Education & Experience

Dr. Berman is a seasoned clinician with advanced professional training that includes an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited doctoral residency in psychology at the Portland VA Health Care System (HCS), and an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship in PTSD/trauma at the Maryland VA HCS. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Ph.D.) from Tennessee State University, a Master of Arts in Education Policy from University of Maryland College Park, and an advanced graduate certificate in Working with Survivors of Violence, Torture, and Trauma from the Department of Psychology at University of Maryland College Park. Her work experience includes longstanding service with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including as a specialty mental health provider on PTSD Clinical Teams. Dr. Berman offers an attachment, somatic and mindfulness approach to promote deep healing, psychological growth and transformation, and she continues her training with the Hakomi Institute of the Pacific Northwest. She holds provider status in evidence-based treatments, including the gold-standard therapies for PTSD: Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and EMDR. She is an EMDR certified therapist with extensive advanced specialty training in EMDR for grief and Somatic and Attachment Focused EMDR, which brings in transformational aspects of body centered psychotherapies while maintaining fidelity to the EMDR model. Her advanced EMDR training also includes Ego State interventions and Internal Family Systems (parts work), and EMDR for grief and mourning with esteemed Dr. Roger Solomon through the EMDR Institute. She is also a Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD trained provider. Dr. Berman is a Certified Grief Educator, trained by world-renown grief and loss expert, David Kessler. And as a HeartMath® Certified Practitioner, she provides heart rate variability biofeedback training for stress, anxiety and self-regulation. In addition, Dr. Berman is a Registered Hypnotherapist in the state of Washington, with advanced specialty training in the use of clinical hypnosis in psychotherapy through the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH Level I & Level II trained clinical hypnosis provider). She currently serves as Vice President on the Executive Board of the Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis, an ASCH component society.