Specialty · Complex trauma
Complex trauma therapy in Utah.
You might recognize this
Some of this sounds familiar.
You can handle a crisis but feel disconnected, restless, or blank when nothing urgent is happening.
Trust feels risky, and depending on someone can seem harder than doing everything yourself.
Anger arrives quickly when plans change, control slips, or someone gets too close.
There is no single memory that explains it; the pattern was repeated, prolonged, or layered across years.
You want trauma treatment but worry that opening everything at once will make daily life less stable.
How I help
The work, unhurried.
Complex trauma work begins with pacing. Stability, choice, and a clear structure come before asking you to process difficult memories.
Repeated exposure changes how you learn to move through the world. Staying alert, keeping distance, reading the room, and controlling details may have been reasonable adaptations to what was happening. Later, the same strategies can make relationships, rest, and uncertainty difficult. Therapy does not begin by stripping away defenses. It begins by understanding what they protected and whether they still fit your life.
Stabilization means building enough steadiness to approach difficult material without overwhelming the rest of your week. That can include noticing early signs of activation, practicing ways to return to the present, and deciding what is off limits for now. It is not a delay or a failure to do the real work. For complex trauma, pacing is part of the work.
EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy can be used with selected memories or patterns when you are ready. Complex trauma may not offer one clean target, so we identify where to begin carefully. You do not have to narrate every detail. The process can pause, shift, or return to stabilization depending on what your system needs.
Solution-focused therapy adds structure around the present. We can identify what you want to be different in sleep, conflict, trust, substance use, or the amount of control required to feel safe. Small, observable changes help the work remain connected to daily life instead of becoming an endless review of the past.
For first responders and healthcare workers, complex trauma can include career-long exposure layered over earlier experiences. The work does not require deciding which source counts more. We can notice how the layers interact and choose a pace that respects both your current responsibilities and the history underneath them.
Trust and control can change at different speeds. You may feel ready to examine one memory while still needing firm boundaries around another. We can name what helps you stay oriented, what makes the work feel less predictable, and how you will signal when the pace needs to change. You remain involved in every decision about targets and timing. That collaboration matters when earlier experiences taught you that choices could be taken away. The aim is not to make you disclose more than you choose; it is to create enough structure for honest work without asking you to surrender control.
This practice offers individual therapy in person in Midvale and by telehealth across Utah. It is private, not an EAP, and not contracted with a department, agency, or hospital. The free consultation is a place to ask about the approach and decide whether it feels steady enough for you.
Related reading: PTSD and trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy.
If you're in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.
What to expect
- A free 15-minute call — no pressure, just see if we fit.
- Honest intake — your story, your goals, your pace.
- 50-minute sessions, weekly or biweekly.
- Telehealth anywhere in Utah, or in-person in Midvale.
The practical part
Where
Telehealth across Utah, or in-person in Midvale.
Investment
$150 per 50-minute session. Out-of-network superbill on request. No referral needed.
First step
A free 15-minute call to see if we're a fit.
FAQ
Common questions.
What makes complex trauma different from one traumatic event?+
Complex trauma involves repeated, prolonged, or layered exposure rather than only one event. It can affect trust, control, anger, connection, and the ability to settle.
Will we process memories right away?+
Not necessarily. Pacing and stabilization come first. Memory-focused work begins only when there is enough steadiness and you agree on where to start.
Can EMDR or ART be used for complex trauma?+
They can be used with selected memories or patterns at a pace that fits. You do not have to retell every detail, and the plan can change as needed.
Is therapy available by telehealth?+
Yes. Telehealth is available anywhere in Utah, with in-person sessions available in Midvale.
You do not have to open every door at once. We can begin with enough safety to choose the next one.
Brian Lewis, LCMHC · Midvale, Utah · Telehealth across Utah · Utah LCMHC license #5497978-6009