Frequently Asked Questions
Getting Started
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No. You do not need a diagnosis, a clear story, or the "right" words to begin. Many people come to Holistic Trauma Therapy® knowing only that something feels off — that they are exhausted, disconnected, anxious, or going through the motions despite an outwardly successful life. Part of the work is making sense of what you have been carrying. You can start a free, confidential consultation simply because some part of you feels ready for support.
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Trauma is not defined by how dramatic an event looks from the outside. It is defined by how an experience overwhelmed your capacity to cope and left a lasting imprint on your nervous system, body, relationships, and sense of self. Trauma can come from a single event, but it often comes from chronic experiences — emotional neglect, growing up in a high-pressure or unpredictable home, harassment, betrayal, religious or spiritual harm, or years inside a workplace that slowly eroded you. If you find yourself bracing for something to go wrong, struggling to feel safe even when you are, or feeling numb or "too much," those responses are worth exploring — regardless of whether you would call them trauma.
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Holistic Trauma Therapy® is a full-spectrum trauma practice that treats trauma where it actually lives — in the nervous system, the body, identity, relationships, culture, and meaning — rather than focusing on a single modality or symptom. The practice is led by Chief Traumatologist Seema Sharma, SEP, LMFT, who spent over 25 years in senior Fortune 500 leadership before becoming a trauma clinician, and who integrates holistic EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, IFS/parts work, attachment-informed care, and depth and transpersonal psychology. That combination — clinical rigor, lived corporate insight, and a genuinely body-based and meaning-centered approach — is what allows the practice to work with high-achieving professionals, survivors, and culturally complex clients whose wounds rarely get named elsewhere.
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Yes. For many trauma survivors, insight alone is not enough — you can understand your patterns clearly and still feel stuck in your body. Because trauma lives in the nervous system, healing at Holistic Trauma Therapy® includes body-based and experiential approaches: Somatic Experiencing and nervous system regulation, holistic EMDR for reprocessing painful memories, and IFS/parts work to meet the protective patterns you developed to survive. Traditional talk therapy still has real value, and conversation remains part of the work — but it is paired with approaches designed to help your body, not only your mind, begin to feel safe.
How the Therapy Works
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Holistic EMDR, attachment-informed therapy, IFS/parts work, nervous system regulation, and depth and transpersonal psychology. The goal is not simply symptom relief, but integration, embodiment, and a genuine return to yourself.
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Getting started is simple. Reach out through our contact form or schedule a call—we’ll walk you through the next steps and answer any questions along the way.
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and somatic therapy are both body-aware trauma approaches, but they work differently. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess specific stuck or distressing memories so they lose their emotional charge. Somatic therapy, including Somatic Experiencing, works more slowly with present-moment body sensations — tracking activation, tension, and nervous system states to help the body release survival energy it has been holding. Many people benefit from both, and at Holistic Trauma Therapy® they are often woven together rather than offered as separate tracks. Which approach leads, and when, is decided collaboratively based on what your nervous system can integrate.
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No. One reason EMDR is well suited to trauma is that it does not require you to narrate every detail of what happened. EMDR works with how a memory is stored, not with retelling it aloud. You remain in control of how much you share and at what pace, and the work is structured so that you build internal resources and stability before reprocessing begins. Nothing is forced, and the process moves at the pace of your nervous system.
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There is no fixed timeline, because healing depends on the kind of trauma you are working with, your goals, and your history. Some people come for focused, shorter-term work on a specific issue; others, particularly those healing complex or developmental trauma, choose longer-term, depth-oriented work. Trauma healing is rarely linear, and it is not about "getting over" what happened — it is about your nervous system learning safety, your patterns softening, and your relationship to your past and present becoming more grounded. Progress is reviewed collaboratively and regularly, and the pace is always yours.
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Trauma therapy is designed to prevent that. The work begins with safety, stabilization, and nervous system resourcing — building your capacity before approaching anything painful. Trauma-informed care moves in a titrated way, meaning it works in small, tolerable increments rather than flooding you. You set the pace, you can pause at any point, and a skilled trauma clinician tracks your nervous system carefully so the work stays within a window you can integrate. Healing should not require re-traumatizing you.
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This is one of the most common reasons people come to Holistic Trauma Therapy®. A previous therapy experience that brought validation but not change does not mean you are untreatable — it often means the approach did not reach where the trauma was held. Trauma frequently lives in the body and nervous system, in places talk-based insight alone cannot reach. Body-based and experiential approaches such as Somatic Experiencing, holistic EMDR, and parts work are designed for exactly this gap. It can also simply mean the relational fit was not right, which is part of what a free consultation is for.
Who the Practice Works With
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Yes. Therapy for high-achieving professionals, executives, and leaders is a core focus of the practice. Holistic Trauma Therapy® is led by a clinician who spent over 25 years in senior Fortune 500 leadership and global organizations, which means you will not have to explain the pressure, the responsibility, the travel, the identity fused with work, or the quiet trauma of high-stakes professional life. The practice supports burnout, corporate trauma, harassment, leadership identity, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the disconnection many accomplished people feel beneath an outwardly composed life.
