Trauma Therapy That Prioritizes Safety and Healing So You Can Live Your Meaningful Life
If you’re living with the effects of trauma, you might feel stuck - on edge, disconnected, or like part of you is always bracing for something to go wrong. Therapy can help you gently process what you’ve been through and move forward towards the life you dream of, at your own pace.
Continue reading this page for more information about how therapy can help or schedule a free consultation below!
you can’t fully relax, even when things are “fine”
your mind or body feels stuck in the past
you avoid certain memories, places, or conversations
you feel disconnected from yourself or others
sleep is difficult or even stressful
If so, you’re not alone.
You may be struggling with the effects of trauma.
Do you feel like…
Trauma symptoms can show up as:
Intrusive memories or flashbacks
Nightmares or sleep difficulties
Avoiding places, situations, or internal feelings
Feeling numb, disconnected, or detached
Hypervigilance and difficulty relaxing
Irritability, anger, or emotional flooding
Persistent guilt, shame, or self-blame
Difficulty feeling safe—even in safe moments
These reactions are your mind and body doing their best to protect you. After experiencing a trauma, you nervous system learned that the most important thing is to keep you safe from any and all potential harm.
But this “survival mode” takes a toll on your mind and body.
Our nervous system starts to overestimate those potential threats and prevents us from being able to live the life that would be most meaningful for you.
With support, you can learn new ways of responding that help you feel more grounded, empowered, and at peace.
Learn more here in a recent blog post from Dr. Varner about how to recognize symptoms of trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder impacting your own mental health.
If you have questions about if trauma therapy could help you, schedule a free, no-pressure, 15-minute consultation below!
How Trauma Shows Up
A Trauma Therapy Approach that isn’t “One Size Fits All”
Dr. Varner has over a decade of experience helping clients work through trauma. Through her experiences working with survivors of multiple types of trauma, she has found that no two people, no two traumas, and no two healing journeys are the same. We all cope differently, respond differently to stress, and have different goals for what we want from healing.
With online trauma therapy at Rise & Find, you will find a compassionate, individualized, evidence-based approach to helping you heal from past trauma and find a sense of meaning and calm. Every person has their own unique story, unique personal values, and unique needs. We seek to honor every individual’s unique needs by taking the following steps:
1. Understanding Your Story (At Your Pace)
We begin with your current symptoms, your history, and your goals — and go no faster than feels safe.
2. Building Safety
Talking about the symptoms related to your trauma can be difficult, so we want to help you feel safe with your therapist, and also build some tools to help you feel a sense of calm and safety in your body day-to-day.
3. Identifying Your Unique Stuck Points
We gently explore the beliefs trauma left behind about yourself and the world around you (e.g., “It was my fault,” “I can’t trust anyone,” “I’m not safe anywhere”). Over time, we will help you build tools to examine and challenge these thoughts when they are triggered
4. Taking Values-Guided Action
As triggers soften, we work toward reconnecting with meaning, relationships, and the parts of life trauma made difficult.
5. Maintaining Gains and Progress
The goal is long-term resilience, clarity, and self-trust.
How Therapy Helps Heal From the Impact of Trauma
Dr. Varner uses an integrated approach for trauma therapy, tailoring the strategies and goals for everyone’s individual needs and goals, but utilizes evidence-based approaches that are proven to help many clients better manage many symptoms of trauma or PTSD.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is one of the most effective, research-supported treatments for PTSD. CPT helps you understand how trauma changed your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world — and gives you practical tools for changing the patterns that keep you stuck.
With CPT, you will learn to:
Identify unhelpful trauma-related thoughts
Reduce self-blame and guilt
Challenge distorted beliefs with compassion
Reconnect with a sense of safety and trust
Understand why your reactions make sense
Build new patterns that support healing and stability
CPT doesn’t force you to relive traumatic memories. Instead, we gently explore how trauma affected your thinking — and how to shift those patterns to reduce distress and reclaim your life.
Dr. Varner became a certified CPT provider while working as a psychologist at the Veteran’s Health Administration and has found it to be extremely beneficial for helping clients to start moving forward after feeling stuck after trauma.
You can learn more about Cognitive Processing Therapy in this article from Psychology Today!
Trauma & Sleep
MANY people struggling with the effects of trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder also struggle with sleep - whether that’s insomnia, nightmares, or feeling unable to fully rest.
Dr. Varner also specializes in evidence-based treatment for insomnia (cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia), which can be integrated into trauma work when sleep is part of the whole picture.
Improving sleep often creates a stronger foundation for healing overall.
Read more about therapy for insomnia here!
The Logistics
Dr. Varner provides online trauma therapy in Indiana and across the United States with PsyPact. This means that anyone who lives in any of the following states (pictured in blue on the map) is eligible for therapy sessions with Dr. Varner:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
Sessions are available for adults and for teens ages 16 and up!
RISE from your past. FIND the life you dream of.
RISE from your past. FIND the life you dream of.
Trauma changes your life. Healing can change it too.
If you’re ready to move toward stability, meaning, and a life guided by your values instead of your past, take one small step towards healing today.