Understanding PTSD and How Therapy Can Help
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It can deeply impact your emotional wellbeing, relationships, and daily life. If you’re struggling with flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, or emotional numbness, it’s important to know you’re not alone—and that effective help is available through PTSD Counseling Therapy in Washington, DC.
Elizabeth Handy, a licensed Psychotherapist with over two decades of experience, specializes in treating acute and chronic PTSD. With a full-time practice in Austin, TX and Washington, DC, she brings her extensive trauma background—including her time as a Lieutenant Training Officer and paramedic—to help clients heal and recover. She is trained in evidence-based modalities like EMDR and Brainspotting, which are powerful tools for trauma processing and recovery.
If you're in Washington, DC or the surrounding D.C. area and seeking compassionate, effective PTSD therapy, Elizabeth offers personalized, trauma-informed care. PTSD Counseling Therapy in Washington, DC can help you move from a state of survival to thriving. Using a combination of therapeutic techniques, she supports clients dealing with military trauma, childhood abuse, domestic violence, medical trauma, and other life-threatening experiences.
Whether you’re looking for PTSD Counseling, EMDR for PTSD, or Trauma and PTSD Therapy in Washington, this is a safe space to begin your healing journey. You’ll receive not just therapy—but guidance, understanding, and tools tailored to your unique experience.
Trauma impacts the brain and nervous system—but it’s also treatable. Don’t wait to find the support you deserve. A PTSD Therapist in Washington, DC can help you reclaim your life with strategies rooted in science, empathy, and experience.
Get Started TodayYour healing journey matters to me.
I offer in-person sessions at my Georgetown, Texas office, but most clients meet with me online. I’m licensed in Texas, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, and Florida—so if you're in one of these states, we can absolutely work together from the comfort of your own space.
Why Choose PTSD Counseling Therapy in Washington, DC?
Finding a qualified PTSD Therapist in Washington, DC can make a life-changing difference. With Elizabeth Handy, you’re not just receiving therapy—you’re working with someone who has walked alongside first responders, survivors, and trauma patients for more than 20 years.
As a certified EMDR-C and Brainspotting-C practitioner, she offers advanced PTSD Therapy modalities that go beyond talk therapy. These approaches target the brain’s memory networks where trauma is stored, helping to desensitize emotional triggers and reprocess distressing memories.
Clients often search for PTSD Treatment in Washington after years of trying to manage symptoms alone. But trauma doesn’t heal with time alone—it heals with care, safety, and specialized tools. This is why Elizabeth’s approach includes Emotional Regulation strategies, grounding techniques, and customized plans tailored to your unique experiences and needs.
Her work as an Addiction and Performance Specialist also complements her PTSD focus. Many individuals with PTSD also struggle with co-occurring challenges like addiction, panic attacks, or dissociation. Having a PTSD Therapy Specialist in Washington, DC who can address the full spectrum of your healing is crucial.
Working with a Trauma Therapist who understands not only the brain’s response to trauma but also the practical realities of recovery—makes all the difference. Elizabeth Handy helps you rebuild not just from what happened, but toward a future where PTSD no longer defines you.
Call Now: (443) 534-1142Specialized PTSD Therapy Techniques Offered
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for PTSD is one of the most widely researched and effective treatments available. Elizabeth Handy integrates this method for clients struggling with intense trauma responses and intrusive memories. EMDR for PTSD in Washington provides an opportunity to safely reprocess the most painful parts of your history—without having to relive them.
Brainspotting is another powerful tool that can be integrated into PTSD Recovery Therapy in Washington, DC. This technique helps clients access emotional processing in a deep, body-based way. For those who’ve tried traditional therapy without success, Brainspotting often becomes the breakthrough.
Additional methods offered in PTSD Counseling Therapy include somatic awareness work, cognitive restructuring, and mindfulness-based strategies. Every PTSD Therapist uses different techniques, but Elizabeth’s approach is fully integrative—adapting to the needs of each client. From managing Complex PTSD symptoms to supporting childhood trauma healing, her work spans diverse trauma profiles.
If you're searching for a PTSD Counseling Therapy Specialist in Washington, you’ll find more than credentials. You’ll find someone who listens, someone who’s trained, and someone who deeply understands the aftermath of trauma. Healing may not be linear—but with the right guidance, it becomes possible.
