Robyn E. Brickel, MA, LMFT

Robyn Brickel, MA, LMFT is the clinical director at Brickel and Associates, LLC in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, which she established in 1999.

She founded the practice to provide a therapeutic environment where all clients can safely ask for support, notice their experiences, recognize the impact of trauma on everyday life, and find healing through the efficacy of trauma-informed therapy.

Clients include individuals (both adolescents and adults), couples, families, and groups.

Robyn brings a strengths-based, trauma-informed, systems approach to therapy.  She works with clients struggling with everyday life challenges along with those experiencing mental health conditions including: 

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Addiction
• Self-harm
• Eating disorders
• Maternal mental health conditions, including perinatal mood and anxiety disorders
• Relationship struggles

She is deeply committed to a trauma-informed approach in clinical practice, professional education and consultation, as well as a compassionate public awareness of mental health issues.

Her blog is dedicated to challenging the stigma around mental health and mental illness, and to advance greater compassion and trauma-informed awareness for all those impacted by trauma.

Commitment to Continuing Education

As a therapist for over 25 years, Robyn integrates training and experience with many diverse treatment modalities.

Always learning, she continuously participates in training programs to stay abreast of the current theories and models of therapy – and shares this knowledge with others. She has pursued numerous postgraduate advanced certificates and trainings in trauma, dissociation, and addictions, as well as relational (couples) therapy models. This includes advanced training in IMAGO, PACT, and EFT, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Robyn is an EMDRIA Certified EMDR therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant,   as well as a Certified, Senior Facilitator Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST). Robyn also serves as a Virginia Board Approved Supervisor. 

In addition to clinical practice, Robyn presents clinical trainings and workshops for various organizations and is on the faculty at the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training and Education. Her educational programs address the treatment of substance abuse, including adolescent substance abuse and the impact on the family, perinatal mental health and trauma.

For a complete list of her post-graduate training, certifications and programs, see the curriculum vita below.

Clinical Consultant – Support for Others Seeking Licensure and Certification

Robyn supports colleagues and other professionals by providing clinical consultation. An expert in trauma-informed care, Robyn is a compassionate and knowledgeable clinician and sought-after resource for collaborative support.

Robyn provides clinical consultations to therapists in treating trauma, addictions, self-harming behaviors and mood disorders. Robyn also provides consultation for EMDRIA and TIST trained therapists working toward certification.  She has served as a consulting therapist to local schools, communities, medical facilities and providers. She works with substance abuse treatment providers and eating disorder facilities around the US, aiding recovery from substance abuse, alcohol addiction, eating disordered behaviors and co-occurring disorders.

Robyn is registered on the Virginia Board-Approved Supervisors for Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapists.

Robyn is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and can provide the necessary consultation therapists trained in EMDR need to become certified. 

Robyn is a Senior Facilitator for the Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) model of care and can provide consultation toward certification.

A Strengths-Based Approach to Care

Robyn helps clients make transformative changes through a better understanding of how to work from personal strengths. She helps clients notice the ability to build safety in relationships that can then be reparative.

Clients expand their ability to learn, process and grow from challenging and dysfunctional relationships, anxiety, depression, abuse history, addictions, and eating disordered behaviors, to enjoy healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Support for Adolescents

Robyn’s work with adolescents goes beyond behavioral interventions and challenges with school performance. Working with young people and teens, she taps into the strengths of community and family systems, helping members grow and thrive together.

Robyn speaks to school and parent groups about mental health risks facing teens and young adults. Presentations include teaching other therapists how to work within a trauma-informed, strengths-based framework, to work with adolescents and their families in a collaborative approach treating substance abuse and the trauma of domestic violence.

Robyn gives back to the community, volunteering as a mental health consultant to local organizations and schools. She educates adolescents and families about addiction and works with local non-profit organizations to raise awareness of the mental health effects of domestic violence.

The Washington Post and Washington Parent magazine have featured her insights in articles about the dangers of adolescent marijuana use and teen dating safety.

Maternal Mental Health Support

A trauma-informed approach to maternal mental health is a special focus of Robyn’s practice. She works with local postpartum support groups and with fertility specialists, helping treat issues including postpartum anxiety and depression.

For a complete list of her post-graduate training, certifications and programs, see the curriculum vita below.

More information

Robyn’s CV