Robyn Brickel, MA, LMFT (licensed in VA, DC, and CT), is the founder and Clinical Director of Brickel and Associates, LLC, a private practice she established in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia in 1999. With over 25 years of clinical experience, Robyn is deeply committed to creating a therapeutic environment in which clients—individuals (adolescents and adults), couples, families, and groups—can safely explore their inner lives, understand trauma’s pervasive impact, and find meaningful paths to healing. 

Robyn and her team use a strengths-based, trauma-informed, systems approach to psychotherapy. The practice addresses a wide range of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, trauma and complex trauma, relational struggles, alcohol and substance use, self-harm, eating disorders, and maternal mental health (such as perinatal mood and anxiety disorders). In all of this work, Robyn brings a lens of compassion, curiosity, and deep respect for each person’s journey. 

Robyn’s specialization is working with trauma and complex trauma, both individually and in relational systems. Working with those struggling with a history of trauma that has informed their current day life, including attachment-related wounds and those using dissociative coping mechanisms (dissociation, alcohol or substance use, eating disorders, self-harm) as they fit into the clinical picture.  

Robyn is trained in many Bottom-Up and somatic modalities of care, such as: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She is also a Certified Senior Facilitator of the Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) model, an EMDRIA Certified Therapist and Approved Consultant, and a Virginia Board–Approved Supervisor for Clinical Consultation. 

Robyn also has extensive training in relational models of care, in addition to being a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist—such as Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT), the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), and Imago therapy. Robyn has taught classes to therapists on Providing Trauma-Informed Care to Couples. 

Robyn continuously expands her clinical knowledge and shares her expertise with others. She teaches workshops and trainings on trauma, alcohol and substance use, relational therapy, and maternal mental health—serving on faculty at the Ferentz Institute and consulting with organizations, schools, and treatment programs. As a clinical consultant, she supports therapists working with trauma, mood disorders, self-harm, and other dissociative mechanisms—and she provides consultation for EMDRIA and TIST certification candidates. 

Beyond her clinical and teaching work, Robyn is a writer and public voice for trauma awareness. Her blog and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X) regularly offer insights, research updates, and mental health resources. Robyn has been interviewed on many podcasts as well and shares links on the office blog.  She combines professional rigor with a genuine humility and passion for growth—always striving to deepen her understanding of how trauma impacts the mind, body, relationships, and maternal well-being.