PTSD Therapy | CPTSD Therapist
Your nervous system does not know the difference between then and now. A sound, a tone of voice, a look, and suddenly your body is responding as though the threat is still here, even when everything around you says you are safe. This is how PTSD and Complex PTSD work. They are not character flaws or signs that you are broken. They are the body's attempt to keep you protected from something that hurt you. We are Shades of Healing, a trauma-informed practice for high-achieving women of color. If you are looking for a PTSD or CPTSD therapist who understands complex trauma, you are in the right place.
What is PTSD and CPTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trauma response that develops after experiencing or witnessing a threatening or deeply distressing event. Complex PTSD (CPTSD) develops in response to prolonged, repeated trauma, often trauma that was relational, happened in childhood, or was inescapable. Where PTSD tends to cluster around a specific event, CPTSD is characterized by the cumulative impact of chronic exposure to harm, emotional neglect, abuse, instability, or violence over time. CPTSD affects not just how you respond to reminders of past trauma, but how you experience yourself, your relationships, and your sense of safety in the world. For high-achieving women, CPTSD often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms are managed through productivity, caregiving, and high functioning, until the capacity to manage runs out.
Most common symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD
- Hypervigilance: A persistent state of scanning for danger, difficulty relaxing, always waiting for something to go wrong.
- Intrusive memories or flashbacks: Thoughts, images, or sensory experiences from the past that break through involuntarily.
- Emotional dysregulation: Intense or seemingly disproportionate emotional reactions, or the inability to feel much at all.
- Dissociation: Feeling detached from your body, your emotions, or your surroundings, like you are watching yourself from a distance.
- Shame and negative self-perception: A deep, persistent sense that something is wrong with you at a fundamental level.
- Avoidance: Avoiding people, places, situations, or internal experiences that remind you of what happened.
- Difficulty with relationships: Trouble trusting, fear of closeness, difficulty asking for or receiving help.
- Chronic exhaustion: The body's continuous stress response is depleting. Many women with CPTSD are running on empty.
How do I know if I may be experiencing PTSD or CPTSD?
Do I often feel like my body is on high alert, even in situations that are objectively safe? This chronic state of hyperarousal is one of the hallmarks of a traumatized nervous system. Do I have memories or experiences from the past that feel unfinished, that your body reacts to as though they are still happening? This is the nervous system holding experiences it has not been able to fully process. Do I have a deeply held belief that I am fundamentally damaged, unworthy, or different from other people in a way that cannot be changed? Shame of this quality and depth is characteristic of complex trauma, not of reality. Do I function well on the outside while privately feeling detached, exhausted, or like you are holding yourself together through sheer will? High-functioning CPTSD is real, and common in women who learned early that falling apart was not an option.
Who this support is for
This work is a strong fit for women who are high-functioning on the outside and exhausted on the inside, who have a history of childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, or exposure to chronic instability, who have tried therapy before and found it helpful but not sufficient, especially if it stayed at the level of talking without addressing the body, or who carry shame and negative self-perception that does not respond to insight or logic alone. This approach may not be the best fit if you are currently in active crisis and need a higher level of care. We will help you identify the right level of support if that is the case.
How we treat PTSD and CPTSD
At Shades of Healing, PTSD and CPTSD are treated as nervous system experiences first. We do not begin by asking you to narrate your trauma. We begin by helping your nervous system establish enough safety and regulation to make any deeper work possible. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a primary modality for trauma processing at this practice. It is a body-based, evidence-based protocol that helps the brain process stored traumatic memories so they no longer trigger automatic distress responses. For CPTSD, we work in phases: first stabilization and resource-building, then trauma processing, then integration. This is not a linear or rushed process. Your nervous system sets the pace. Somatic awareness is woven throughout, we track what happens in your body as we work, because that is where the trauma lives and where the healing happens.
Steps to work with us
Schedule Your Consultation
We'll start with a conversation about what's bringing you to therapy, the patterns you're noticing, and what you're hoping to create in your life and relationships.
Begin The Healing Work
Together, we'll explore the experiences, wounds, and survival strategies that have shaped how you relate to yourself and others, using trauma-informed approaches and inner child work tailored to your needs.
Return To Your True Essence
As healing happens at the source, you'll begin letting go of patterns that no longer serve you and reconnecting with the version of yourself that feels more grounded, authentic, and free.
PTSD and CPTSD specialist
Jamie Fowler, LCSW, specializes in complex trauma and PTSD for high-achieving women of color. She is trained in EMDR and brings a somatic, attachment-informed lens to all trauma work. She understands that many of her clients look fine on the outside and are working hard to hold it together, and she creates space for all of that to be true at once.
What topics can we work on in PTSD and CPTSD therapy?
- Nervous system regulation, developing the capacity to come back to a window of tolerance after activation
- Processing traumatic memories using EMDR so they no longer trigger automatic distress
- Addressing the shame and negative core beliefs that complex trauma creates
- Healing relational patterns that developed in response to early harm
- Building the capacity to stay present in your body rather than dissociating
- Developing a compassionate relationship with the protective parts of yourself
- Integration, helping the different parts of your experience become more coherent and livable
We are Shades of Healing
A therapy practice dedicated to helping women of color move beyond survival mode and reconnect with the truest version of themselves. Through trauma-informed therapy, EMDR, and intentional healing, we create a space where emotional patterns can be understood at their source, making room for deeper healing, self-trust, and lasting change.
Investment
Individual Therapy Sessions
$200 per 50-minute session
Therapy is an investment in your healing, your relationships, and your overall well-being. Sessions are personalized to your unique needs and may incorporate trauma therapy, EMDR, and inner child work depending on your goals.
Questions about scheduling or getting started? We'd be happy to help.
FAQ about PTSD and CPTSD therapy
What is the difference between PTSD and CPTSD?
PTSD typically develops in response to a specific traumatic event or events. CPTSD develops in response to prolonged, repeated trauma, most commonly trauma that occurred in childhood or in inescapable situations. CPTSD includes the symptoms of PTSD plus additional features: chronic shame, negative self-perception, difficulty regulating emotions, and persistent struggles in relationships.
What are the most effective therapies for CPTSD?
Research supports EMDR, somatic-based therapies, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and trauma-focused cognitive approaches for CPTSD. Because CPTSD involves chronic relational trauma, the therapeutic relationship itself is also considered a key healing element. A phased approach that prioritizes stabilization before trauma processing is considered best practice.
How do I find a therapist who specializes in complex trauma?
Look for therapists who are specifically trained in trauma-informed modalities such as EMDR, somatic therapy, or IFS. Ask whether they have experience with CPTSD specifically, as it differs from single-incident PTSD. It is also important that the therapist feels like a safe, trustworthy presence, the relationship matters as much as the method.
Can CPTSD be fully healed?
Yes and no. Many people with CPTSD experience profound healing, significant reduction in symptoms, improved relationships, and a fundamentally different relationship with themselves and the past. Others experience ongoing management alongside deep improvement. "Healed" is less useful than "living differently", with more capacity, more choice, more peace.
What does the first PTSD or CPTSD therapy session look like?
The first session is focused on getting to know each other. There is no expectation that you will share everything or go deep immediately. We will talk about what brought you in, what you are hoping for, and begin building the sense of safety that is foundational to all trauma work.
