Ascend Mind and Body provides trauma therapy in Tampa, FL. Our clinicians are trained in EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy for trauma, and somatic-aware practices that work when talk-first approaches stall. We see clients in-person at our Tampa office and via telehealth across Florida. Sessions start at $75 with supervised interns and $175 initial / $140 follow-up with licensed clinicians. Call (813) 670-3005 or book online.
There is a meaningful difference between a therapist who does trauma-informed work and a therapist specifically trained in trauma reprocessing. Most licensed therapists in Tampa are the first. Far fewer are the second. The distinction matters because some interventions - PTSD in particular, single-incident trauma, and the kind of residue that outlives the event by years - do not resolve through insight alone. They need a protocol designed for how traumatic memories are physiologically stored.
Our Tampa trauma therapy providers
Ashley Huston is a graduate student intern from Northwestern's counseling program who completed formal EMDR training and now offers Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing within her integrative mind-body framework. EMDR is an 8-phase protocol endorsed by the American Psychological Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the World Health Organization. It does not require you to narrate the traumatic event in detail - a distinction that matters if you've avoided trauma work because the idea of retelling felt like more than you could handle.
Ashley's primary office is at our Lakeland location, and she serves Tampa patients through telehealth for trauma reprocessing. Sessions run at her supervised-intern rate of $75 - one of the lowest rates in Tampa Bay for a trained EMDR clinician. [NEEDED: Kasey - confirm which Tampa-office trauma-scope LMHC / LCSW should be named as the in-person Tampa option. Ashley Spring, LCSW is trauma-scope per roster and practices across all three offices - confirm Tampa billing.]
Ashley M. Spring, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker whose focus areas include trauma, adoption, ADHD, and anxiety. Bilingual English/Spanish. Direct and goal-oriented; uses evidence-based modalities and between-session homework. Practices across all three Ascend locations including Tampa - [NEEDED: Kasey - Tampa in-person day availability].
Conditions we treat
Our Tampa trauma team works with the conditions trauma most commonly drives:
- PTSD - military service-connected, first-responder, survivor-of-assault, medical-trauma, and accident presentations. EMDR and trauma-focused CBT are the primary interventions.
- Complex trauma - trauma that developed over time rather than from a single event. Common with childhood adverse experiences. Requires a longer-horizon treatment arc than single-incident work.
- Acute stress - symptoms within the first month after an event. Early intervention is often what prevents acute stress from consolidating into PTSD.
- Life transitions with trauma overlap - divorce, relocation, job loss, medical diagnosis, loss of a primary relationship. Not every hard transition is trauma; some are, and the framing affects what works.
- Grief and loss - sudden, violent, or ambiguous loss. EMDR is increasingly used for traumatic bereavement.
- Trauma-linked anxiety - hypervigilance, panic, and avoidance patterns that trace back to a specific precipitant.
What to expect at your first session
Before the visit. Complete intake forms online. There is a trauma screener in the intake packet; fill it out as best you can. Don't worry about precision - your clinician will clarify during the first visit.
The first session. About 50 minutes. Your therapist will ask what brought you in, what you've tried before, and how symptoms currently show up in daily life. They are not going to ask you to relive anything on day one. For EMDR specifically, the first two or three sessions are history-taking and preparation - teaching resourcing skills and making sure the nervous system has the capacity to do reprocessing work safely.
After the session. Schedule the next visit. Weekly cadence is typical for active trauma work. Reprocessing sessions are often slightly longer (60 to 90 minutes) and scheduled on days you can take it easy afterward - trauma work can be tiring the way a hard workout is tiring.
What makes evidence-based trauma therapy different
The modalities Ascend clinicians actually use - not a comprehensive list of everything the field offers:
- EMDR - structured 8-phase protocol. Best for single-incident trauma, PTSD, and specific memory processing. Research base is large and consistent.
- Trauma-focused CBT - for patients who respond well to a cognitive framework and want a structured skills arc. Often useful alongside or before EMDR for patients who need stabilization first.
- Somatic awareness / mind-body integration - breathwork, grounding, and body-based techniques as adjuncts within the therapeutic process, not a replacement for evidence-based intervention. Particularly useful for clients who intellectualize and get stuck in cognitive loops.
- DBT-informed skills - distress tolerance and emotion regulation for clients whose trauma presents alongside borderline features or intense mood shifts.
We do not offer every trauma modality that exists. If your situation requires a specific protocol we don't provide - for instance, Cognitive Processing Therapy in its pure form or Prolonged Exposure with a CPT-certified provider - we will tell you and, where possible, refer out.