Therapy for Trauma and PTSD
Body-based therapies for long-term trauma healing
Online throughout all of California
When Trauma Won’t Let Go
Something happened to you and you haven't been the same since.
On the surface, you have it all together. You go to work, you show up for people, you answer "I'm fine" when anyone asks. But underneath, you're barely holding on.
You're having flashbacks. Certain sounds, smells, or places send you right back to that moment. Your heart races, your hands shake, you can't catch your breath. You avoid anything that might trigger you, which means you're avoiding more and more of life.
You don't sleep well. Either you can't fall asleep because you're afraid of what you'll dream, or you wake up at 3am in a panic and can't get back to sleep.
You jump at unexpected sounds. You're always scanning for threats. You can't relax, even when you're supposedly safe. You're waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You feel checked out, like you're watching your life happen from behind glass. Sometimes you feel nothing at all. Other times, the emotions are so overwhelming you want to crawl out of your skin.
You don't trust people anymore. You don't trust yourself. You feel broken in a way you can't explain to anyone who hasn't been through it.
The Relief You’ve Been Looking For From Trauma Starts Here…
You sleep through the night. When you wake up, you're not immediately flooded with anxiety about the day ahead.
You're at a restaurant and a loud sound goes off in the kitchen. You startle for a second, then realize it's just dishes clattering. Your heart rate comes back down. You keep eating. It doesn't ruin your whole night.
You're having a conversation with your partner and you're actually present for it. You're not scanning the room, you're not half-listening while your mind races through worst-case scenarios. You're just there.
You make plans for next month and you're looking forward to them instead of dreading them or assuming something will go wrong.
You drive past the place where it happened and you notice it, but you don't have to pull over. Your body doesn't lock up. You keep driving.
You laugh at something funny and it feels genuine, not like you're performing normalcy for other people.
You're living your life again instead of just trying to survive it. You make decisions without second-guessing everything. You show up for people you care about. You get through a regular Tuesday without your nervous system treating it like a crisis.
But Traditional Trauma Treatment Hasn’t Brought the Relief You Need…
You've already been working on this. You haven't been sitting around waiting to feel better.
You tried regular talk therapy. You spent months, maybe years, telling your story to a therapist who listened and validated your feelings. It helped you understand what happened, but it didn't stop the flashbacks. You still couldn't sleep. Your body still reacted like you were in danger even when you knew logically you were safe.
You tried medication. It took the edge off the anxiety, helped you sleep a little better. But it didn't touch the core problem. The trauma is still there, just slightly muzzled.
You tried coping strategies: breathing exercises, meditation apps, journaling. They're helpful in the moment when you're having a panic attack, but they don't stop the panic attacks from happening in the first place.
You tried staying busy, throwing yourself into work or the gym or projects. You're exhausted, and the trauma is still right there waiting for you every time you stop moving.
You've tried what everyone told you would help. These approaches work for some people, but they're not working for you. That's not because you're doing it wrong or because you're broken beyond repair.
Talk therapy works with your thoughts and understanding. Medication works with your brain chemistry. Coping strategies help you manage symptoms in the moment. But trauma doesn't just live in your thoughts; it lives in your nervous system. It's stored in your body.
When something traumatic happens, your nervous system goes into survival mode: fight, flight, or freeze. That's supposed to be temporary. But when trauma gets stuck, your nervous system stays in that state. That's why you can understand what happened, you can know you're safe now, and your body still reacts like you're in danger. Your nervous system hasn't gotten the message that the threat is over.
That's why talking about it or understanding it cognitively isn't enough. You need methods that work directly with your nervous system to help it process and release what it's been holding.
Finding Long-Term Relief from Trauma: Methods That Work with Your Nervous System
Traditional talk therapy asks you to process trauma by talking about it, putting the experience into words, and making sense of it cognitively. That has value, but for many people, it keeps retriggering the trauma without giving your nervous system a way to discharge it.
The methods I use work directly with how trauma is stored in your brain and body. You don't have to retell your story week after week. These approaches help your nervous system process the trauma and file it as something that happened in the past, not something that's still happening now.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing changes how your brain has stored the traumatic memory. Right now, when you think about what happened, or when something triggers the memory, your brain and body react like you're back in that moment. Your heart races, you can't breathe, you're flooded with the same terror you felt then.
Through guided eye movements, we help your brain reprocess the memory so it gets filed as past, not present. The memory doesn't disappear, but it stops hijacking your nervous system.
ART
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) helps you change the images your brain keeps replaying. Right now, there's probably a specific scene, image, or moment that keeps coming back: what you saw, what you heard, the look on someone's face, the moment you realized what was happening.
