Martin V. Bendernagel, LPC, LCDC
About
My passions and the primary areas of my practice are healing relationships and healing trauma using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I am a Certified EMDR therapist and work with individuals to heal the traumas that prevent intimacy in relationships and cause depression and anxiety, among other things. I am both a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counslor and work to heal the underlying causes of various addictions including: alcholism, drug addictions, sexual addictions, and other behavioral addictions. I work with people of all ages from 4 to 99 years old.
My wife and I have been married 39 years; I practice from a Christian worldview. I graduated with a Master of Arts in Counseling at St. Mary's University after I retired from the practice of law in Louisiana for 28 years.
I enjoy helping people and seeing and hearing about the positive changes that happen in their lives and in their relationship. I also enjoy the challenge of learning how to help so many different people with unique problems and issues.
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I speak with a new client or potential client on the telephone and introduce myself. They are then encouraged to explain the type of counseling or the area of counseling they need. We discuss types of payment. If they don't have medical insurance to cover counseling we discuss alternatives
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Certified Eye Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapist
Masters of Art in Community Counseling from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
My normal billing rate is One Hundred and Twenty Dollars ($120.00) per 60 minute session. However, I do offer a Sliding Scale for those people who do not have insurance for counseling. We resolve this in our initial conversation.
How did you get started in this business?
I have always sensed a calling from God to be an instrument of His healing love to his people. After making an Ignatian 19th annotation retreat, losing the home that I grew up in to the seven (7) feet of flood waters from Hurricane, and experiencing a head-on automobile accident, I reexamined my life and realized that I was not called to be an attorney at law, closed my law practive and enrolled in graduate school in counseling at St. Mary's University.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I provide counseling and EMDR therapy to all ages from four (4) to ninety-nine (99) years old, both males and females, individuals and couples. I have worked with people of all occupations including manual laborers, clerical employees, attorneys/lawyers, physicians, and other counselors.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
An lady came in tense and anxious. After expedriencing EMDR therapy that healed sexual trauma from her childhood, she left smiling and thanking me for her pain leaving.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
I would recomend that the client call the counseling office and request to speak with the counselor prior to engaging his or her services. I speak with all of my prospective clients.
If the client is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, or insomnia, an addiction and is seeking healing from an Eye Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing (EMDR), I recommend that the client verify his or her training by going to the website of the Eye Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing International Association (www.emdria.org) and click on Find a Therapist.
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
Are the issues imparing or hurting affecting my personal, social, occupational or important areas of my life,