Because Your Healing Matters.

Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Care That Meets You Where You Are

Trauma can leave you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or constantly on edge. It can affect your relationships, your sleep, your confidence, and your ability to feel safe—even long after the event has passed.

At Mending Forge Therapy & Wellness Center LLC, I provide compassionate, evidence-based trauma therapy for children, teens, and adults throughout Tennessee through secure virtual sessions, with mobile play therapy available for children in select areas of Knoxville when clinically appropriate.

Healing isn't about forgetting what happened. It's about helping your mind and body regain a sense of safety, process difficult experiences, and build the tools and resilience to move forward—at a pace that feels right for you.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is not defined only by what happened—it's also about how your mind and body responded to the experience. It can develop after a single overwhelming event or repeated experiences over time.

No two people experience trauma in the same way. An event that deeply affects one person may not impact someone else in the same way, and that does not make either experience more or less valid. Trauma is influenced by many factors, including age, past experiences, available support, and how your nervous system responds to stress.

Some people notice symptoms immediately, while others may not experience the effects until months or even years later. There is no "right" way to respond to trauma, and there is no requirement that an experience be considered "severe enough" to deserve support. If an experience has left you feeling unsafe, overwhelmed, or changed the way you experience yourself or the world around you, your story matters.

Trauma may result from experiences such as:

* Childhood abuse or neglect
* Domestic violence or emotional abuse
* Sexual assault
* Serious accidents or medical trauma
* Foster care or adoption-related experiences
* Bullying or community violence
* Sudden or unexpected loss
* Traumatic grief
* Military service or first responder experiences
* Natural disasters or other life-threatening events

How Trauma Can Affect Daily Life

Trauma affects both the mind and the body. You may experience:

* Anxiety or panic
* Feeling constantly on guard or easily startled
* Nightmares or unwanted memories
* Avoiding reminders of difficult experiences
* Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
* Emotional numbness or irritability
* Shame, guilt, or feeling "stuck"
* Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, or muscle tension

Children often express trauma differently than adults. Rather than talking about what happened, they may communicate through their behavior, play, emotions, or physical complaints. You might notice increased anxiety, emotional outbursts, sleep difficulties, withdrawal, regression in skills, or challenges at school. These behaviors are often a child's way of communicating distress—not a reflection of being "bad" or "misbehaving."

PTSD in Children and Adults

Both children and adults can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a natural response to overwhelming experiences that can leave the brain and body feeling as though danger is still present, even after the event has passed.

Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, avoidance, emotional numbness, or feeling disconnected from others. In children, PTSD often appears through changes in behavior, play, emotions, or physical symptoms rather than words.

With compassionate, evidence-based treatment, healing is possible.

Traumatic Grief & Loss

Not all grief is traumatic, but when a loss is sudden, unexpected, violent, or deeply distressing, grief and trauma can become intertwined. This may include the death of a loved one, suicide loss, accidents, foster care transitions, adoption-related losses, or other significant life changes.

Therapy offers a safe place to process both the loss itself and its impact on your nervous system, allowing space to honor your loved one while moving toward healing with hope and support.

EMDR & Trauma Therapy

As an EMDR-trained therapist, I use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help children, teens, and adults process distressing experiences in a way that feels safe and manageable. EMDR is a well-researched, evidence-based approach that helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they become less emotionally overwhelming and have less impact on your daily life.

Depending on your unique needs, therapy may also incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), play therapy, sandtray therapy, expressive arts, mindfulness, and other trauma-informed approaches. Every treatment plan is individualized because healing looks different for every person.

You Don't Have to Carry It Alone

Beginning therapy after a traumatic experience can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to navigate it alone.

Whether you're seeking support for yourself or your child, my goal is to provide a calm, compassionate space where you feel heard, respected, and supported. Together, we'll work at a pace that feels safe for you, building practical tools for healing while helping you rediscover hope, resilience, and a renewed sense of safety.