Trauma Therapy in Fort Worth, TX

Most people who search for trauma therapy in Fort Worth are not in crisis. They are functioning. They go to work, raise kids, show up at church. But something from years ago still runs the show underneath, and no amount of trying harder has moved it.

Trauma is not only what happened to you. It’s what your brain did with it afterward when it had no way to finish processing the event. That unfinished memory keeps firing in the present, which is why a small trigger can produce a response that feels wildly out of proportion to the moment you’re actually in.

At Reviving Hope Christian Counseling, our Fort Worth trauma therapists use EMDR and other evidence-based approaches alongside a biblical worldview. We see adult individuals and couples, plus teens 13+, at our office at 3509 Hulen Street and by telehealth throughout Texas, serving Fort Worth and surrounding communities including Keller, Southlake, Benbrook, Aledo, and Arlington. We would never tell you that you’ll “get over” what happened. We do believe it does not have to keep defining you.

Below is a list of common questions about trauma-informed therapy.

What is trauma and how do I know if I've experienced it?

Trauma can be a confusing topic to understand. When it comes to trauma treatment, clinicians often refer to "Big T" trauma, such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, or a serious car wreck. These are events that are clearly traumatic and easier to identify. There can also be "little t" trauma, which may be less obvious but still deeply impactful.

Little t trauma can include growing up with a parent who belittles you or being consistently ignored compared to your siblings—where one child favored. Over time, repeated little t traumas can accumulate and have effects similar to Big T trauma.

What are the common symptoms of trauma?

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress can affect you emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually effects. Trauma occurs when you brain has not fully processed a traumatic event. This memory can become stored in the part of your brain associated with the fight-flight-freeze response. When you are reminded of the event, you can have an emotional response. The trigger can be small or significant, and it may cause you to feel as though you are reliving the event.

What are the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

A lot of people ask what are the symptoms of PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD can be summarized in the four As:

• Avoidance of reminders or triggers

• Arousal and reactivity: hypervigilance, irritability, being easily startled

• Altered mood or cognition: negative beliefs, shame, emotional numbness

• Actively re-experiencing the trauma: nightmares or flashbacks.

Not all trauma leads to PTSD. However, when symptoms become persistent and significantly impair daily functioning, PTSD may be present.

How do trauma symptoms affect your mental health condition and daily life?

Like many mental health challenges, trauma can impact multiple areas of your life. Trauma can lead to depression, grief, and reduce daily functioning. Some trauma survivors may attempt to cope through behavioral addiction, such as porn and sex addiction, or substance use due to limited coping skills. Trauma symptoms can cause someone to shift quickly into fight, flight, or freeze responses, which can take a serious toll on relationships.

Can unresolved trauma cause relationship or intimacy problems?

Yes, they absolutely can. In couples therapy, we often talk about how trauma impacts relationship. If someone has PTSD symptoms or has had a traumatic events, it can trigger their fight, flight, or freeze responses. This can be hard for the partner to experience and navigate.

Many partners of people with PTSD struggle to understand what triggers these reactions, and they might not even be aware of what is triggering them. Sometimes partners may unintentionally contribute to the triggers. In trauma counseling, we discuss these triggers in a safe environment that is different from past situations.

The situation is even more complicated if there has been an affair or pornography use. These situations can trigger the injured partner and make navigating the relationship much more difficult. The relationships may feel unsafe, so part of the healing journey is rebuilding trust.

What is EMDR therapy and how does it work?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's an evidence-based modality when it comes to therapy. Therapists undergo trauma-focused training to become EMDR trained or certified. While researchers do not fully understand why EMDR works, it has a strong success rate in reducing PTSD symptoms.

Traumatic memories can become stored in a survival-focused part of the brain rather than in areas responsible for logical, contextual processing. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories so they are integrated in a healthier way—allowing the memory to feel like something that happened in the past rather than something still happening in the present.

Some theories suggest that the bilateral stimulation used in EMDR mirrors processes that occur during REM sleep, when the brain consolidates short-term memories into long-term storage.

Is EMDR safe and effective for adults?

