Trauma & PTSD Therapy
Trauma rewrites the story you tell about yourself. Long after the event, it can show up as guilt that doesn't respond to reason, a body that won't stand down, and a life that quietly shrinks around what you avoid.
I treat PTSD and trauma with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE), the two most rigorously tested trauma treatments in the field and first-line care in the VA/DoD clinical guidelines. I hold both inside an ACT frame: the protocols do the heavy lifting on the trauma itself, and ACT keeps the work pointed at the life you want back.
What this can look like
- Avoiding places, people, conversations, or reminders, and organizing your life around that avoidance
- Feeling on guard all the time: startling easily, scanning rooms, trouble sleeping
- Nightmares or memories that intrude when you least want them
- Guilt or self-blame that logic doesn't touch ("I should have done something")
- Numbness or distance from people you used to feel close to
- Looking completely functional at work while all of this runs underneath
How I treat it
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
CPT targets the beliefs trauma leaves behind: that it was your fault, that no one can be trusted, that danger is everywhere. Over a structured course of sessions, we examine those beliefs directly and rebuild ones that fit the facts. I trained in CPT through the Medical University of South Carolina program.
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
PE works on avoidance. In a carefully paced, structured way, you revisit the trauma memory and re-approach the safe situations you've been avoiding, until the memory loses its charge. I completed PE training through the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), throughout
Processing the memory is half the job. The other half is re-entering the life that trauma shrank, and that's where ACT runs through everything I do. You learn to make room for the grief and fear that surface along the way instead of fighting them, and we use your values to decide what moving forward actually looks like.
This is often what turns symptom relief into a life you recognize, and it's why treatment ends with you moving toward something, not just away from what happened.
What working together looks like
The structured protocols have a clear beginning, middle, and end: CPT typically runs about 12 sessions, PE usually 8 to 15. After the intake, we'll decide together which fits you better and set goals we can actually measure.
You will not be asked to relive anything before you're ready, and nothing happens without you understanding why. CPT, in particular, can be done without recounting the trauma in detail. Sessions run over secure telehealth, so you can do this work from a place that feels safe.
From the blog
Common questions
Do I have to talk about the details of what happened?
Not necessarily. CPT focuses on the beliefs the trauma left behind and can be done without a detailed retelling. PE does involve revisiting the memory, deliberately and at a manageable pace, because that's how it works. We'll choose the approach that fits you, and nothing happens before you understand and agree to it.
What if what happened to me doesn't feel "bad enough" to count as trauma?
This comes up a lot, and it's usually the trauma talking. If an experience still shapes how you sleep, trust, or move through the world, it's worth treating. There's no severity threshold you have to clear to deserve help.
How long does trauma therapy take?
CPT typically runs about 12 sessions and PE about 8 to 15. These are structured treatments designed to end, not open-ended talk therapy. Some people need more time, especially with complex or repeated trauma, and we'll be honest about that from the start.
Does trauma therapy work over telehealth?
Yes. Both CPT and PE have been studied in video-delivered formats with outcomes comparable to in-person care, and telehealth means you can do the work from wherever you feel most settled.
Is this only for PTSD?
No. Plenty of trauma doesn't meet full PTSD criteria and still deserves treatment. The intake sorts out what's actually going on, and the plan follows from that, not from a label.
You don't have to keep carrying this alone
These treatments work, and they're designed to end. I offer a free, confidential 15-minute intro call to see if we're a good fit. Telehealth across 40+ states, in English or Spanish.
Written by Dr. Olivier van Hauwermeiren, PsyD. Licensed Clinical Psychologist, NY & WI, PSYPACT