I am a licensed psychotherapist with over 27 years of experience providing trauma-focused, psychodynamic psychotherapy to adults with complex trauma histories. I am particularly attuned to issues of relational trauma, attachment disturbances, abuse recovery, psychosexual health, anxiety disorders, and binge eating. My practice is culturally responsive and grounded in respect for each client’s lived experience and identity. Therapy with me is collaborative, paced with care, and grounded in deep attunement. I believe symptoms are adaptations to overwhelming experiences. I help clients understand how past experiences shape present patterns, transform trauma-shaped beliefs, and reconnect with their inner strength and authenticity. If you are ready for profound healing, I would be honored to work with you
Client Focus
Session Format: Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult, Senior
Demographic Expertise: Asian, Black / African American, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Hispanic / Latino, Jewish, LGBTQ+, Men, Middle Eastern, Military / Veterans, Muslim, Native American, Women clients.
Languages: English
Treatment Approach
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) An evidence-based treatment for PTSD that teaches clients to reframe unhelpful thoughts about trauma. It helps reduce guilt, shame, and fear.
- Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) Builds skills in self-kindness and compassion toward others. It is especially helpful for people who struggle with shame or self-criticism.
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Focuses on strengthening emotional bonds in couples or families. It helps people identify negative cycles and create more secure connections.
- Existential / Humanistic Therapy Encourages people to explore meaning, freedom, and authenticity in their lives. It focuses on personal growth and living in alignment with one’s values.
- Integrative Therapy Combines techniques from multiple approaches into a customized plan. It adapts to each client’s unique situation and needs.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) Helps clients heal by working with different ‘parts’ of themselves, like inner critics or wounded children. It fosters harmony within the self.
- Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) A short-term approach focused on improving relationships and social support. It is often used for depression and grief.
- Jungian Therapy Draws on Carl Jung’s ideas about archetypes, dreams, and the collective unconscious. It helps people explore deeper layers of meaning.
- Multicultural Therapy Acknowledges the role of culture, race, and identity in mental health. It values diversity and adapts treatment to each person’s background.
- Psychoanalytic Therapy Based on Freud’s theories, it explores unconscious conflicts and past experiences. It seeks to bring hidden issues into awareness.
- Psychodynamic Therapy Explores unconscious thoughts and patterns that influence current behavior. It builds insight into how the past impacts the present.
- Transpersonal Therapy Integrates spirituality and higher states of consciousness with psychology. It encourages growth beyond the individual self.
Approach Description: My approach is trauma-focused, psychodynamic, and integrative. I work from the understanding that many current struggles are rooted in early relational and developmental experiences.
Psychodynamic and relational therapies help us explore how attachment patterns and past relationships shape present difficulties. Internal Family Systems (IFS) provides a compassionate framework for healing wounded parts of the self and restoring inner balance. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) supports the transformation of trauma-shaped beliefs, particularly those involving shame, guilt, and self-blame. I also incorporate mindfulness-based and somatic practices to help regulate the nervous system and rebuild a sense of safety in the body.
For clients drawn to spiritually integrated work, I offer transpersonal and shamanic transformational healing approaches that support deeper meaning-making and integration. My work is collaborative, attuned, culturally responsive, and paced with care.
Education & Credentials
Joanna Vergoth LCSW, NCPsyA
- Female
- License # 149008568 # 063518
- Licensed in Illinois and New York
- Practicing Since 1999
Education: Advanced Seminar in International Trauma Studies — Columbia University
Certification in Psychoanalysis (Jungian Concentration) — Westchester Institute for Psychoanalysis
Depth Psychology — Pacifica Graduate Institute
Master of Social Work (MSW), Academic Honors — Loyola University Chicago
Finances
Fees
- Average Session Fee $200.00
- Affordable sliding scale therapy: apply if you may be eligible.
- I believe trauma-informed therapy should be accessible. I offer a limited number of sliding-scale openings for clients experiencing financial constraints. Reduced fees are determined collaboratively during consultation based on individual circumstances and availability. Sliding scale sessions may be time-limited or periodically reviewed to ensure fairness and sustainability. Please inquire to discuss options. Please feel free to call or email me for a free 15-minute consultation.
- Out of Network
Joanna Vergoth Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
Joanna Vergoth Practice Description
Trauma can affect every layer of a person — thoughts, emotions, relationships, identity, the nervous system, and one’s sense of meaning. Many of the adults I work with carry complex or developmental trauma histories that continue to shape present-day anxiety, relationship struggles, attachment wounds, psychosexual concerns, or disordered eating patterns. Healing from complex trauma is about understanding the adaptations that once protected you and creating new pathways toward resilience, connection, and self-trust. Often, these patterns began as adaptive responses to overwhelming environments. With more than 27 years of clinical experience, I provide trauma-informed, psychodynamic psychotherapy designed to gently and effectively address these deeper layers. My work integrates:
• Psychodynamic therapy to explore how early relational experiences shape present patterns
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) to identify and heal wounded parts while restoring inner balance
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to transform trauma-shaped beliefs and reduce shame, guilt, and self-blame
• Mindfulness, guided visualization, and somatic practices to rebuild safety and regulation in the body
Sessions are collaborative, deeply attuned, and paced with care. We move at a rhythm that supports safety and integration rather than overwhelm. While our work may explore profound emotional and relational themes, I also provide structured tools and strategies to help you create tangible change in daily life. Therapy offers a transformative, safe space to move from merely surviving to thriving, which involves intentional living, deep self-awareness, and personal growth.
In addition to traditional psychotherapy, I offer shamanic transformational healing for clients who feel drawn to spiritually integrated work. This dimension of care can support deeper symbolic processing, spiritual reconnection, and a return to authenticity and wholeness.