Yes, it's safe. All EMDR trained therapists have attended EMDRIA-approved EMDR training. These research-backed trainings teach protocols to ensure safety. Therapists do not begin by diving into a client’s most intense trauma.

A key part of EMDR is resourcing. This is when you are developing emotional stability and coping skills before processing traumatic memories. We do not begin by diving into the most painful memories. Instead, we spend several sessions building internal resources so you are prepared for deeper work.

EMDR can be described as processing trauma mentally without prolonged exposure. Rather than revisiting the physical location of the trauma, you revisit it safely in your mind while guided by your therapist.

Can Betrayal Trauma cause PTSD Symptoms?

Absolutely! When a spouse betrays you with pornography, this can cause a shock to your system especially if it has been going on for years. The betrayed partner is not only face with the acting out behavior, but they are also faced with the lies and deception that has been going on throughout their marriage. They are understandably confused by what was real in their marriage. And this was done by someone that was supposed to have their back and promised fidelity to them.

If there was an affair, then there is even more devastation for the betrayed partner as there was another person. This can cause all types of understandable triggers due to the betrayal being so deep. Part of the long journey forward involves understanding what forgiveness does and doesn't require.

If your trauma comes from a spouse's affair or hidden sexual behavior, visit our betrayal trauma counseling page.

How many sessions does trauma therapy with EMDR usually take?

It depends. Trauma recovery may take longer for individuals with complex trauma.

Complex trauma includes repeated abuse during childhood—such as sexual or physical abuse—which often results in complex PTSD. This type of trauma involves multiple experiences rather than a single event.

Single-incident trauma recovery is typically easier to process. EMDR processing can often begin by the third or fourth session. During treatment, additional memories may surface that also require attention.

Can Christians benefit from EMDR therapy?

Yes. While the Bible does not specifically mention Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it addresses human suffering and provides wisdom and insight. Many Christian clients find it helpful to incorporate faith by using Jesus or God as an internal resource into trauma therapy. This approach can be powerful in combination with evidence-based interventions like EMDR.

Will EMDR therapy make me relive my trauma?

A skilled trauma therapist will move at a pace that prioritizes safety. You will not be forced to relive your trauma in early sessions. Instead, the focus is on resourcing which will help you develop coping skills and emotional stability before processing traumatic memories.

Often, EMDR begins with smaller, less intense memories before addressing larger trauma-related events, ensuring a safe and manageable process.

Can trauma therapy help anxiety, depression, or addiction?

Yes. Trauma therapy can benefit individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, sexual addiction, or any addiction for that matter. Traumatic experiences may contribute to these conditions, and addressing them in individual therapy can improve mental health outcomes.

EMDR and other trauma-informed therapy techniques help clients stay present, reducing the pull of anxiety toward the future and trauma toward the past.

Can porn addiction be caused by trauma?

Yes, a University of Georgia study in 2024 concluded that among men with sexual addiction, 68.56% reported sexual abuse and 39.82% reported physical abuse. These are toxic relationships that people experienced in their younger years. The people that I have counseled report that they have some form of sexual abuse or physically in their ACE scores.

When you have been abused at a young age especially by someone who you trusted, it is so confusing and porn is a way to numb the pain. Rather than sharing with those who demonstrate trustworthiness and care, children do not want to cause harm to family dynamics so they bottle it up.

How Do I Find the Right Trauma Therapist in Fort Worth?

Fit matters more in trauma work than in almost any other kind of therapy, because the work only goes as deep as the safety in the room. A therapist can be excellent and still be wrong for you. Here is what we would tell a friend to ask before committing to anyone, including us.

What trauma training does the therapist have?

“Trauma-informed” is a broad term and nearly everyone uses it. Ask what specific trauma training a therapist has completed and how they were supervised in it. There is no single correct answer. EMDR is one well-researched approach and several of our clinicians are EMDR trained, but it is not the only effective one. Other evidence-based trauma methods work well too, and the right fit depends on you and your therapist.

How do they handle the first few sessions?

A therapist who wants the details of your worst memory in session one is moving too fast, regardless of what method they use. You want to hear that stabilization comes first: a stretch of sessions spent building coping skills and emotional steadiness before any memory processing begins.

Have they treated your kind of trauma?

