Our Team
The people carrying the work forward.
EMDR Educators is shaped by trainers, consultants, faculty, and support professionals committed to helping therapists learn EMDR with clarity, confidence, and respect for the model.
Different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences contribute to the educational environment, but a shared commitment remains: thoughtful teaching, meaningful clinical development, and a deep belief that the work matters.
The people below help carry that commitment into trainings, consultations, conversations, and the broader EMDR Educators community.
At a Glance
Who teaches at EMDR Educators?
EMDR Educators is led by Dr. Andrew Dobo, PsyD, creator of Transformational EMDR® and an EMDRIA-approved trainer and consultant. The educational leadership team also includes Elena Engle, an EMDR trainer and the first Transformational EMDR-certified therapist. Together with consultants, faculty, and support professionals, they help provide EMDR training, consultation, certification support, and continuing professional development for therapists.
Educational Leadership
Clinical development, meaningful transformation, memory reconsolidation, and the people who keep showing up anyway.
Every educational environment develops a culture, whether intentionally or not. It develops standards. It develops assumptions about what matters, what deserves attention, and what it means to continue growing as a therapist.
Over time, those influences become visible in the questions that are encouraged, the conversations that continue after the training ends, the quality of consultation, and the expectations people hold for themselves and one another.
The work of carrying that responsibility requires more than expertise. It asks for consistency, discernment, and a genuine commitment to the ongoing development of therapists and the profession itself.
At EMDR Educators, the work is taken seriously, but never reduced to information alone.
Dr. Andrew Dobo, Psy.D
Founder of EMDR Educators, creator of Transformational EMDR®, and an EMDR trainer, consultant, and educator whose work has influenced therapists across the United States and beyond. Through decades of clinical practice, teaching, consultation, and innovation, he has helped shape how countless clinicians understand EMDR, therapist development, and the transformative possibilities of therapy.
Elena Engle, LMHC
EMDR trainer, educational leader, and the first Transformational EMDR-certified therapist. Through years of training, consultation, teaching, and close collaboration with Dr. Andrew Dobo, she has helped therapists translate knowledge into confidence, theory into practice, and learning into meaningful clinical growth.
Her work reflects a deep commitment to supporting therapists as they develop their own voice, judgment, and effectiveness within EMDR, helping many move from understanding the model to truly embodying it in clinical practice.
Nobody Applied for This.
Most People Arrive Here as Students.
The therapists who contribute to EMDR Educators arrived through many different paths, but most share a common starting point: they registered for a training.
Over time, continued learning led to consultation. Consultation led to deeper development. Professional relationships formed. Opportunities emerged. Responsibilities grew.
What brought these therapists together was not a hiring process. It was a shared commitment to the work, a willingness to continue developing, and years of engagement with the educational environment that shaped them.
The result is a team connected not only by professional roles, but by a common experience of learning, growth, and participation in the ongoing life of EMDR Educators.
Faculty & Consultants
Ryan Terry
LMHC QS
A Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, Trainer-in-Training, and founder of Sunrise EMDR in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. With over 15 years of clinical experience, he specializes in the treatment of trauma, addiction, attachment wounds, anxiety disorders, and performance psychology. Ryan’s work is grounded in Transformational EMDR (T-EMDR) and enriched by Jungian psychology, dream analysis, and mythology, integrating neuroscience with depth psychology to support meaningful and lasting transformation.
Ryan provides EMDR consultation, trainings, and intensives for both clients and clinicians. He believes healing extends beyond symptom reduction to a process of becoming more fully ourselves, and he encourages therapists to practice EMDR with curiosity, authenticity, presence, and trust in the wisdom of the therapeutic process.
Carolyn Lenz
LMHC
Carolyn began her career as a social worker in the Child Welfare System in North Carolina. Through this experience, it became clear that her efforts were merely putting a band-aid on a much deeper issue. This realization inspired her to return to school, where she earned a Master’s degree in Counseling with a focus on helping trauma survivors heal.
Since obtaining her master’s degree, Carolyn has worked in a variety of roles, including in-home counseling, outpatient substance abuse treatment, sexual assault victim advocacy, community mental health, and in a university system. She has also run her own private practice. Her passion for training and clinical development has led her to hold positions as a clinical manager in a Trauma Services program, a Qualified Supervisor, a clinical trainer, and now as an EMDR Consultant-in-Training (CIT).
With over 12 years of professional experience as a licensed therapist, Carolyn is dedicated to providing compassionate and effective care. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. Her certifications include EMDR Certification through EMDRIA, Board Certified Therapist, Certified Trauma-Informed Professional, Certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Nidra Instructor, and licensed counselor.
Carolyn reports that working with survivors in various capacities has deepened her understanding of the profound impact mental health has on individuals and the resilience that lies within each person.
Robert Engle
LMHC
Robert G. Engle, LMHC, is an EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist and Certified Transformational EMDR™ Therapist providing virtual therapy throughout Florida and North Carolina.
As a former NCAA Division I athlete, Robert understands how pressure, injury, criticism, setbacks, and changes in identity can continue affecting performance long after the original experience has passed. He specializes in helping athletes, executives, adults with ADHD, and other high performers experiencing performance anxiety, mental blocks, fear of reinjury, inconsistent confidence, trauma, and difficulty accessing their abilities under pressure.
