Trauma
You’ve survived so much.
You don’t have to carry it alone anymore.
Trauma can leave you feeling lost in survival mode. Healing can help you find solid ground again.
Trauma can leave you feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve you—hypervigilance, anxiety, emotional overwhelm, numbness, self-criticism, relationship struggles, exhaustion, or a persistent sense that your nervous system never fully relaxes.
At, we provide trauma-focused therapy for adults in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and via telehealth throughout Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Our approach is compassionate, evidence-based, and deeply personalized because healing is not one-size-fits-all.
Whether your experiences involve childhood trauma, PTSD, complex trauma, relationship wounds, grief, chronic stress, medical trauma, or longstanding patterns rooted in survival, therapy can help you reconnect with yourself, your body, your relationships, and your life.
A Personalized, Integrative Approach to Trauma Healing
Trauma affects the mind, body, emotions, beliefs, relationships, and nervous system. Because of this, healing often requires more than one approach.
At The Heights Counseling & Wellness, trauma therapy may integrate multiple evidence-based modalities depending on your needs, goals, and readiness. Together, we create a treatment plan that supports both symptom relief and deeper, lasting healing.
Trauma Therapies
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps the brain process distressing memories so they no longer feel emotionally overwhelming. EMDR can reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic experiences while helping you build greater clarity, resilience, and self-trust.
EMDR may help with:
PTSD and complex trauma
Anxiety and panic
Childhood trauma
Relationship wounds
Negative self-beliefs
Grief and loss
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IFS therapy helps you understand and heal the different “parts” of yourself that developed in response to life experiences. Instead of fighting against anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism, or emotional overwhelm, IFS helps you approach these experiences with compassion and curiosity.
IFS can support:
Trauma recovery
Emotional regulation
Self-worth and identity healing
Relationship patterns
Inner conflict and shame
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Trauma is not only stored in thoughts and memories—it also lives in the body and nervous system. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy helps you become more aware of physical sensations, survival responses, and nervous system patterns so healing can happen on both emotional and physiological levels.
This approach may help if you experience:
Chronic tension or shutdown
Dissociation
Hypervigilance
Anxiety stored in the body
Difficulty feeling safe or grounded
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Deep Brain Reorienting is a gentle, neuroscience-informed therapy that works with the brain’s survival system to help process deeply rooted trauma responses. DBR focuses on the nervous system patterns underneath fight, flight, freeze, and overwhelm.
DBR may support healing from:
PTSD and developmental trauma
Chronic stress
Emotional numbness
Shame and fear responses
Nervous system dysregulation
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CPT is a structured, evidence-based trauma therapy that helps you identify and challenge beliefs that may have formed after traumatic experiences. Together, we examine how trauma may have changed the way you see yourself, others, and the world.
CPT can help with:
PTSD symptoms
Shame and guilt
Avoidance patterns
Negative self-beliefs
Anxiety and depression
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Written Exposure Therapy is a structured trauma treatment that uses guided writing to help process traumatic experiences safely and effectively. WET can help reduce avoidance and emotional distress while building greater resilience and understanding.
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Clinical Hypnosis is a collaborative, evidence-informed approach that uses focused attention and relaxation to support healing, emotional regulation, and positive change. You remain aware and in control throughout the process.
Clinical Hypnosis may support:
Trauma and PTSD
Anxiety and panic
Stress reduction
Habit change
Emotional regulation
Confidence and resilience
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Sometimes experiences are difficult to put into words. Trauma-Focused Art Therapy uses creative expression to help process emotions, increase self-awareness, and support nervous system regulation in a safe and supportive environment.
No artistic experience is required.
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Trauma often leaves behind harsh self-criticism, shame, and emotional exhaustion. Self-Compassion Therapy helps you develop a more supportive relationship with yourself through mindfulness, emotional awareness, and self-kindness.
This work can help you:
Reduce self-criticism
Build emotional resilience
Improve self-worth
Strengthen coping skills
Feel more connected and grounded
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Trauma can deeply impact your sense of meaning, identity, and purpose. Meaning Centered Psychotherapy helps you reconnect with what matters most while building resilience, hope, and a greater sense of direction.
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Biofeedback helps you better understand how your body responds to stress and teaches practical skills for nervous system regulation. Using real-time physiological feedback, biofeedback can help improve awareness, regulation, and resilience.
