THERAPIST · READER · REALITY TV GURU
Brook Sullivan, MA, LPC, NCC, EMDR-T
You Have Been Carrying It Like It Was Your Fault. It Was Not. Brook Can Help You Set It Down.
Brook Sullivan is a licensed therapist at Empower Counseling who helps women heal from what they have been carrying, often for years. That might be a painful childhood, a relationship that left its mark, a medical or reproductive experience that changed how you see your body, or a string of hard things you have never said out loud. She works with complex trauma, anxiety, self-esteem, and recovery, and she is trained in EMDR.
Her approach is compassionate and structured. You and Brook set goals together, so you always know where the work is going and why.
Brook Sullivan, MA, LPC, NCC, EMDR-T
Trauma & EMDR Therapist
Women's Therapist
If You Have Found Your Way Here,
You Might Recognize Some of These.
The past that will not stay in the past.
"This trauma will always follow me and be a part of me."
It happened a long time ago, or not that long ago, and it still finds you: in your reactions, your relationships, the way your body tenses before your mind catches up. Maybe you have found ways to make it quieter, and some of them are costing more than they give. None of this means you are broken. It means your mind and body learned to protect you, and they have not yet learned they can stop.
The story you keep replaying.
"It's all my fault."
"If I had just done something different…"
Self-blame is often the mind trying to keep you safe. If it was your fault, it could have been prevented, and the world feels less random. That logic has been working hard on your behalf. It has also been costing you.
Your body feels like it turned against you.
"My body is broken."
"My partner would be better off with someone who can get pregnant."
Maybe it is endometriosis, PCOS, or years of pain no one took seriously. For some women it is infertility, a pregnancy loss, or a birth that went nothing like it should have. When your body has been the site of this much hurt, it makes sense to see it as the enemy. It is not broken. It has been asked to carry an enormous amount.
Whatever brought you here — you do not have to have it figured out. You just have to show up.
What It Feels Like to Sit Across From Brook
Brook meets you with deep compassion, and she does not leave you wandering. Sessions have warmth and room to breathe, and they also have direction. If you are someone who likes to know the plan, this will feel like relief.
She can hold the hardest parts of your story without flinching and without rushing you through them. Clients often say they felt, for the first time, that their reactions made sense. From there the deeper work, including EMDR, becomes possible at a pace that is steady and never forced.
What Brook Helps With:
- Complex trauma, PTSD, and EMDR therapy
- Attachment wounds and relationship patterns
- Anxiety and chronic worry
- Self-esteem, self-blame, and the pressure of always being the responsible one
- OCD and intrusive thoughts
- Substance use recovery
- Women's health challenges, including endometriosis, PCOS, and hormone-related conditions
- Reproductive and perinatal trauma: birth trauma, pregnancy and infant loss, infertility, and postpartum anxiety
- Life transitions, relationships, and college students
In-person in Birmingham · Online throughout Alabama · Accepting new clients now
What Happens when you reach out
Your first session is not an assessment. It is a conversation. Brook will want to understand what has been hard and what you hope will feel different. You will not be asked to tell the whole story at once or to relive anything before you are ready.
Together you will set goals and choose the approach that fits. If you are coming in for trauma and want EMDR, Brook will answer all of your questions and create a plan for moving forward. You will do the groundwork together before EMDR begins.
What Brook Believes about you
She believes you are not broken, and that what happened was not your fault, even if your mind has spent years building the case that it was. She believes the drive that has kept you going for everyone else can learn to work for you.
She also believes healing does not mean forgetting. What you have been through can become something you carry with less weight, not something that carries you.
You Deserve Support. Brook Is Here.
The memories that will not stay quiet, the blame you have never set down, the weight you have been carrying for everyone else: you do not have to hold any of it alone. You reached out. That matters.
In person in Birmingham · Online throughout Alabama.
You are not alone. Let's begin.
How Brook Helps
The approach: EMDR and structured, skills-based therapy, tailored to you
At the center of Brook's trauma work is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence-based therapy that helps the brain process experiences that have stayed stuck. EMDR does not erase what happened. It changes how the memory is stored, so it stops carrying the same charge every time it surfaces. Most clients describe the memory as still there but no longer running the moment.
Brook pairs EMDR with practical skills. She draws on DBT for overwhelming emotion and strengths-focused CBT for self-criticism and the thoughts that feel like facts. She uses ERP for OCD and intrusive thoughts, and Motivational Interviewing for substance use recovery and any change you feel torn about.
Her goal with every client: understand what your mind and body have been doing to protect you, build skills that work in real life, and move toward the life you want.
Background & Training
Brook Sullivan earned her B.S. in Psychology at The University of Alabama and her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at UAB. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Alabama, a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and is trained in EMDR. She has also completed training in perinatal mental health and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).
Before joining Empower, Brook worked in residential treatment and private practice, building depth with complex trauma, attachment wounds, and substance use recovery. Her experience gives her working fluency in women's health and reproductive medicine, so her clients never have to educate their therapist.
A Little More About Brook
Outside of the therapy room, Brook loves spending time with her husband, family, and friends. She is an avid reader, especially when it comes to psychological thrillers and mystery novels. She also loves cooking and baking - particularly trying out new recipes. When she’s looking to slow down and decompress, you’ll probably find her out on a walk or doing hand embroidery.
Brook has a strong interest in wellness and holistic health, particularly as it relates to women’s health and well-being. She is passionate about helping women better understand and care for their bodies, including the connection between physical health, emotional well-being, nutrition, and hormonal health. She is always up for a conversation about all things health and wellness!
Brook began this work because she believes women deserve more support than they are often given. Whether you’re navigating a major life transition, postpartum changes, infertility, or simply a season that feels difficult to navigate on your own, it can be easy to feel alone. Therapy can be a place to slow down, feel truly heard, and have someone beside you through it all. You deserve a space where you feel welcomed, supported, and never rushed.