CompassionWorks

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Plano, TX
CompassionWorks

CompassionWorks was founded in 1998 by Jordan Shafer, MS, LPC. Through EMDR we can let your brain change the way emotional information is linked.

CompassionWorks offers EMDR & Mindfulness Distance Counseling to individuals, EMDR training & Continuing Education courses to mental health professionals. EMDR is a type of therapy that helps people move past difficulties, so they can be more present and enjoy their daily lives. Similar to other psychotherapies, we talk about what is happening in your life and explore practical solutions. However, we take it another step further by leveraging EMDR processing to work directly with your ‘limbic’ brain. This process allows neural networks, old and new, to link-up allowing the mind to become more open in its ability to find creative solutions. As a result, anxiety will lessen and life can begin to ‘feel’ more manageable; even better. We offer EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) approved EMDR Basic Training to Mental Health Professionals such as psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, professional counselors and graduate students in the field of mental health (completing their internships). Partnering with the Advanced Education Institute, we teach the EMDR training program developed by DaLene Forester, PhD, LMFT. For EMDR trained therapists and mental health professionals, we also offer an EMDR Boot Camp. This is for professionals who have completed the basic training (previously EMDR L1 & L2) from an EMDRIA approved training or the EMDR Institute. This two day EMDR skills refresher course is specifically designed for professionals that have not had the opportunity to practice EMDR. This is the perfect course for professionals that would like hands on practice to their build technical competence. Continuing Education credits for EMDR trained professionals are also available. For more information, visit us at www.CompassionWorks.com or call (972) 342 - 2448.

01/05/2026

New years often come with an unspoken expectation: reset, plan, accelerate.

But a nervous-system-informed start looks different.

Gentleness doesn’t mean disengaging — it means pacing.

A gentle start might include:
🔸️ beginning the day without urgency
🔸️ setting fewer, more intentional priorities
🔸️ noticing where tension lives in the body
🔸️ choosing regulation over productivity
🔸️ allowing direction to emerge gradually

Before setting goals or making plans, pause and check in.

What does a gentle start feel like in your body as this year begins?

01/01/2026

✨ A new year begins.

The past year shaped us—through learning, connection, challenges, and quiet moments of growth. We carry those experiences with us, not as a summary, but as a foundation.

Now, we look ahead.
To new questions.
New trainings.
New ways of showing up—for our clients, our communities, and ourselves.

The work continues, and so does the becoming. Not rushed. Not perfected. Just intentional, present, and grounded in care.
Here’s to what’s ahead—and to walking into it together. 🥂

12/30/2025

✨ Looking Back on a Year That Shaped Us ✨

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re pausing—not to tally accomplishments, but to honor what truly mattered: connection, presence, and shared growth.

This year unfolded across classrooms, communities, and continents. It showed up in quiet leadership, global collaboration, new voices finding their way, and clinicians choosing depth over speed—again and again.

From global contributions and well-earned recognitions, to the launch of Founder’s Corner and the stories shared through Real Voices. Real Impact, 2025 reminded us that the heart of this work isn’t just what we teach—it’s how we show up for one another.

💭 Behind every training, every workshop, every number, there was a human being choosing to learn, to listen, and to stay present.

We captured it all in our 2025 Year-in-Review—a reflection on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, and how this community continues to grow.

👉 Read the full reflection on the blog and join us in closing the year with gratitude and intention: www.compassionworks.com/2025-year-in-review/

💬 What did this year open for you—personally or professionally?

12/28/2025

Training in action—Week 2 in Montrose 🌈✨

There’s something that shifts as a training moves into its second week. The room feels more settled. The questions get deeper. The learning becomes embodied.

This week in Montrose, we saw clinicians stepping more fully into the work—practicing, reflecting, supporting one another, and building the kind of trust that makes real growth possible. EMDR training isn’t just about learning a protocol; it’s about community, presence, and the courage to stay curious together.

We’re grateful for this group—for the openness they bring, the care they show each other, and the shared commitment to doing this work with integrity and compassion.

This is what Training in Action looks like.
And it’s why we do what we do.

💬 Tag a colleague you’d love to train alongside in a future cohort.

12/26/2025

Real voices. Real impact. 💬✨

Behind every EMDR training, there’s a moment when learning feels safe, questions are welcomed, and curiosity replaces pressure. This reflection from a recent participant captures what we strive to create at CompassionWorks: spaces where clinicians feel supported, understood, and confident to grow.

Whether in person or online, our trainings are designed to make complex concepts feel accessible—and to remind you that you don’t have to know everything to begin. You just need a place where it’s okay to ask.

💙 Curious about upcoming trainings and workshops?
Explore what’s next at www.compassionworks.com

12/24/2025

✨ Your next step in EMDR training might be closer than you think.

Whether you’re just beginning your EMDR journey or deepening skills you already use in the therapy room, our 2026 EMDR Trainings & Workshops are designed to meet you where you are—and support you as you grow.

