Dr. Brian Simmons

Dr. Brian Simmons

Brian Simmons is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Texas specializing in trauma & stress-related disorders. Mr. Simmons and his wife (Dr. Stephanie Thurston-Simmons) currently co-own and operate both New Solutions Counseling & Trauma Center and HC Solutions Training and Consulting. Both are located in Southlake, Texas.

Mr. Simmons received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and History from Southern Methodist University and his Masters in Counseling from Amberton University. He completed the majority of his counseling practicum hours at Burning Tree Ranch, a residential dual diagnosis substance abuse rehabilitation treatment center specializing in multi-relapse cases. He also obtained practicum hours at the North Texas Suicide and Crisis Center providing remote stabilization and crisis counseling. Mr. Simmons accrued post-graduate hours in both private practice and at Safe Haven of Tarrant County facilitating Batterer Intervention Prevention Program (BIPP) groups and conducting program intake assessments.

 

 

Mr. Simmons has obtained the following trainings/certifications:

  1. Certified Hypnotherapist
  2. Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (Individual)
  3. Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (Family)
  4. Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (Trauma & Addiction)
  5. Certified Stress & Trauma Care Specialist
  6. Certified Stress & Trauma Care Specialist (Sex Trafficking/Instructor)
  7. Certified Psychotraumatologist (IPA)
  8. Certified Multichannel Eye Movement Integration Practitioner & Instructor (MEMI)
  9. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
  10. Migraine Pain Reduction Protocol, treating dissociative disorders with EMDR
  11. Acute Stress Syndrome Stabilization procedures (ASSYST)
  12. EMDR-Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP)
  13. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) provider with specialized training in Feeling State Addiction Protocol, Migraine Protocol, & Dissociative Disorders.

 

Prior to beginning his counseling career in 2012, Brian obtained a Texas Peace Officer License in 2001 and served as a full-time law enforcement officer. First with the Dallas Police Department and then with the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant.

During his law enforcement career, Brian obtained the following specialized training:

  1. Special Weapons and Tactics
  2. Hostage Negotiations, Mental Health Peace Officer
  3. Field Training Officer
  4. TCOLE Instructor
  5. Forensic Hypnosis
  6. Master Peace Officer Certification

 

Mr. Simmons has spent much of his time working in the field of human sex trafficking survivor recovery. Since 2016, Brian has worked in varying capacities with four non-profits in the battle against sex slavery:

 

  1. 2019 (Advisory Board Member for SWAT League)
  2. 2019-2020 (Director of Operations for Express Missions International)
  3. 2017-2019 (assisting an NGO that focused on rescuing women and children from ISIS controlled territory in Iraq & from Boko Haram in Africa)
  4. 2016-2017 (Director of Clinical Care for Valiant Hearts)

 

During his time assisting in Iraq, he and his wife also designed a child soldier restoration program and an APA certified course: Sex Trafficking and Sex Industry Exploitation (Certified Stress & Trauma Care Specialist) that has been used to train caregivers internationally.

Brian also served as an Adjunct Instructor at the Arizona Trauma Institute from 2018-2024.

Find out More About Brian's First Responder Courses