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.

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Finding Meaning After Medical Experiences - A Community Conversation with Ellie Vincent, LCSW (On-Demand Recording)

$24.99

After a difficult medical experience, many people find themselves asking: Why did this happen? What do I do with this pain? Is there a way to make sense of what I've been through? Finding meaning isn't about minimizing what happened or forcing a silver lining, it's about honoring your experience and gently exploring what it might hold for your life going forward.

In this Community Conversation, licensed therapist Ellie Vincent, LCSW, joins us for a warm, thoughtful discussion on finding meaning after medical experiences. Together, we explore how meaning-making can become a part of healing — not as something you have to do, but as something that may arise naturally when you feel safe and supported.

This on-demand replay allows you to engage with the conversation at your own pace, pausing, reflecting, and returning as your body needs.

This gentle, educational space invites you to:

Understand what meaning-making looks like after medical trauma
Explore why the search for meaning is a natural part of the healing process
Learn how to hold your experience with compassion rather than judgment
Discover ways to reconnect with a sense of purpose and possibility
Reflect on what healing and growth can look like for you

You do not need to have found meaning yet to benefit from this conversation. You are welcome exactly as you are.

This recording is educational in nature and is not a substitute for therapy.