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.

Medical Trauma Aware Clinicians | Medical Trauma Support

Additional support resources including people and organizations that are medical trauma aware:

Shelley Freeman, LCMHC - She is EMDR Certified and can see clients in NC, VA, DC, FL and SC

Shakira 'Kira' O'Garro, LMHC-D, LPC, LPCC, NCC - she practices from NY and is licensed in CA, NJ, PA, and SC as well.

Donna Amtsberg, LCSW-S - She is licensed to practice in Texas.

Ingrid Chung Nishimoto, LCSW - She practices in California and is EMDR Certified.

Ginko Leaf Health with Dr. Christen Mullane - She is licensed to practice in multiple states.

Healthcare Revolution Collective - This collective has gathered a tremendous amount of resources of medical trauma aware practitioners.

Matt Maxwell - Matt offers medical trauma informed coaching, is a meditation teacher and author.

Rachel Allen, Psy.D. - She is licensed to practice in 42 states (see the list of states on her site).

Jackie Williams, LMFT - She practices in California and Montana.

Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, MSW, MLIS

My hope is that this list will continue to grow as more people become aware of the very common experience of medical trauma. If you have found providers who should be on this list, please share their contact info via our contact page.