Childhood abuse, a single car accident, first responder exposure, and a spouse’s betrayal are not interchangeable. Someone who sits with your specific presentation regularly will recognize patterns faster and waste less of your time.

How does faith fit, in either direction?

If your faith is central to you, ask how a therapist integrates it and whether they will bring Scripture into the room or leave it at the door. If you would rather faith stay out of it, ask that too. Either answer is fine. Mismatched expectations are what cause problems.

What are the fees and how does payment work?

Ask about the fee, session length, and whether the practice is in network or private pay. Reviving Hope is a private pay practice, which means no diagnosis is submitted to an insurance company, something that matters to many first responders and clients in ministry.

At Reviving Hope, our clinicians bring different trauma training and see different populations. Clifton Hickman, LPC, CSAT is EMDR trained and works with adults and couples, particularly where trauma sits underneath addiction or betrayal. Georgina Hickman, LPC is EMDR trained and works with betrayed partners, anxiety, and couples. Sarah Hanlin, LCSW brings her own trauma training and sees teens 13 and older as well as adults. Part of our job is matching you with the right person on our team rather than whoever has the next opening.

We offer a free 15 minute consultation for exactly this. Ask us all five questions. If we are not the right fit for what you are carrying, we would rather say so and point you toward someone in the Fort Worth area who is.

Starting Trauma Therapy in Fort Worth: Cost, Sessions, and What Happens First

What does trauma therapy cost in Fort Worth?

Our rates vary by clinician. Clifton Hickman, LPC, CSAT is $165 for a 50 minute individual session and $175 for couples. Georgina Hickman, LPC is $150 for individuals and couples. Sarah Hanlin, LCSW is $130 for individuals. We publish these openly because knowing the number should not require a phone call.

Do you take insurance?

Reviving Hope is a private pay practice and we do not work with insurance plans. Insurance requires a mental health diagnosis on file and gives the insurer influence over how long and how often you are seen. For trauma work in particular, that matters, since recovery timelines vary widely and complex trauma often needs more time than a plan will authorize. Staying private pay lets your treatment be shaped by your progress rather than by a utilization review, and it keeps your diagnosis out of an insurance record. We provide billing statements and superbills on request, which you can submit to your insurer for possible out of network reimbursement or credit toward your deductible. We recommend calling your plan first to confirm what they will apply.

How long are sessions, and how often will we meet?

Sessions run 50 minutes. Most trauma clients start weekly, which matters more here than in other kinds of therapy, because the stabilization work in the early weeks builds on itself. Once you and your therapist have moved through processing, many clients step down to every other week.

How do I pay?

We accept cash, check, HSA or FSA cards, and credit cards. Payment is due at the end of each session. Every client completes a credit card authorization form at intake, and we charge the card on file after the session so there is nothing to handle on your way out.

Where is your office?

Our office is at 3509 Hulen Street, Suite 255, Fort Worth, TX 76107. We office in building two and there is plenty of parking by it. We also offer telehealth throughout Texas.

What Should I Expect in My First Trauma Therapy Session in Fort Worth?

The first session is focused on creating a safe and supportive environment. Your trauma therapist will not immediately delve into detailed memories of the traumatic event.

Instead, the session emphasizes resourcing by building coping skills and emotional stability. This ensures you can safely engage in deeper processing in future sessions.

Does community help me with my trauma?

Yes! Community is essential. We were created for connection, and stable, secure relationships support healing. Community support groups and group therapy are excellent ways to complement individual therapy and address trauma-related disorders.

Do You Offer Online Trauma Therapy in Fort Worth and Across Texas?

Yes. Our therapists provide mental health counseling and trauma-informed therapy online, including EMDR. Even in a virtual setting, you can engage fully in trauma therapy and develop coping strategies to navigate past trauma safely.

At Reviving Hope Christian Counseling in Fort Worth, TX, our trauma therapists offer individual counseling and they are trained in trauma-informed therapy. We would be honored to guide you through your healing journey. Our therapists have specializations in trauma, grief, addiction, porn addiction, sex addiction, anxiety, couples counseling, sex and intimacy, and teens 13+. Check out our blog for more counseling content!