Robert uses performance-focused EMDR to address the memories, beliefs, and automatic nervous-system responses that interfere with performance. His goal is not to give capable people another motivational strategy, but to reduce the internal interference preventing them from performing with greater freedom, consistency, and confidence.
Robert is currently completing his EMDR Consultant-in-Training requirements under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Dobo, with the goal of becoming an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and EMDR Approved trainer. He also supports EMDR Educators through course development and research initiatives intended to advance thoughtful, innovative, and evidence-informed applications of EMDR therapy.
Outside of his professional work, Robert is an avid Manchester United supporter who enjoys coaching and staying active.
Melinda Johnson
LCSW-QS
Much of Melinda’s work is at the intersection of Transformational EMDR® and Christian faith. In addition to her work as an EMDR therapist and consultant, she is an invited speaker to parishes and diocesan engagements focusing on mental and spiritual health. She is also a military veteran and former law enforcement officer and is honored to bring healing to those who serve.
Gwen Forbes-Wolfe
LMHC
Gwen Forbes-Wolfe, LMHC is a friend and colleague. She was one of the first clinicians to be trained in EMDR in the state of Florida. She was first trained in 1990 by Francine Shapiro herself. The first research was published in 1989 so Gwen was one of the EMDR pioneers. She was also a trainer in the early days here in Florida. Recently, she retired from her very successful private practice. She is the most dedicated EMDR therapists I have ever met. She trusts in the process and she taught me to do the same. When she found out I was starting to train therapists she was over joyed and said, “It’s about time.” When asked if she would come out of retirement to help she decided to remain retired. I am happy that she stops by to chat every once in a while and I know she is always there if I need her advice. She is an honorary part of our team.
Linda Khmelnytska, LMHC
EMDR Certified Therapist, and Consultant-in-Training
Linda is a passionate and dedicated mental health professional with over 13 years of experience helping clients navigate anxiety, depression, trauma, and sexual abuse. Her work is rooted in a holistic approach to healing, blending evidence-based techniques with innovative practices like Amen Clinic Brain Health Coaching, mindfulness, and hypnosis to support her clients’ growth and well-being.
As a native of Ukraine, Linda has been actively volunteering her expertise since the beginning of the war, providing EMDR therapy to Ukrainian citizens affected by trauma. Closer to home, she is deeply involved in supporting the Tampa Bay community, offering her expertise in group EMDR therapy for disaster relief when needed. Linda donates her services to help those impacted by crises and to foster community resilience.
Linda also specializes in group EMDR therapy for women facing pregnancy loss, including miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, birth trauma, and the challenges of IVF. Her compassionate and transformative approach empowers her clients to navigate their healing journeys with strength and hope.
Whether working one-on-one or leading EMDR groups, Linda is committed to helping her clients reclaim their sense of worth, peace, and empowerment. Her dedication to mental health, holistic healing, and community service makes her a trusted guide and advocate for change.
Dunja Pacirski, PhD
LCSW
Dr. Dunja Pacirski has a 25-year multidimensional clinical tenure with a background in trauma-informed care. She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and qualified supervisor, certified EMDR therapist working toward becoming an EMDRIA approved consultant under Dr. Dobo’s mentorship, and an internationally certified addiction professional.
Her expertise includes providing both group and individual therapy services to diverse populations, supervisory work with clinicians, and teaching graduate level courses with focus on conducting clinical assessments, various therapeutic models and psycho-social interventions in mental health counseling and treating addictions.
Dr. Pacirski completed her doctoral degree at Barry University, Miami with a research focus in cultivating therapeutic skills through mindfulness and reflective practice as well as, supported by her strong belief in continuous professional development and own long practice of mindfulness (meditation), she facilitated numerous community and professional workshops on holistic approaches to stress reduction and promoting emotional wellness.
Her own continuous inner searching and the clinical work as a healing practitioner led her to develop insights, skills, and practices that help bring her personal vision and professional mission to life: “Helping people find inner peace and expand in joy for Self, Life, and each other.”
Behind the Scenes
Theresa Wunderlich
Education Coordinator
Theresa has been working alongside Dr. Andrew Dobo since his years in private practice and has remained a steady presence throughout the growth of EMDR Educators. For many therapists, she is one of the first people they meet and one of the last people they speak with. Through years of supporting trainings, coordinating logistics, and helping therapists navigate the educational process, she has become a familiar and trusted part of the EMDR Educators experience.
We Have Yet to Find a Better Topic
Most people arrive at pages like this believing they are gathering information, comparing organizations, evaluating trainers, looking for experience, credentials, competence, or fit. All reasonable things to do.
Yet the longer people remain in this field, the more they discover that professional development rarely follows such tidy logic. The trainings remembered most clearly are seldom remembered because of the dates they were held, the slides that were presented, or the credentials listed on a website. They are remembered because something shifted, because a question became more interesting, because a possibility became visible, because a way of understanding therapy, clients, or even oneself became difficult to ignore.
By the time someone reaches the bottom of a page like this, the practical questions are often no longer the only questions. Curiosity has usually entered the conversation, along with the sense that there may be more to learn than first imagined, and that the direction of that learning matters. The next step is rarely choosing a team. It is understanding the work that brought the team together in the first place.