What is medical trauma?

Medical trauma refers to distressing healthcare experiences that impact the nervous system, sense of safety, and relationship with the body. It can result from a single frightening event — such as a difficult diagnosis, surgery, or painful procedure — or accumulate over time through repeated overwhelming healthcare experiences. Medical trauma is not about what happened objectively, but how your nervous system experienced and responded to it.

Is Medical Trauma Support therapy?

No. Medical Trauma Support provides education and peer support, not clinical therapy or medical treatment. Our programs — including online courses, peer support groups, and the Befriend Your Body Community — are designed to complement professional care, not replace it. We always encourage members to seek professional support when needed.

Do you offer online support for medical trauma?

Yes. We offer fully online support including self-paced courses, peer support groups, and the Befriend Your Body Community — a membership community for people healing from medical trauma. All programs are accessible from anywhere in the world.

Who are your programs for?

Our programs support individuals healing from medical trauma, caregivers and parents supporting children through medical experiences, and healthcare professionals who want to understand medical trauma and provide more trauma-informed care. Whether you are navigating your own healing or supporting someone you love, there is a place for you here.

Is the Befriend Your Body Community confidential?

Yes. Our community follows clear confidentiality guidelines to protect the privacy of all members and create a safe, respectful space for healing and peer connection.

Can you heal from medical trauma?

Yes — healing from medical trauma is absolutely possible. The nervous system is remarkably adaptable. Through education, somatic practices, peer support, and community connection, people can learn to feel safer in their bodies, rebuild trust in healthcare, and move forward in their healing journey. Medical Trauma Support offers multiple pathways to support that healing.

What is the Befriend Your Body Community?

The Befriend Your Body Community is an online membership community hosted on Mighty Networks for people healing from medical trauma. It includes peer support groups, nervous system education, somatic practices, and live connection with others who understand the experience of medical trauma. It is led by Sarah Stasica, LMSW, founder of Medical Trauma Support.

What training do you offer for healthcare professionals?

We offer professional training for clinicians and healthcare teams including workshops, continuing education, a cohort-based Medical Trauma Peer Support Certification, and restorative retreats for burnout prevention. Our training is grounded in nervous system science and trauma-informed care, helping providers better support patients while protecting their own wellbeing.

Services for Patients

Avoiding doctors, having flashbacks, feeling like no one understands? Medical trauma is real, and you don't have to heal alone. Whether your experience happened recently or decades ago, there's support designed specifically for what you've been through.

We offer online courses, guides, and peer support designed specifically for people navigating medical trauma, medical PTSD, and the lasting effects of difficult healthcare experiences.

Healing from Medical Trauma Starts Here

Three Ways to Begin Healing

Medical Trauma Support Circle

Medical Trauma Peer Support Community 

Connect with others who truly understand medical trauma. Within the community you can access weekly online support groups, nervous system tools, somatic practices, and a library of resources -- all designed specifically for people healing from medical trauma and medical PTSD. Heal at your own pace, in the company of people who get it.

$39 per month. Cancel anytime.

Join the Community

Befriending Your Body After Medical Trauma

Online Medical Trauma Recovery Course

A self-paced course teaching you how medical trauma impacts the nervous system and how to rebuild safety, regulation, and confidence in your body and your healthcare experiences. Work through the material in your own time, in the privacy of your own space.

One-time investment of $129. Work through the material as many times as you like.

Start The Course

Finding Your Starting Point  

Every healing journey looks different. Here is a little guidance if you are not sure where to begin.
Choose the Medical Trauma Support Circle if you are craving connection and want to heal alongside others who truly understand. You will have access to live weekly support groups, somatic practices, and a community that meets you where you are - for $39 a month.
Choose the Befriending Your Body After Medical Trauma Course if you prefer to begin privately and at your own pace. It is a powerful foundation for understanding your nervous system and reclaiming safety in your body - for a one-time investment of $129.
Choose the Navigating Medical Appointments Guide if you have a medical appointment coming up and need practical tools right now. It is a gentle, affordable first step - for $11.
Many people start with the guide or the course and later join the community for ongoing support. There is no wrong way to begin.

