About San Diego Trauma Therapy

Our Story

San Diego Trauma Therapy was founded in 2008 by Dana Terrell, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a deep commitment to helping trauma survivors access the care they need. After years of practicing EMDR therapy and witnessing its transformative effects firsthand, Dana recognized a critical gap in the San Diego mental health landscape: people who had experienced trauma often struggled to find therapists with specialized training in evidence-based trauma treatments.

The directory began as a simple resource listing a handful of certified EMDR practitioners in central San Diego. Within its first year, word spread among both therapists and clients, and the network expanded rapidly. By 2012, the directory covered more than thirty neighborhoods. By 2015, it had grown to encompass forty-six distinct areas across the San Diego region, from Oceanside and Carlsbad in the north to Chula Vista and Imperial Beach in the south.

What set this directory apart from generic therapist-finder tools was its singular focus on trauma and EMDR. Every practitioner included in the directory held current EMDR certification and demonstrated ongoing commitment to professional development in trauma treatment. Dana personally vetted each listing, ensuring that people reaching out for help during some of the most difficult moments of their lives would find therapists with genuine expertise and compassion.

Our Mission

Our mission has always been straightforward: to connect individuals affected by trauma with certified, compassionate therapists who specialize in EMDR and other evidence-based treatments. We believe that healing from trauma should not be complicated by the difficulty of finding qualified help.

Many people who have experienced traumatic events do not realize that specialized treatments exist, or they assume that therapy means years of talking about painful experiences with uncertain outcomes. EMDR offers a different path. By helping the brain reprocess traumatic memories, EMDR can produce meaningful relief in a fraction of the time required by traditional approaches. Our directory exists to make this option accessible to everyone in the San Diego community.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro. What began as an observation about the connection between eye movements and the processing of distressing thoughts has since evolved into one of the most rigorously studied psychotherapy methods in the world.

EMDR is built on the Adaptive Information Processing model, which proposes that traumatic experiences can overwhelm the brain's natural ability to process and integrate memories. When this happens, the memories remain stored in their original, distressing form, complete with the sights, sounds, emotions, and physical sensations experienced at the time of the event. These unprocessed memories can be triggered by everyday experiences, leading to symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other conditions.

During EMDR therapy, a trained therapist guides the client through a structured eight-phase process that includes bilateral stimulation, typically in the form of guided eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones. This stimulation appears to activate the brain's natural healing processes, allowing traumatic memories to be reprocessed and integrated in a way that reduces their emotional charge. After successful EMDR treatment, clients can recall the event without experiencing the overwhelming distress that previously accompanied the memory.

Recognition and Evidence

EMDR therapy has earned recognition from numerous authoritative bodies in the fields of psychology and medicine. The World Health Organization recommends EMDR as one of only two psychotherapies for children, adolescents, and adults with PTSD. The American Psychological Association conditionally recommends EMDR for PTSD treatment. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense list EMDR among their strongly recommended treatments for post-traumatic stress.

Over thirty randomized controlled trials have demonstrated EMDR's effectiveness. Research published in journals such as the Journal of Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Traumatic Stress, and the American Journal of Psychiatry has consistently shown that EMDR produces clinically significant improvement in trauma symptoms, often in fewer sessions than cognitive behavioral therapy approaches.

Serving the San Diego Community

San Diego presents unique considerations when it comes to trauma and mental health care. The region is home to multiple military installations, including Naval Base San Diego and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and a large population of active-duty service members, veterans, and military families. Combat-related PTSD, military sexual trauma, and the stresses of deployment and reintegration are significant concerns in this community.

Beyond the military population, San Diego residents face the same spectrum of traumatic experiences that affect communities everywhere: childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, serious accidents, natural disasters, sudden loss of loved ones, and other deeply distressing events. The diversity of the population, spanning many cultures, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds, means that culturally sensitive, accessible mental health care is essential.

Our directory was designed with this community in mind. By organizing therapists by neighborhood and specialty, we make it easier for individuals to find providers who are not only qualified but also conveniently located and experienced with the specific type of trauma they have endured.

Our Values

Several core principles have guided the directory since its founding:

• Clinical excellence. Every therapist in our directory holds current EMDR certification and participates in ongoing professional development. We prioritize quality over quantity.
• Accessibility. Trauma does not discriminate, and neither should access to treatment. We strive to include therapists across all San Diego neighborhoods, at various price points, and with diverse areas of cultural competency.
• Education. We believe that informed individuals make better decisions about their care. Our articles and resources are designed to help people understand their conditions, their treatment options, and what to expect from the therapeutic process.
• Compassion. Every aspect of this directory, from its design to its content, is created with sensitivity to the fact that visitors may be in pain. We aim to provide a calm, welcoming experience that respects the courage it takes to seek help.
• Community focus. This is a San Diego resource, built by San Diegans, for San Diegans. Our understanding of the local community, its demographics, its institutions, and its unique mental health needs, informs everything we do.