Terri keener

Terri Keener is The Stable Arena’s resident therapist, and has lived in southern Nevada for almost 20 years. She began her career in working with those affected by trauma more than 30 years ago as a Child Protective Services Specialist in Texas, and gained experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, project manager, therapist, and clinical supervisor in Kansas. 

Before joining The Stable Arena, Terri filled several roles for Clark County related to child and family welfare. Following the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in 2017, she transitioned to the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center as the Behavioral Health Coordinator. While at the Resiliency Center, Terri’s work focused on ensuring proper mental health services were provided to the survivors of the attack as well as helping communities establish recovery and resiliency both locally and nationally. 

Terri continues her work with survivors of trauma at The Stable Arena and in her private therapy practice by focusing on serving public safety professionals, veterans and active duty military personnel, and medical professionals, in addition to victims of violent crime and chronic trauma. She uses Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as her primary treatment technique, and completed Equilateral (Equine-Assisted EMDR Protocol) training in 2021 so she could partner with Laura Higgins and our helpful herd to provide Arena EMDR as well. 

Terri has always had an interest in helping others navigate the difficulties of life, which sparked her beginnings with social work. Through social work, she learned to problem-solve with both creativity and practicality, and developed an eye for seeing people as unique individuals – and a standard for treating others with a high degree of respect. 

Although she did not originally seek to become a therapist, the opportunity found her during a period of life where her own circumstances were changing much like instances she sought to help others through. Terri found providing therapy to be fulfilling and began a life-long exploration of finding more and more ways to work with people of all ages and backgrounds who sought to heal from trauma and life’s difficulties. The best knowledge comes from learning from the individuals who let her facilitate their healing. 

The Las Vegas community’s response to the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting was inspiring for Terri, and she found the opportunity to become part of that response as the Behavioral Health Coordinator for the Las Vegas Resiliency Center. Terri used her experience and expertise in helping others to connect with those affected and help pair them with caring and competent service providers locally, nationally and internationally. 

While working with those affected by this violent event, Terri noticed a demand for trauma informed EMDR therapists and began to search for qualified providers to pair with those who needed services. This is how she came across Sarah Jenkins, who practices and trains others in Equine Assisted EMDR. The opportunity arose for Terri to take Sarah’s training, called Equilateral, and she decided to take advantage of it. The training had to be completed as a team – an EMDR therapist and a certified equine specialist – and Terri was very excited when Laura agreed to attend it with her. She met Laura through her work with the Resiliency Center and had already seen first hand the impact horses could have in supporting healing. 

Terri grew up with horses – riding with friends, watching local rodeos and participating in parades – and understands they are social beings with a lot to teach. Horses can reflect someone’s internal state without judgment, and encourage further understanding about self-regulation, non-verbal communication and respect for others. Including horses in the process of healing and being in a natural environment can help individuals find a calming, peaceful connection and even offer additional comfort and focus. 

Terri focuses on engaging with clients from a place of respect, and appreciates them for trusting her with their doubts, hurts and fears as it can take a lot of courage to engage in therapy. She is open and honest with her clients, and hopes they can be honest with her and with themselves. Terri feels it’s important for clients to be active participants in determining the best approach to their healing and discovering what will work best for them. She uses her background and experiences to be creative and adapt to each client’s individual needs. 

When she’s not in the arena, Terri enjoys watching or playing a good tennis match and observing the hummingbirds that frequent her backyard. She has three kids, and loves being able to see them create their own families and experience the joys and trials of parenthood. Terri loves watching her grandkids explore their curiosity about the world and seeing their growth.