🧠 Train online,
🤝 Join us in person, or
🔁 Choose a hybrid format that balances flexibility with real connection.

Across formats, you’ll find the same foundation:

🔸Trauma-informed, relational teaching
🔸Space for curiosity—not perfection
🔸Ongoing support beyond the training itself

From multi-week EMDR Therapist Trainings to focused workshops on grief, neurodivergence, bilingual practice, and equine-assisted EMDR, these offerings are built for real clinicians doing real work—inside complex systems, busy lives, and evolving practices.

📅 With cohorts running throughout the year and locations across the U.S., there’s room to plan in a way that actually works for you.

💬 Curious which training fits your path right now?

Take a look at what’s coming up—and imagine what your practice could look like with deeper confidence, clarity, and community.

👉 Explore upcoming EMDR trainings & workshops at www.compassionworks.com

12/17/2025

Founder’s Corner | New Reflection ✨

When a relationship ends, it’s not just heartbreak.
It’s identity unraveling.

In this deeply personal reflection, Jordan Shafer writes about what happens when loss dissolves the sense of “us”—and what rises in its place. Grief. Angst. Feeling. And, unexpectedly, a kind of grace.

This piece explores:
🔹Why separation can feel like losing part of yourself
🔹How long-blocked emotions can finally begin to move
🔹The quiet gift hidden inside loss: the return of feeling

From nondual wisdom—and through the clinical lens of EMDR—this reflection reminds us that pain doesn’t always mean something is wrong. Sometimes, it means something true is being revealed.

👉 Read the latest Founder’s Corner on the blog:
https://compassionworks.com/the-unraveling-of-identity/

12/13/2025

✨ Why We Do This Work: Healing Starts with Kindness

In trauma work—and in training—kindness isn’t an add-on.
It’s the ground we stand on. 🌱

Self-compassion shapes how we listen, how we respond, and how we stay present—not only with clients, but with ourselves. It allows us to meet complexity with curiosity, and growth with patience instead of pressure.

As Dr. Amanda Martin reminds us, kindness isn’t a technique to apply.
It’s a way of showing up—with clients, with trainees, and within our own nervous systems. 🤍

This is the heart of the work we do at CompassionWorks.
And it’s why we do it.

12/12/2025

🛠️ Pardon our dust (the digital kind).

Our website will be temporarily down December 20–21 while we make some behind-the-scenes improvements. 💻✨

We’re refreshing things to better support you—and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next.

Thanks so much for your patience.
Big improvements are on the way.

12/10/2025

💛 Self-compassion isn’t soft—it’s science.
And your brain changes when you practice it.

🔸Our newest article breaks down how treating yourself with kindness activates neural pathways linked to safety, emotional regulation, and resilience.

🔸Far from being indulgent, self-compassion strengthens the nervous system—helping it meet stress without collapsing or becoming overwhelmed.

🔸And when paired with EMDR?
Clients often discover a surprising capacity to face difficult memories with steadiness instead of fear.

🔸If you’ve ever wondered why self-compassion matters so much in trauma work, this piece offers a clear, grounded look at the research—and how to apply it in daily life and in the therapy room.

👉 Read the full article: https://compassionworks.com/the-science-of-self-compassion/

12/05/2025

Winter asks us to slow—but not to disappear. ❄️💙
As the light changes and the air cools, the body naturally leans toward stillness. This is normal. This is wisdom.

What we can offer ourselves is a soft structure:
🚶‍♀️‍➡️ a bit of light movement
⏯️ a rhythm of rest
🤝 a touchpoint with someone we trust

Small actions that keep the system warm, awake, and connected.

Preparing for winter is an act of care—for your body, your nervous system, and your inner world.
Perfection isn’t the goal. Presence is.

👉 Swipe through to explore practices you can carry into the season.

12/03/2025

🌱 What Makes EMDR Training Transformative

It’s more than learning a protocol—it’s learning yourself in the process.

Whether you walk into a training with excitement, hesitation, or simple curiosity, something remarkable happens when the room settles.
You begin learning the method… but you also begin discovering the power of community, presence, and compassion in action.

At CompassionWorks, EMDR training isn’t passive. You learn by doing, by witnessing, and sometimes by being held in the same therapeutic space you’re learning to create for others.

✨ The shift often starts quietly:
A softening.
A moment of insight.
A deeper belief in what’s possible.
Not just for clients—but for clinicians too.

By the end, no one leaves with a sense of perfection. But they do leave changed—more grounded, more connected, and more open to the work ahead.

If you ever wondered what makes EMDR training so impactful, this blog post is for you.
👉 www.compassionworks.com/what-makes-emdr-training-transformative/

Address

1709 Savage Drive
Plano, TX
75023

Telephone

(972) 342-2448

Website

https://compassionworks.com/

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