Connect with licensed Marriage & Family Therapists who specialize in PTSD, complex trauma, and trauma recovery. Trauma-informed care available in-person and via telehealth across all 50 states.
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Trauma therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy designed to help people process and recover from overwhelming experiences that have left lasting emotional, psychological, or physical imprints. When the brain and nervous system are exposed to events that exceed normal coping capacity — abuse, accidents, assault, loss, natural disaster, or prolonged stress — memories can become "stuck" and continue to cause distress long after the event has passed.
Trauma-informed therapists create a carefully paced, safe environment to help clients process these memories without becoming overwhelmed. Treatment is not about reliving or dwelling in the past for its own sake — it is about helping the nervous system recognize that the event is over, integrating the experience so it no longer intrudes on daily life, and rebuilding a sense of safety and agency.
Marriage and Family Therapists who specialize in trauma understand that traumatic events do not happen in isolation — they affect the entire relational ecosystem around a person. MFTs can help individuals heal while also working with the family and relationship systems that trauma has strained, including helping partners understand trauma responses, rebuilding trust, and restoring healthy attachment.
Trauma treatment uses specialized techniques distinct from general talk therapy. Research consistently supports these approaches for PTSD and complex trauma.
EMDR helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories by pairing brief recall with bilateral stimulation. Recognized by the APA, VA, and WHO, EMDR reduces the emotional charge of traumatic memories — often in significantly fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy alone.
TF-CBT adapts core CBT principles specifically for trauma. Clients learn coping skills, process trauma-related thoughts and emotions, and develop a trauma narrative — transforming fragmented, intrusive memories into an integrated story they have authorship over.
Developed by Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing addresses trauma stored in the body — the tension, freeze responses, and physical arousal that outlast the original event. Clients learn to track bodily sensations and complete interrupted survival responses, releasing trauma from the nervous system.
IFS works with the different "parts" of a person's inner world — protective parts that developed to cope with trauma, and the exiled parts carrying pain and shame. Therapy helps clients access their core Self and bring compassionate healing to the parts that were hurt or burdened by traumatic experiences.
Showing 6 of 9,400+ verified trauma therapists
LMFT, PhD · 17 Years Experience
Washington, DC · In-Person & Telehealth
Dr. Hassan is a certified EMDR therapist with advanced training in complex trauma and refugee mental health. She works with survivors of political violence, displacement, and war trauma, as well as domestic abuse survivors and first responders. She brings a deeply humanizing approach to trauma work and is fluent in Arabic and English.
Insurance: Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Tricare
LMFT · 11 Years Experience
San Diego, CA · In-Person & Telehealth
Devin specializes in military and veteran trauma, working with active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. He uses TF-CBT and IFS to address combat trauma, moral injury, and the transition challenges that often trigger PTSD symptoms. He is a veteran himself and brings lived understanding of military culture to his practice.
Insurance: Tricare, VA Community Care, Cigna, United Healthcare
LMFT, MA · 10 Years Experience
Chicago, IL · In-Person & Telehealth
Nia focuses on childhood trauma, sexual assault recovery, and race-based traumatic stress. She uses an integrative approach combining Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, and narrative therapy to help clients rebuild safety in their bodies and stories. She is deeply committed to culturally affirming, anti-oppressive care for Black and Indigenous clients.
Insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield IL, Aetna, Medicaid Illinois
LMFT · 14 Years Experience
New York, NY · In-Person & Telehealth
Paul specializes in complex PTSD and developmental trauma using IFS and EMDR. He works with adult survivors of chronic childhood neglect, emotionally immature parents, and early relational trauma who find that traditional therapy approaches have not reached the depth of their experience. His approach is patient, thorough, and centered on self-compassion.
Insurance: Aetna, Cigna, Oxford, Empire BCBS
LMFT · 9 Years Experience
Seattle, WA · Telehealth Only
Mei-Lin focuses on medical trauma, trauma during chronic illness, and the PTSD that can follow life-threatening diagnoses, ICU stays, or traumatic birth experiences. She integrates Somatic Experiencing with mindfulness-based approaches, helping clients reconnect with their bodies after experiences that made them feel unsafe in their own skin.
Insurance: Premera, Regence, Kaiser WA, Out-of-Network Superbills
LMFT, MS · 12 Years Experience
Atlanta, GA · In-Person & Telehealth
Rashida works at the intersection of trauma and intimate relationships — helping survivors of domestic violence, coercive control, and relationship trauma rebuild trust, safety, and a sense of self outside of the relationship that hurt them. She also works with trauma survivors who want support around re-entering dating and forming secure attachments.
Insurance: Aetna, United Healthcare, Ambetter, Cigna
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Browse EMDR-certified and trauma-specialized therapists in your state.
Trauma refers to the experience of events that are emotionally or physically overwhelming and exceed a person's capacity to cope. PTSD is a specific clinical diagnosis that develops in some people following traumatic exposure — characterized by intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in mood and thinking, and heightened nervous system arousal. Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. Many people experience acute stress reactions that resolve over time. Trauma therapy is beneficial whether or not a formal PTSD diagnosis is present.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy designed specifically for trauma. During EMDR, clients briefly focus on a traumatic memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements, taps, or alternating tones. This process helps the brain reprocess stuck traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity and changing the negative beliefs associated with them. EMDR is recognized by the APA, VA, and World Health Organization as an effective treatment for PTSD.
Treatment duration depends on the type and complexity of trauma. Single-incident PTSD (from one discrete event) often responds to focused trauma therapy within 8 to 16 sessions. Complex trauma — including childhood abuse, prolonged exposure, or C-PTSD — typically requires longer work, often 6 months to 2 years. Most trauma therapists use a phased treatment model: first establishing safety and coping skills, then processing trauma memories, then integration. Your therapist will discuss a realistic timeline based on your history and goals.
Yes, many clients experience a temporary increase in distress when they begin actively processing traumatic memories. This is a known and expected part of the healing process — not a sign that therapy is harmful or not working. A skilled trauma therapist will carefully pace the work to keep you within your window of tolerance, ensuring you have adequate stabilization skills before deep processing begins. Always communicate openly with your therapist if symptoms feel unmanageable outside of sessions.
Research supports telehealth as an effective delivery format for trauma therapy, including EMDR conducted via video. Many trauma survivors actually find it safer and more comfortable to do this work from their home environment, where they have more control over their surroundings. Some therapists and clients prefer in-person sessions for certain somatic or exposure exercises. The most important factor is the quality of the therapeutic relationship and the therapist's trauma specialization, not the format.