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Yes. You do not need a dramatic story to have been shaped by childhood experiences. Emotional neglect, parentification, growing up walking on eggshells, or learning that love felt safer when you were helpful, successful, or "not too much" can leave lasting imprints — often called developmental or complex trauma. These adaptations frequently become adult patterns like perfectionism, over-functioning, anxiety, and difficulty feeling close to others. Holistic Trauma Therapy® works with exactly these less-visible wounds, not only with overt abuse.
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Yes. Holistic Trauma Therapy® supports people healing from religious trauma, spiritual abuse, harmful religious conditioning, faith deconstruction, and recovery from high-control religious communities and groups. This work does not ask you to choose a side or abandon what still matters to you spiritually. It focuses on understanding how these experiences shaped your nervous system, your sense of self, and your capacity for trust — and on reclaiming the freedom to be who you are.
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Yes. Holistic Trauma Therapy® offers culturally attuned care for BIPOC clients (including South Asians) and others navigating immigrant family systems, intergenerational trauma, achievement pressure, shame, and complex family and relational dynamics. The intention is that you will not have to explain your culture from scratch or translate your experience before the real work can begin.
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Yes. Holistic Trauma Therapy® provides AASECT-informed, somatically grounded care for survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, betrayal, and relational violation. This work is held with tenderness and is never sensationalized. It focuses on safety, agency, boundaries, reconnecting with your body, and reclaiming your capacity for intimacy — at a pace you control.
Logistics, Fees & Getting in Touch
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Fees are based on the clinician you work with. Individual psychotherapy is $200 per 50-minute session with an Associate Psychotherapist, $250 with a Licensed Psychotherapist, and $350 with an Expert Psychotherapist. Relationship counseling is $250, $300, and $450 per 50-minute session respectively. Professional coaching and consultations begin at $450 per 50-minute session. Specialized trauma therapy reflects advanced training in modalities such as EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, IFS, and AASECT sex therapy — training that is often what allows deeper, more lasting change. Fees are confirmed before you begin, so there are no surprises.
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Holistic Trauma Therapy® is an out-of-network, private-pay practice, and this is a clinical decision rather than a financial one. Insurance-based care typically requires a formal diagnosis, session limits, and standardized treatment plans built for short-term symptom management — a structure that often conflicts with how trauma actually heals. Trauma work needs flexibility, pacing set by your nervous system, and the freedom to integrate somatic work, EMDR, and parts work without rigid protocols. Private-pay care also keeps your clinical information out of an insurer's hands, which is its own form of privacy and safety.
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If your plan includes out-of-network benefits, you may be reimbursed for a portion of your fees. Holistic Trauma Therapy® provides a superbill — an itemized receipt with the codes and clinician credentials your insurer needs — upon request. You pay for sessions upfront and submit the superbill to your insurance provider for any reimbursement they offer. It is best to call your insurer before your first session and ask about your "out-of-network outpatient behavioral health benefits," whether pre-authorization is required, and what percentage of an out-of-network fee they reimburse.
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Holistic Trauma Therapy® regularly welcomes new clients across its Pasadena and Newport Beach offices and virtually throughout California, with availability varying by clinician. The best next step is to request a free, confidential consultation — the practice will let you know current openings and help match you with the right clinician for your needs.
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Yes. Holistic Trauma Therapy® offers secure virtual sessions to clients located anywhere in California, in addition to in-person sessions in Pasadena and Newport Beach and walk-and-talk sessions in Claremont and Brea. Research indicates online therapy can be as effective as in-person care for many concerns. Some trauma work, including certain EMDR and somatic sessions, can be especially grounding in person, and the practice will help you decide what format best supports your healing.
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After you reach out, the practice responds to schedule a free, confidential consultation — a brief, low-pressure conversation to understand what you are looking for, answer your questions, and explore whether the fit feels right. There is nothing you need to prepare and nothing you need to explain perfectly. If it feels like a match, you will be guided through simple onboarding and scheduling for your first session.
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Holistic Trauma Therapy® is an outpatient practice and is not a crisis or emergency service. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7, or call 911. Once you are safe and stable, the practice would be honored to support your longer-term healing.
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Under the federal No Surprises Act, healthcare providers are required to provide clients who are not utilizing insurance with an estimate of the anticipated costs for medical services, including psychotherapy services. You are entitled to request a Good Faith Estimate for the complete expected expenses of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy, either before scheduling a service or at any point during your treatment. If you receive a bill that exceeds your Good Faith Estimate by at least $400, you have the option to contest the bill. It's important to retain a copy or a photo of your Good Faith Estimate. For inquiries or more details regarding your right to a Good Faith Estimate and how to challenge a bill, please visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.