Navigating Medical Appointments with Your Nervous System

A Somatic Guide for People Healing from Medical Trauma

If medical appointments feel overwhelming, scary, or exhausting, this guide was made for you. Learn what is actually happening in your nervous system during appointments and get practical, somatic tools to support yourself before, during, and after, including what to do if you tend to shut down or go mute in clinical settings.

Nine pages. Instant PDF download. $11

Nine pages. Instant PDF download.

Get the Guide

Start
Where You Are

Just beginning? Explore our resources, download the five somatic practices guide.
Ready to Dive Deeper? Enroll in the Befriending Your Body After Medical Trauma Course.
Want comprehensive support? Combine the course and the community to connect with others who “get it.”

Why Medical Trauma Support

Specialized in Medical Trauma
All programs are designed specifically for medical trauma, medical PTSD, and healthcare-related stress.

Peer Connection
Healing through connection with others who’ve been there. Peers are there who listen, believe you, and offer validation of how challenging it can be.

Nervous System–Informed
Learn why your body responds this way and get tools to regulate anxiety and flashback, grounded in Polyvagal Theory and trauma-informed practices. 

Peer-Led + Educator-Guided
Medical trauma support groups led by trained peer specialists and medical trauma educators.

Gentle & Choice-Centered
You control your pace. No pressure, no forced vulnerability, no one-size-fits-all timeline.

Medical Trauma Healing Resources

Download our Navigating Medical Appointments guide, understanding medical trauma guide, self-regulation techniques, appointment preparation worksheet, plus podcast episodes and blog articles.

Led by
Sarah Stasica

Social worker, medical trauma educator, and host of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast. Sarah has supported hundreds of individuals through peer support groups and courses over the past two years, serving members in the US, Canada, and the UK.

Trusted By Our
Community

“I have been attending the medical trauma support group now for a little over 6 months and I find the peer support from all those in the group to be like a healing breath of fresh air. Medical trauma is so complex with levels of physical, mental and emotional pain, disturbance and disorientation. This group has helped me to find my true north with coping and comprehending my trauma and the complexities around it and this in turn has helped me navigate my path to healing and empowered me for my future interactions with the medical system. If you have experienced medical trauma and are looking for a group where you can be believed, validated and learn coping skills from others with medical trauma, then I would recommend this group without reservation.”

- Medical Trauma Support Group
“This was the only group I found on the topic of medical trauma. I have felt alone in my experience prior to joining, but now I feel connected to people that understand, validate, and have ideas to help work through it all. I am very thankful for this."

- Medical Trauma Support Group
"I thought it was extremely informative and very helpful. I think your discussion of how medical debt can impact the patient and their family was very important. I feel in addition, navigating insurance coverage as well as having to appeal insurance denials can be challenging. This is especially difficult when you are not feeling well physically as well as mentally. I thought the daily homework and resources were helpful too."

- Online Course
"Sarah's approachable manner and warm, calming presence made it feel safe to engage with some difficult experiences. I'd recommend the course to anyone who has felt unheard by doctors, or confused and unsupported in a medical situation."

- Online Course
"Well organized and content-rich, without feeling overwhelming. A virtual Go-Bag for managing stress."

- Online Course
"I especially liked the "experiential practices" which are easy to do and can be used to calm day to day anxiety, not just medical trauma."

- Online Course
"A great addition to my wellness toolkit. I find myself returning to the course materials again and again - if this were a book, it would already be dog-eared and worn from use."

- Online Course

Frequently Asked Questions About

Medical Trauma Support

Does my experience count?

If a medical experience is affecting your life now, it matters. Your experience is valid.

Is this therapy?

No, it's peer support and education. Many people do both peer support and professional therapy.

Do I have to share my story?

No. You're always in control. Many people start by just listening.

Is this confidential?

We care deeply about privacy and emotional safety, and members agree to keep shared stories and conversations confidential. Because this is an online community, complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.

Is this available online?

Yes, both the guide, course, and community are virtual and immediately accessible.

Can I join if my trauma happened years ago?

Yes. Healing from medical trauma can begin at any time.

What is the difference between peer support and therapy?

Peer support is community-based and rooted in lived experience. Many members participate alongside therapy.