Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) in Hoover, AL: Light, Color and Complex Trauma

Emotional Transformation Therapy is the method we reach for when EMDR and Brainspotting have taken a client as far as they can. Developed by Dr. Steven Vazquez, ETT adds precise visual stimulation, specific colors, light patterns and eye positions, to an ordinary therapy conversation to reach emotional states that language and eye movement alone don't. Joel Blackstock, our clinical director, is listed by the ETT Institute as one of only two ETT practitioners in Alabama, and the only one in the Birmingham metro, for complex trauma and dissociation. Office sessions only, in Hoover off I-65 at the Riverchase exit, minutes from Birmingham.

What Emotional Transformation Therapy is

The ETT Institute defines it as an attachment-based interpersonal psychotherapy whose outcomes are enhanced by precise visual brain stimulation. Dr. Steven R. Vazquez, a Texas psychotherapist with a doctorate in counseling psychology, licensed as a professional counselor and marriage and family therapist and in practice since 1979, noticed that specific wavelengths of light changed what his clients could feel and access in session, and built that into a method he has developed, trained and published on since the 1990s. His textbook, Emotional Transformation Therapy: An Interactive Ecological Psychotherapy, was published by Jason Aronson in 2012 and reissued by Rowman & Littlefield in 2014; Accelerated Ecological Psychotherapy details the four visual techniques, and Spiritually Transformative Psychotherapy extends the work to religious and spiritual conflict. Joel interviewed him about inventing the method on our podcast.

How ETT claims to work

The claim is that color entering the eye travels along the retinohypothalamic tract to the hypothalamus and the limbic system, the circuitry that regulates arousal and mood, so that calibrated color delivered while you process an emotion shifts your physiological state in real time. ETT uses four visual techniques: a multidimensional eye-movement technique with colored dowels, peripheral light stimulation from the sides of the visual field, a spectral resonance technique using intense color, and a tunable light device that emits precise wavelengths. That's how it differs from EMDR, which moves the eyes bilaterally, and Brainspotting, which holds one eye position: ETT adds the color dimension and specific eye angles to reach targets the other two don't aim at. These are the Institute's claims; the published literature is Dr. Vazquez's books, case material and trade-journal articles, not controlled trials, and we say so plainly below.

Who ETT is for

People who have done EMDR or Brainspotting and hit a wall. Complex trauma and dissociation, which is what Joel is listed for. Anxiety and depression with a body-level, physical quality. Seasonal depression. Chronic pain tied to emotion. Cravings in recovery. Grief that hasn't moved. And people who process visually, for whom color does what words don't.

What a session looks like

You keep your eyes open, as in almost all psychotherapy. You and Joel name the emotional state you're working with. He selects a color and light pattern from the ETT protocol for that state, positions the light in your visual field, and you keep talking or simply notice while the stimulation does its work; as the state shifts, so does the color. ETT is woven into a course of trauma therapy rather than done on its own, and it is office-only, because it depends on the light equipment and a controlled environment.

Evidence and safety, stated plainly

The ETT Institute's directory carries its own disclaimer, and we adopt it: ETT is an evidence-informed approach supported by clinical case literature and practitioner experience; it has not yet been independently validated through randomized controlled trials and is not listed on the APA Division 12, SAMHSA or NICE treatment registries. We offer it where the evidence-based methods have plateaued, we don't oversell it, and if it doesn't move something within a few sessions we say so and change course. Because some protocols use flickering colored light, tell Joel about any seizure disorder or light sensitivity before the first session.

How it works at Taproot

1. 1
   Free 15-minute intake call

   Tell the coordinator you're interested in ETT.

2. 2
   You're matched with Joel

   He is the ETT-certified clinician at Taproot and one of two therapists listed by the ETT Institute in Alabama.

3. 3
   Sessions at the Hoover office

   ETT depends on the light equipment and environment at the office; it isn't offered by video.

ETT compared with the other brain-based methods at Taproot

Is emotional transformation therapy right for me? A 30-second check

Your ETT therapist in Alabama

Joel Blackstock, LICSW-S, MSW, PIP

Certified in Emotional Transformation Therapy and listed by the ETT Institute as one of two ETT practitioners in Alabama, for complex trauma and dissociation. Clinical director; integrates ETT with EMDR, Brainspotting and Jungian depth work. Host of the podcast interviews with Dr. Vazquez and ETT trainer MJ Denis.

Cost, insurance and teletherapy

We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama for most clinicians. Private-pay and out-of-network sessions are $250, with an income-based sliding scale, and we send a monthly superbill with the codes your insurer needs for out-of-network reimbursement. ETT is an office-only method. Secure video sessions are available anywhere in Alabama on the same sliding scale.

Emotional Transformation Therapy explained

Frequently asked questions

Start ETT in Hoover

Your first call is a free 15-minute conversation with our intake coordinator, who matches you with the right clinician. Our office is off I-65 at the Riverchase exit in Hoover, about ten minutes from Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Mountain Brook and fifteen from downtown Birmingham, with free parking at the door.

Directions to the Hoover office