About Northstar Center
Where science meets compassion.
With compassionate, trauma-informed care and a safe space to explore your experiences, you’ll begin to break unhelpful patterns, build healthier relationships, and face challenges with greater clarity and confidence.
Growth doesn’t erase the scars—it gives them meaning.
Our Approach
Trauma-Informed
We understand that trauma often underlies many presenting concerns. Our work honors the nervous system, individual pacing, and the importance of safety in healing.
Client-Centered
We meet clients where they are — respecting their autonomy, strengths, and lived experiences. Therapy is a collaborative process grounded in trust and choice.
Evidence-Based
Our clinicians use treatments supported by research — like EMDR, CBT, and relational psychodynamic therapy — while adapting to each client’s unique context.
Marlena McEachron, PsyD
Dr. Marlena McEachron is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in anxiety, depression, trauma, and dissociative disorders. She holds a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and is EMDRIA-trained in EMDR therapy. Known for combining clinical expertise with authentic warmth, Dr. McEachron founded Northstar Center to offer a therapeutic space that is both compassionate and evidence-based. Her approach is rooted in science and shaped by a trauma-informed, relational framework—guiding her work in both therapy and psychological assessment.
Vanessa Stolarski, M.A.
Somatic Trauma Therapist
Vanessa is a trauma therapist in training with 20+ years of experience in health and wellness, working under the supervision of Dr. Marlena McEachron, licensed clinical psychologist and Dr. Jamie West, licensed marriage and family therapist. She earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Marshall University, with a concentration in trauma, grief, and violence, and has worked across settings with adults navigating trauma, relational wounds, and major life transitions.
Evidence-Based Therapies, Personalized for You
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR is a proven therapy that helps people heal from trauma by changing the way difficult memories are stored in the brain.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
Increases awareness of unhelpful thought patterns so you can replace them with healthier ways of thinking, feeling and responding.
DBT-Informed Therapy
Builds skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance and healthier relationships without the intensity of a full fidelity DBT program.
IFS (Internal Family Systems)
Promotes self-understanding and helps individuals build healthier behavior patterns by identifying and working with conflicting thoughts, emotions, and internal dynamics.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Promotes self-understanding by exploring unconscious patterns rooted in early experiences, helping individuals gain insight and create lasting emotional and behavioral change.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
Combines mindfulness and CBT tools to help you notice negative thoughts, interrupt old cycles and respond with self-compassion, wisdom and intention.
Somatic Experiencing
A body-based approach to healing stress and trauma. It helps your nervous system complete “stuck” stress responses so you can feel safer, steadier, and more present.
TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused CBT)
A trauma-sensitive approach for children and adolescents that combines structure with compassion to support healing after trauma.