Elizabeth's trauma-focused therapy in Washington, DC includes practical strategies for daily symptom management, boundary setting, and emotional regulation. Her sessions are safe, non-judgmental, and tailored to the pace of each client.
Get Started TodayWhat to Expect from PTSD Counseling Therapy
During your first few sessions of PTSD Counseling in Washington, DC, you’ll begin with a comprehensive intake process. Elizabeth Handy takes the time to learn about your background, experiences, and current symptoms. From there, she works with you to develop a personalized PTSD Treatment plan that respects your boundaries and goals.
Expect a calm and confidential environment where your story is honored—not judged. PTSD Therapists in Washington understand how difficult it can be to open up about past events. Elizabeth’s trauma-informed approach ensures that you’ll never be pushed beyond what feels safe, but you’ll always be supported toward meaningful healing.
The PTSD Counseling Therapy process may include identifying triggers, learning grounding techniques, practicing self-regulation skills, and gradually confronting and reprocessing trauma memories using EMDR or Brainspotting. It’s a collaborative journey that unfolds at your pace, with ongoing feedback and goal setting.
If you’ve been searching for PTSD Therapy in Washington, DC and feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of the next step, reaching out for help is the most powerful first move. Whether you’ve experienced recent trauma or are living with Complex PTSD, healing is possible.
Elizabeth Handy, through her practice at EMDR and Psychotherapy, offers a rare blend of expertise, empathy, and real-world trauma experience. This is more than therapy—it’s the beginning of reclaiming your life.
Call Now: (443) 534-1142Ready to Begin Your
Healing Journey?
Take the first step toward recovery and rediscovery. Contact me today to schedule a consultation and explore how my specialized therapies can help you overcome trauma and reclaim your life.
Get Started TodayWhat our clients say
Elizabeth has been a part of our lives for the last several years and has made a huge impact that has led to a much more enriched life. We couldn’t be more grateful for finding her.
- Manny & Nicole ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have had two sessions so far and I’ve noticed a big change in how I feel & think. Brainspotting is a very powerful treatment even if it appears to be simple. I wish more people knew that this was an option. Definitely recommend.
- Sarah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’s her honesty that’s so refreshing. Elizabeth is a very caring person, not cold or technical. She's warm and loving.
- Anne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Your treatment has a beginning, middle and end and we will take the first step together.
Conditions I treat
- Physical and emotional trauma and Complex PTSD
- Postpartum depression
- Couples therapy
- Birth trauma
- Performance anxiety (public speaking, sports, creative arts)
- Victims of crime, industrial injuries, motor vehicle crashes, and natural/ manmade disasters
- Dissociative and attachment disorders
- Depression, panic and anxiety
- Cancer and medical trauma
- Phobias
- Recovery from injury, accident, and medical trauma
- Preparation and recovery from surgery
- Stress and trauma-related illness
- Sexual dysfunction
- Combat trauma
- Abuse & neglect
- Grief and loss
- Trauma
Our Other Therapy Services
- Addiction Therapist in Washington, DC
- Anger Management Therapy in Washington, DC
- Pain Therapist in Washington, DC
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- Marriage Therapy in Washington, DC
- Physical Therapy on Back Pain in Washington, DC
- Physical Pain Therapy in Washington, DC
- Humanistic Therapy in Washington, DC
- Trauma Therapist in Washington, DC
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- Psychotherapy in Washington, DC
- Integrative Medicine in Washington, DC
- EMDR Therapy in Washington, DC
- Anxiety Therapist in Washington, DC
- Grief Counseling Therapist in Washington, DC
- Women’s Issues Therapist in Washington, DC
- Holistic Medicine Therapy in Washington, DC
- Depression Therapist in Washington, DC
- Chronic Illness Therapist in Washington, DC
- Generational Trauma Therapy in Washington, DC
- Lesbian Couples Therapy in Washington, DC
- OCD Therapist in Washington, DC
- Brainspotting Therapist in Washington, DC
- Pain Management Therapy in Washington, DC
- ADHD Therapist in Washington, DC
- Traumatic Brain Injury Therapy in Washington, DC
- Sports Physical Therapy in Washington, DC
- Infidelity Therapist in Washington, DC
- Transgender Affirming Therapy in Washington, DC
- Stress Management Therapy in Washington, DC
- Mood Disorder Therapy in Washington, DC
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