Biofeedback may help with:
Anxiety and panic
Stress and burnout
Trauma symptoms
Sleep difficulties
Chronic pain
Emotional regulation
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Trauma can affect your relationship with food, stress, energy, digestion, and body awareness. Trauma-Informed Nutrition Therapy recognizes the connection between emotional well-being, nervous system regulation, and physical health.
This approach focuses on nourishment, flexibility, self-trust, and compassionate support—not shame or perfectionism.
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Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy combines ketamine medicine sessions with integrative psychotherapy to support emotional healing, increased flexibility, and meaningful insight. KAP may help individuals who feel stuck in longstanding patterns or who have not found relief through traditional approaches alone.
KAP may support:
Trauma and PTSD
Anxiety and depression
Emotional numbness
Chronic stress
Existential distress
Self-worth and relationship challenges
What EMDR Helps with
EMDR can be helpful if you are experiencing:
Trauma (recent or childhood)
Anxiety or panic
Persistent negative beliefs about yourself
(“I’m not safe,” “I’m not enough,” “It was my fault”)Emotional reactivity or feeling easily triggered
Difficulty moving on from past experiences
Feeling “stuck” despite insight or previous therapy
You may understand your story—but your body may still be holding onto it.
EMDR helps your system begin to release what it no longer needs to carry.
How EMDR works
EMDR follows a structured, collaborative process that prioritizes safety, pacing, and your readiness.
Together, we will:
Build grounding and stabilization skills first—creating a sense of internal steadiness
Identify experiences that continue to feel unresolved
Gently process those memories using bilateral stimulation
Support your brain in forming more adaptive, empowering beliefs
Over time, distressing memories often become less vivid, less emotional, and less disruptive—like something that once felt overwhelming gradually becoming more distant and contained.
This allows you to respond to life in the present, rather than react from the past.
What EMDR Feels Like
EMDR is not about reliving trauma or forcing yourself to talk through every detail.
Most sessions involve brief moments of focusing on a memory, followed by noticing what shifts—thoughts, emotions, or body sensations.
Many people describe it as their mind naturally “connecting the dots,” without needing to force the process.
At times, sessions may feel emotionally intense or tiring—similar to the way your body feels after meaningful physical exertion.
This is your system doing the work of processing and integrating.
You remain in control throughout the process, and we move at a pace that feels manageable—steady, intentional, and grounded.
A different Approach to Healing
Many people come to EMDR after trying other approaches that helped them understand their experiences—but didn’t fully resolve them.
EMDR works at both the cognitive and nervous system level, which is often why it can create movement where things once felt immovable.
This is not about “fixing” you.
It’s about allowing your system to complete processes that were interrupted—so that what once felt stuck can begin to move, shift, and settle.
Is EMDR right for YOu?
EMDR may be a good fit if:
You feel stuck despite previous therapy
You experience strong emotional or physical reactions to certain triggers
You want a structured, evidence-based approach to trauma healing
You are open to a process that goes beyond traditional talk therapy
Not everyone begins EMDR right away.
In many cases, we start by building stability and internal resources—creating a foundation that allows the work to unfold safely and effectively.
What to expect at The Heights Counseling and Wellness
Therapy is collaborative, intentional, and paced to your needs.
Sessions are focused not just on insight—but on helping you experience meaningful, lasting change.
In-person sessions in Sewickley, PA
Telehealth available in Pennsylvania and Washington, DC
Adults age 20+
Self-pay practice (superbills available for out-of-network reimbursement)
ready to get started?
If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or ready for a different approach to therapy, EMDR may be a next step.
You don’t have to keep carrying this the same way.
There is a way forward—one that unfolds at your pace.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if this approach feels like a fit.
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“Kristen's innovative use of techniques like EMDR has been transformative in addressing my past trauma, helping me to navigate my emotions with greater self-compassion. Her tailored approach has empowered me to better manage my depression and anxiety, fostering resilience in the face of life's challenges.”
-M.S.
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“Kristen has been the constant I've needed over the years - working with me through the peaks and valleys of my life. Her expertise, guidance, and encouragement has helped me to grow in life changing ways emotionally and spiritually. I actually look forward to counseling sessions with Kristen!”
-D.S.
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"Working with Kristen has helped me gain invaluable insights into myself, giving me a deeper understanding of my thoughts and emotions. Her guidance and strategies have empowered me to manage my anxiety better and navigate life with more confidence and clarity."
-T.C.
