Online Trauma Therapy Across Pennsylvania and Delaware
Relief from nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety.
Acute Trauma/ PTSD Therapy
Do you feel like you’re reliving a terrible moment over and over?
Do you have nightmares or trouble sleeping?
Sleep used to be a break. A place to rest and reset. But now, nights feel like the hardest part of the day.
Maybe it’s the nightmares. You close your eyes, and pieces of what happened come rushing back. You wake up with your heart pounding, unsure where you are for a second.
Or maybe it’s not the dreams. Maybe it’s the quiet. When everything slows down, the thoughts and memories get louder.
You might stay up late scrolling your phone, trying to avoid falling asleep. Or you fall asleep fast but wake up in the dark, restless and unsettled.
Some nights, you dread bedtime altogether. You already know what’s waiting.
Whatever your nights look like, you’re tired. Not just physically, but emotionally.
The longer it goes on, the more it wears on you. It’s hard to focus, hard to function, and hard to feel like yourself when you haven’t truly rested in a long time.
Do you feel jumpy or always on the lookout for danger?
You might not even notice when it’s happening. Checking to see who or what’s behind you. Avoiding crowded places. Walking a little faster at night.
Your body stays on high alert. Loud sounds make you flinch. A sudden movement makes your stomach drop. A change in someone’s voice makes your chest tighten.
Even when things are quiet, your mind keeps scanning. Your eyes dart around. Your jaw clenches. Your shoulders never really drop.
Maybe you take extra steps to stay safe. Triple checking the locks. Sitting where you can see the door. Leaving a light on when you sleep. You might go over different scenarios in your head, making sure you’d know what to do if something bad happened.
You’re not doing it on purpose. It’s like your brain and body are trying to stay one step ahead, just in case.
You’re on edge before you even know what for, and it’s exhausting.
Do you avoid anything that reminds you of what happened?
You might go out of your way to avoid certain places, people, or conversations. Even things that used to feel totally fine can now feel like too much. It could be as big as steering clear of an entire part of town, or as small as skipping a movie or song that brings it all rushing back.
It’s not just preference. The second you think about coming across something connected to what happened, your breathing changes. Your heart pounds. It doesn’t feel like a choice when your whole body is saying “no.”
Maybe you’ve gotten good at planning around it. You know what to avoid and how to stay away. But over time, it can start to feel like your world is getting smaller.
You spend more time trying not to feel triggered than actually feeling present. And that gets heavy.
Do flashbacks or unwanted memories keep popping into your head?
You’re trying to get through your day. Working, driving, cooking dinner. Then out of nowhere, there it is again. A memory, an image, a moment you wish you could forget. You didn’t invite it. You weren’t even thinking about it. But now it’s front and center, like it’s happening all over again.
Sometimes it lasts only a second. A sound, a smell, a phrase that brings it rushing back. Other times, it’s like being taken back into the past completely. Your chest tightens. Your stomach drops. It’s hard to breathe. You’re no longer in the room, even though you haven’t moved.
It’s disorienting, because even though what happened is over, going back to that moment feels so real. You might try to shake it off, distract yourself, or pretend it’s not there. But it keeps coming back.
It’s scary and frustrating and, sometimes, deeply isolating. Especially when no one else around you sees what you’re carrying. You’re just trying to live your life, but the past keeps showing up uninvited and unannounced.
When something this painful happens, it can affect every part of your life, even long after the moment has passed.
Help is here.
I use evidence-based and mind-body approaches like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), mindfulness, and nervous-system based support to help clients recover from single event trauma like car accidents, assaults, or medical emergencies. Together, we retrain the brain, relieve symptoms like flashbacks and nightmares, and build lasting resilience. In other words, I use science to help people feel safe, present, and more like themselves again.
Therapy for Acute Trauma/PTSD
Types of Therapy
EMDR Therapy
Uses gentle side to side movements (called bilateral stimulation) to help the brain file away painful memories so they feel less intense and less present in daily life.
TF-CBT
Helps shift unhelpful thought patterns formed after trauma and build practical coping tools.
Somatic Experiencing
Helps you tune into physical sensations and body cues that may be holding onto trauma, so your body can begin to relax and reset.
Mindfulness
Teaches you how to pay attention to the present moment with more curiosity and less judgment, which can calm your body and quiet your thoughts.
How It Works
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We Connect
First, schedule a free consultation by clicking “Book Now” to see if it feels like a good fit. In our early sessions, I’ll get to know you as a person: your story, strengths, struggles, and what truly matters to you.
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We Develop a Plan
We’ll talk about what you want from therapy and come up with a clear plan for how to get there, together.
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We Work Together
We’ll check in regularly to see what’s helping and adjust along the way to keep you moving toward the life you want.
Acute Trauma/PTSD FAQs
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PTSD stands for posttraumatic stress disorder. It happens when your brain and body are still reacting to a past event they perceived as dangerous and extremely overwhelming.
You might have nightmares, panic out of nowhere, or feel jumpy and on edge. You might feel irritable, numb, anxious, or down, or have a hard time shaking guilt or shame. Maybe you avoid certain people or places, or feel stuck with intrusive thoughts or memories about what happened. You might also notice a shift in how you see yourself or the world- for example, believing that you’re responsible for what happened or the world isn’t safe.
If these reactions stick around for more than a month and get in the way of your daily life, PTSD could be part of what’s going on. Only a licensed mental health professional or medical professional can diagnose PTSD, so if this sounds familiar, it’s worth reaching out to someone who can help.
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Trauma doesn’t always end when the event is over. Your brain and body might still be holding on to what happened, trying to keep you alert just in case. This isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a survival response that hasn’t turned off yet.
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Healing looks different for everyone. Some people start to notice shifts early in treatment, while others take more time. In our work together, we’ll continuously check in about how you’re doing, what’s helping, and where you might need more support.
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Your brain is wired to protect you. If something reminds it of what happened, it may respond like it’s happening again. This can happen even years later because your brain and body are still stuck in protection mode from when the trauma happened.
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PTSD often overlaps with anxiety, depression, substance use problems, and many other mental health struggles. In some cases, trauma makes existing struggles feel more intense or harder to manage. In other cases, PTSD is the root issue. That’s why treating the trauma itself can often bring relief across multiple areas of mental health.