With ART, you keep the facts of what happened, but we help your brain replace the images and sensations with ones that don't destroy you every time they surface. Most people notice significant relief within just a few sessions.
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing works with what your body is holding. Your shoulders are up by your ears. Your jaw is clenched. Your stomach is in knots. You startle at every unexpected sound. Your body is stuck in a state of high alert, constantly scanning for danger even when there is none.
Trauma gets trapped in your nervous system when your body couldn't complete its natural survival response: fight, flight, or freeze. We work with your body's signals to help it discharge that stuck energy and find its way back to a state where it can actually rest.
Brainspotting
Brainspotting finds where your trauma is stored in your brain and helps release it without you having to relive every detail. When you think about what happened, your eyes naturally move to a certain position that connects to where your brain has stored that experience. We use that position to help your brain process the trauma at a deep level.
IFS
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps with the internal war trauma creates. Part of you wants to move on. Another part is terrified to let your guard down. One part is filled with rage. Another part just wants to disappear. These parts are fighting each other, and it's exhausting.
We work with these different parts so they stop fighting and can work together. The part that's been protecting you by staying hypervigilant can relax. The part that's been pushing down all your feelings can step back. You get to be a whole person again instead of a collection of conflicting reactions.
Specialized Trauma Support I Provide
Trauma Treatment for Healthcare Workers
Traumatic or Unexpected Grief and Bereavement
You've been looking for relief, and you've tried what people said would help. This is different. These methods work with where trauma lives – in your nervous system and body – so that you can finally stop reacting like the threat is still happening and start living like someone who survived it.
Grief Counseling FAQs
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Traditional talk therapy focuses on processing your feelings by talking through them week after week. The methods I use (ie: Brainspotting, EMDR, ART, Somatic Experiencing, and IFS) work directly with how your brain and nervous system have stored the trauma. Instead of just talking about what happened, we're helping your brain actually process and release what's stuck. Many clients tell me they’ve spent months or years in traditional therapy without the relief they found in just a few sessions using these approaches.
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This varies based on your specific situation, but many clients notice meaningful shifts within the first few sessions. Because these methods work directly with your nervous system rather than just processing feelings through talk, the work often moves faster than traditional trauma counseling. Some clients work with me for a few months, while others find that deeper, more complex trauma benefits from longer-term work. We'll check in regularly about your progress and adjust as needed.
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Not at all. With methods like Brainspotting, EMDR, and ART, you don't have to retell the story over and over. Your brain already knows what happened. These approaches help your brain process the memory without you having to verbally recount every painful detail. You'll share what feels important to you, but the healing happens through the specific techniques, not through repeatedly talking through the trauma.
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No, it’s not too late. Trauma doesn’t have an expiration date, and your nervous system doesn’t understand whether something happened six months ago or six years ago. If it’s still affecting you now, it’s still present in your system. These methods work with how your brain has stored the loss, regardless of when it happened. I work with clients whose trauma happened decades ago and who are finally finding relief.
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Yes. Many of my clients are on medication, and that's completely fine. Medication can help take the edge off and give you more capacity to do the deeper work. These therapeutic methods work alongside medication. If you have questions about your specific medication, I'm happy to discuss that during a consultation.
One thing to note: women who are pregnant should wait until the second or third trimester to try Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).
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Yes, these methods are highly effective online. Brainspotting, EMDR, ART, and IFS all translate well to video sessions. In fact, many clients prefer doing this work from home where they feel safe and can rest afterward if needed. You'll need a quiet, private space, a stable internet connection, and a device with a camera. I'll guide you through everything, and we'll make sure you're comfortable with the setup before we begin any deeper work.
Hi! I’m Summer
Summer Verhines, LCSW
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California with over a decade of experience. CA LCSW 68507
I specialize in trauma and PTSD. I'm trained in EMDR, ART, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, and Internal Family Systems because I've seen these approaches create real relief when traditional talk therapy hasn't been enough.
I work with people who need direct, effective treatment that addresses trauma at the nervous system level, not just people who need someone to listen week after week.
You Don’t Have to Live Like This Anymore
Your nervous system can learn that the threat is over. You can stop being hijacked by flashbacks and triggers. You can sleep through the night and show up for your life.
I offer 50-minute sessions, 90-minute sessions, and 4-hour intensive sessions for people who want to make significant progress quickly.
Schedule your first session here or contact me below.
Contact Summersverhines.lcsw@gmail.com
(855) 564-3338
P.O. Box 28
Wilton, CA 95693