YOUR BODY HAS FINISHED SURVIVING. NOW IT IS READY TO HEAL
Therapy for Trauma & CPTSD in California & Colorado
There is a person who has spent years bracing for something that already happened, who flinches at a change in tone, scans every room for the exit, and cannot relax even when nothing is wrong. The mind has moved on, or so it seems. The body has not. If that sounds familiar, this page is for the person whose nervous system is still keeping watch long after the danger passed. Trauma and C-PTSD therapy is a space where the body gets to finish what it started, where healing does not require reliving the worst moments, and where calm stops being a concept and starts being something the body actually knows.
THE WEIGHT BEING CARRIED
Trauma is not always a single event, and it does not always look the way people expect.
Sometimes it is a moment. Sometimes it is a thousand small moments stacked on top of each other over years. Sometimes it happened inside a home, inside a family, inside the relationships that were supposed to be safe. When trauma is prolonged, repeated, and happens in the context of relationships that could not be escaped, that is Complex PTSD. It is not a weakness. It is what happens when a nervous system adapts to survive something no nervous system was ever meant to survive.
ARE ANY OF THESE SPOT ON?
You may have found me if any of these sound familiar
You cannot seem to move past something that happened, even though it has been talked about a hundred times.
The memory does not feel like a memory. It feels like it is happening now.
You flinch when people raise their voices, even when the anger is not directed at you.
You cannot relax even when nothing is wrong. The body stays on watch no matter how safe the room is.
You have been told the words PTSD or C-PTSD and want a therapist who actually knows how to treat it, not just talk about it.
There is a harsh inner critic that sounds like someone else's voice, and no amount of reassurance quiets it.
Trust does not come easily, and relationships feel like a risk even when they are good.
You feel disconnected from your body, your sense of self, or both.
The patterns keep repeating no matter how hard you try to change them.
Talk therapy has helped you understand what happened, but the body has not gotten the message.
That is not the story told here.
WHAT CHANGES HERE
A new chapter starts with small shifts
Flinching at every change in tone
→ To a nervous system that can tell the difference between then and now
Feeling stuck in the past
→ To feeling grounded in the present, not just surviving it
Carrying trauma in the body
→ To releasing it in a way that feels safe, steady, and manageable
Numbing out or shutting down
→ To staying connected to yourself, even when things feel hard
A harsh inner critic that never quiets
→ To a voice that sounds more like your own
MEET YOUR TRAUMA & C-PTSD THERAPIST
Stephanie Hardison, LCSW
Hi, I am Stephanie, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and I specialize in trauma and C-PTSD therapy for adults who are tired of carrying what talk therapy alone has not been able to reach.
The patterns are usually understood before the work even starts. The hypervigilance, the shame, the flinching, the disconnect have all been named. And still, something stays stuck. That is not a failure of insight. It is a sign that the wound lives somewhere deeper than words alone can't reach, and that is exactly where this work lives.
My approach blends somatic therapy with Brainspotting, which is a brain-based approach that uses eye positioning to access and process trauma stored below the level of conscious thought. It does not require reliving the worst moments or talking about things before you are ready. Instead, it trusts the brain's natural ability to heal, given the right conditions.
I know what it is like to wait for the next wave of panic or shame, and to find that real relief only came when the body was finally given what it needed to let go. I also know that healing does not have to mean endlessly revisiting the most painful moments of your life. It means creating enough safety for the nervous system to finish what it started.
If that kind of relief sounds like the missing piece, this is the place for it, and I would be honored to walk through that chapter with you.
FIND ANSWERS TO FAQ HERE
What is the difference between PTSD and C-PTSD?
PTSD usually develops after a single traumatic event or a defined period of danger, like an accident, an assault, a natural disaster, or combat. C-PTSD develops from prolonged, repeated trauma, often in the context of relationships or situations that could not be escaped. That might look like ongoing childhood abuse or neglect, living with a parent who was unpredictable or unsafe, chronic emotional abuse, or growing up in a home where the danger was also the place that was supposed to be safe. Both are real. Both are treatable. The main difference is the shape of the wound and how it shows up in relationships and daily life. C-PTSD often affects how a person sees themselves, how they relate to others, and how safe the world feels. Treatment looks similar, but C-PTSD usually involves more focus on the relational and identity pieces, not just the traumatic memories themselves.
Do I have to talk about the trauma in detail?
No, and this is one of the most important things to understand about this work. Talk therapy often asks people to describe what happened, sometimes again and again, in order to process it. That approach works for some people and retraumatizes others. The somatic and Brainspotting work I do does not require a detailed retelling. We can work with the body's responses, the nervous system patterns, and the places where the trauma lives without asking you to relive the worst moments in words. You will never be pushed to share more than you are ready to share. If and when you do choose to talk about what happened, it will be because it feels right for you, not because the process demands it.
How does Brainspotting or somatic therapy help with trauma?
Trauma does not just live in the mind. It lives in the nervous system, in the body's reflexes, in the way the shoulders tense, the breath catches, and the heart races at the smallest cue. Somatic therapy works with those body based signals to help the nervous system discharge the energy it has been holding onto. Brainspotting takes it further by using eye positioning to access and process material stored below the level of conscious thought. Many clients find that this work reaches places that talk therapy alone could not, and that it does so in a way that feels gentler, not more intense. The goal is not to relive the trauma. The goal is to help the body finish what it started and finally let it go.
How long does trauma therapy take?
There is no single timeline, and anyone who promises one is not being honest. Some people feel meaningful relief in a handful of sessions. Others need more time, especially when the trauma was prolonged, happened early in life, or involved people who were supposed to be safe. What I can say is that this work is not about waiting months to feel something. It is about noticing small shifts early on, like sleeping a little better, catching a trigger before it takes over, or feeling a moment of calm that used to feel impossible. We will check in regularly about what is working, what is not, and whether the pace feels right for you.
What are the fees, and do you accept insurance?
Individual therapy session (50 min) — $200
Extended therapy session (120 min) — $400
Therapy intensive (4+ hours) — starting at $1,200 (ages 18+ only)
Payment is due at the time of service.
I accept self-pay, out-of-network (OON). If you have an insurance plan, you may still be able to get partial reimbursement through your out-of-network benefits.
I can provide you with a superbill (an itemized receipt) to submit to your insurance for reimbursement. I also work with Thrizer to help make this process easier for clients. You’re welcome to ask about this during our consultation.
Priority for the reduced fee tiers goes to those who are financially struggling and identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. These slots are limited, and there is no guarantee that any will be available at the time you call. Please let me know if you need a reduced fee during our call. If I cannot accommodate, I am happy to point you in a direction to meet your financial needs.
READY TO START THERAPY FOR TRAUMA & C-PTSD
Let's do it!
You have spent a long time carrying something the body was never meant to hold alone. There is another version of this story, one where the nervous system finally knows it is safe. Reach out to schedule a free consultation, and let's talk about whether this is the right fit for where you are right now.
