University with a master’s in counseling. My desire to pursue a career in therapy emerged from my love of psychology and helping others to live fully. My warm spirit quickly connects me with others while my humility and openness create spaces of safety and acceptance. I truly enjoy hearing the stories of others. As an associate therapist, I work with individuals, couples, and families from all walks of life. Outside of work, you’ll find me camping with my family, attending community group through my local church, embroidering clothes, flipping through a cookbook, or attempting to exercise with a toddler climbing all over me. After giving birth to my daughter in November 2022, I experienced birth trauma and a diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapse which led to postpartum depression. During that time, I grieved deeply for my life before birth and felt no hope for my future. Yet I am here today with a determination to help others stuck in the darkness. I promise there is hope and healing as you walk through this difficult season. Although we don’t willingly choose our difficult stories, we can choose how we live through them. As one of my favorite authors and speakers says, “For some reason, we’ve been given the [story] we’ve been given, and it’s up to us to figure out why and, more importantly, what we are going to do with it”. – Katherine Wolf.
Specialties are Perinatal Counseling, Birth Trauma & Injury, Christian Based Counseling, Neurodivergent Affirming Therapy, and Military Families & Couples.
Marina Mendes (associate #15511): Therapy is a sacred space to hold all of life and the Self with deep reverence and compassion. I work with young adults to explore and integrate their infinite complexities to find peace and acceptance, and build lives they truly value. I believe in the importance of establishing a therapeutic bond in the relationship between the client and the therapist. The therapeutic container is a place where all of you is welcome, witnessed, and accepted — just as you are. My approach draws from mindfulness philosophy, somatic practices, psychodynamic theory, parts work, and solution focused approaches as needed.
Working together, we will release blocks and reawaken your inner guide to bring mind, body, spirit, and action into alignment — where play, purpose, love, and authenticity can emerge. I approach this sacred work with curiosity and love. Specialities: Life transitions, grief, burnout, anxiety, identity issues, relationship difficulties, trauma, women, spirituality, inner-child healing, and LGBTQIA+
