Trauma and PTSD Therapy in Goodyear, AZ
You do not need to have been in a war to have trauma, and you do not need a PTSD diagnosis to deserve help with it. If something happened, once or over years, and your body still reacts as if it is happening, that is what I work with.
I treat trauma at my Goodyear office and by video across Arizona. You will not be asked to tell your whole story on the free call, or in the first session. We go at your pace, and this page explains what that looks like.
Emily Ward, MS, LAC
Counselor in Goodyear, and online across Arizona
Is this you?
- A memory comes back uninvited, as a picture, a feeling in your body, or a full replay.
- You are startled easily and cannot fully relax, even at home.
- You avoid the place, the person, the drive, or the topic, and the avoiding is getting expensive.
- You feel numb, far away, or like you are watching your life from outside it.
- You have trouble trusting people, including people who have not done anything wrong.
- Sleep is hard, and the dreams are worse than being awake.
What trauma is, and is not
Trauma is not the event. It is what happens in your nervous system when an event overwhelms your ability to cope, and the experience gets stored raw instead of filed away. That is why two people can go through the same thing and one walks away while the other is still in it years later. It is not weakness. It is how the memory got stored.
There is a difference between a single event and something that ran for a long time. A car accident, an assault, a medical emergency, or a sudden loss is one kind. Growing up in a home that was never safe, years in a controlling relationship, or a job that put you in harm’s way over and over is another. The second kind is sometimes called complex PTSD, and it tends to affect how you see yourself and other people, not just how you react to reminders. Both kinds respond to treatment. The second usually takes longer, and the preparation matters more.
Why the body keeps reacting
When your brain decides something is dangerous, it does not wait for you to think it over. It fires the alarm, and your body responds the way it would to a real threat, with a racing heart, tense muscles, and tunnel focus. After trauma, that alarm gets stuck on a hair trigger. A sound, a smell, a stretch of road, or a tone of voice can set it off, and your body reacts before you know why. Knowing it is over does not turn the alarm off. That is why talking yourself out of it does not work, and why the treatment has to reach the part of the brain that stores the memory, not just the part that understands it.
How I work with trauma
I use three approaches, and the order depends on you.
Steadying first. Before anything else, you learn ways to calm and ground your body that work reliably. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teaches practical skills for getting through intense distress, and several of them are made for the moment a flashback starts. We practice them until they hold.
EMDR for the memory itself. EMDR, short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, helps your brain finish filing a memory away so it belongs to the past. While you think of the memory, you follow a back-and-forth rhythm with your eyes or ears, and over a series of rounds the charge comes down. You do not have to describe what happened in detail.
CBT for the beliefs. Trauma leaves beliefs behind. “It was my fault.” “I am not safe anywhere.” “I cannot trust anyone.” Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you notice those beliefs, test them against what actually happened, and find truer ones you can actually hold.
Which one comes first, and how much of each, is something I decide with you.
Trauma after a crime
When trauma comes from a crime, it adds layers that other trauma does not have. There may be a police report, a court date, a victim advocate, and the strange experience of your worst day becoming a case file. Therapy fits alongside all of that, and you do not have to wait for a case to close before you start.
If you are in crisis right now, do not wait for an appointment. Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or go to your nearest emergency room.
Meeting in person or by video
I see people in person at a quiet office in Goodyear, on Litchfield Road just above the I-10, where parking is free. Office days are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with afternoon and evening openings. Most of Goodyear, Avondale, and Litchfield Park is within a short drive, Estrella a little more, and Buckeye and Surprise fifteen to thirty minutes.
Video sessions reach anywhere in the state from Tuesday to Friday. Trauma work can be done by video, and some people prefer to start there. For others, being in a room with someone is part of what makes it feel safe. We will figure out which is true for you.
In person in Goodyear
My office is at 1626 N Litchfield Rd Ste 220, Goodyear, AZ 85395, and I am there on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays with afternoon and evening openings.
Online across Arizona
I see clients by video on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. You need to be in Arizona during the session, but you can be anywhere in the state.
Fees and insurance
Sessions are 50–55 minutes and cost $100 without insurance. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare employee assistance program (EAP) sessions, which are the free sessions some employers cover. The full details are on the insurance and fees page, and if your plan is not listed, ask me on the free call and I will tell you what your options are.
Questions people ask
Do I have PTSD if I feel this way?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a specific diagnosis with a specific pattern, and plenty of people with real trauma do not meet all of it. You can have flashbacks, be on edge, and avoid reminders without the full diagnosis, and it still deserves treatment. Whether the label applies is something we can work out together, and it does not change whether I can help.
Will therapy make it worse before it gets better?
The goal is that it does not. We do not go near the hard memories until you have steadying skills that work, and the memory work itself is paced so that you leave each session settled. Some people feel tired or stirred up for a day or two after a session, which is normal and which we plan for. Feeling worse for weeks is not the plan, and if it happens we slow down.
Can I bring someone to the first session?
Yes. If having a partner, friend, or parent in the waiting room, or in the room for the first few minutes, makes it easier to walk in, that is fine. The session itself is yours, and they step out when you are ready.
What does it cost, and do you take my insurance?
Sessions are 50–55 minutes and cost $100 without insurance. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare EAP sessions.
Start with a free 15-minute call
It is not therapy and it is not an intake. You tell me a little about what is going on, I tell you honestly whether I am the right fit, and you decide from there.