Valerie Stubbs, LMFT, PhD | Ankeny Lead

I work with adults whose nervous systems have been pushed into patterns of anxiety, overstimulation, compulsive behavior, or the lingering effects of trauma. Many clients appear highly functional on the outside while internally feeling tense, hypervigilant, exhausted, or weighed down by experiences that have not yet been fully integrated. My focus includes PTSD, complex trauma rooted in childhood or relationships, and the ways these experiences live in the body through panic, shutdown, emotional numbness, and difficulty staying present with the people who matter most.

In session, my role is steady, direct, and collaborative. I do not use pressure or move faster than your system can tolerate, but I also do not leave you alone with patterns that feel unmanageable. We slow the process so you can notice what is happening in real time and learn practical ways to interrupt cycles of racing thoughts, compulsive urges, or freeze responses. The goal is not insight alone, but skills you can use when stress resurfaces in daily life.

My clinical work is trauma-informed and grounded in neuroscience. I use EMDR to help the brain reprocess past experiences so they no longer feel immediate or overwhelming. I integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients relate differently to difficult thoughts, along with CES, neurofeedback-informed tools, and sensory-based strategies that support regulation for those who feel constantly on edge. For individuals working through compulsive or addictive patterns, especially women, treatment focuses on reducing shame, understanding how the behavior has functioned as coping, and building the capacity to choose rather than react. For clients who identify as neurodivergent, including those with autism spectrum or sensory processing differences, I work from a strengths-based, non-pathologizing perspective.

Across treatment, clients often notice fewer panic spikes, improved sleep, less reactivity, and a greater ability to stay grounded in situations that once triggered fight, flight, or shutdown. Survivors of long-term trauma frequently describe feeling more present in their bodies, more able to set limits, and less driven by fear or shame. Couples and families report calmer communication and greater emotional safety.

Faith-integrated counseling is available for those who wish to include it. Spiritual questions, practices, or struggles can be explored thoughtfully and without pressure. For clients with religious trauma or those who prefer a fully clinical approach, treatment remains grounded in psychological care without spiritual content.

I have been counseling since 2006 and have advanced training in trauma recovery. My background includes service on a Mobile Crisis unit supporting the Des Moines Police Department and surrounding communities, as well as five years in forensic mental health and corrections conducting assessment and analysis. I am a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Additional training includes EMDR and neuroscience-informed interventions, with coursework in neuroscience through Johns Hopkins University. My book, PTSD and Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Scripts, was published in 2021.

Areas of focus include trauma and PTSD, anxiety and chronic dysregulation, compulsive coping patterns, support for individuals in high-stress helping roles, neurodivergent-affirming care, EMDR and neuroscience-supported trauma treatment, performance-related fears and phobias, and faith-integrated therapy for those who desire it.

virtual waiting room: https://doxy.me/vstubbs