Trauma and PTSD therapists in El Cajon, CA
Find experienced trauma and PTSD therapists in El Cajon, California who provide testing, evidence-based treatment for trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and related challenges such as anxiety, depression, and stress. Compare detailed therapist profiles and connect with a provider that’s right for you.
PTSD/Trauma
Tara McGrath
Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT
I have a special focus on religious trauma and related issues. I am EMDR trained and for some, this will be the main approach to therapy. However, it is not my only approach. Religious trauma is usually a complex trauma, or as I often say, trauma by 1000 paper cuts. Therefore, it's important for us to build trust and rapport, and to go slow.
23 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Hayden Dover
Marriage and Family Therapist, MFT, CST
Trauma can affect the body, emotions, relationships, sexuality, trust, identity, and the ability to feel present in your own life. My approach is grounded, respectful, and body-aware. I work with clients to understand how past experiences may still be shaping present patterns, while supporting greater awareness, regulation, choice, and connection. The work is not about forcing the past open. It is about creating enough safety and understanding for meaningful change.
22 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Matthew Bishop
Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Doctorate in Behavioral Health Leadership
Trauma changes the way the nervous system reacts to the world. My approach helps clients feel safe again in their own bodies and regain a sense of choice in how they live, rather than feeling stuck in old survival patterns.
10 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
A Place of Growth
Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT
Trauma focused therapists who are trained in evidenced-based practices that work both online as well as in the office in San Diego. TF-CBT, Prolonged Exposure as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy to work through your trauma/PTSD in therapy in San Diego and online.
15 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Stephanie Sandoval - COLLECTIVE SPACE THERAPY
Marriage and Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Are you experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds your ability to cope? With extensive training and experience working in a Los Angeles-based group practice and a comprehensive residential addiction treatment center, my specializations include expertise in Trauma and PTSD. I offer a 15 min free consultation, feel free to reach out to see if we're a good fit!
11 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Melissa Quinn Pollock
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW
I work with clients who are seeking formal trauma treatment (CPT) or need a therapist with a trauma-informed background to best understand their worldview.
13 Years Experience
Online in El Cajon, CA (Online Only)
PTSD/Trauma
Whole Wellness Therapy
Marriage and Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
At Whole Wellness Therapy, we specialize in trauma recovery.
Our team of talentedtherapists help people identify and deal with their trauma so they can reconnect with themselves and feel whole again.
8 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Heather Marriatori
Psychologist, PhD
Trauma is an emotional and psychological response to an event. This event could be something you experienced personally or something you witnessed. Your experience could include shock, denial, unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, nightmares, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. There is no reason to continue experiencing this alone. Contact me and we can discuss ways to get feeling like you're back in control and no longer suffering.
13 Years Experience
In-Person Near El Cajon, CA
Online in El Cajon, CA
PTSD/Trauma
Angelique Umutesi
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW
Healing from trauma and PTSD is a brave and deeply personal journey, and at Roots and Refuge Center, we are here to walk alongside you.
Whether you’ve experienced childhood trauma, military service trauma, loss, or any form of violence, we provide a compassionate space for you to process, heal, and rebuild your life.
We understand that trauma affects every part of you — your mind, body, and spirit — and we offer trauma-informed care to help you reclaim your sense of safety, strength, and peace.
What We Offer
Trauma-Informed Therapy:
Safe, supportive, and empathetic counseling that respects the impact of your trauma and works with you to foster healing and recovery.
Personalized PTSD Treatment:
We offer evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help you process and heal from PTSD.
Mind-Body Healing:
Trauma affects the body, and we offer techniques such as mindfulness, breathwork, and somatic experiencing to help you reconnect with your body and release stored trauma.
Building Resilience:
Learn tools to manage triggers, build emotional resilience, and create a sense of stability in your daily life.
Healing from Religious or Cultural Trauma:
If your trauma is tied to faith or cultural experiences, we offer compassionate support to address the emotional wounds left by those experiences.
5 Years Experience
Online in El Cajon, CA (Online Only)
PTSD/Trauma
Hilary Stokes
Therapist, PHD, LCSW
We experience trauma when the stress or fear of threat overwhelm our system and we are not able to consciously process everything that is happening. Our instincts take over and our nervous system goes into survival mode to help us deal with the situation. This is a process known as neuroception, where we assess risks and react via our primal instincts. This looks like the part of our nervous system that is capable of survival and takes a primary role and we either fight, flight, freeze, appease or collapse in response to what is happening. Our rational thinking brain takes a back seat to let our instinctual emotional brain take over. Once we experience an event as traumatic, our nervous system makes it difficult to get out. The part of our brain responsible for memory of details, time, space and basic facts becomes far less active and our sensory memory takes over. We can lose track of the details making it challenging to recall what happened after the fact. The traumatic experiences get stored at a sensory, visceral, and often nonverbal level in our implicit memory. We may experience this at more of an unconscious level making it difficult to fully process at a more cognitive or conscious level.
These memories tend to get suspended or stuck in time leaving a residue of unresolved distressing energy. This puts a lot of stress on the mind-body system, is exhausting and inevitably is not sustainable. Healing as a result requires accessing the implicit memories that exist outside of our ability to verbalize and rationally process our thoughts about what happened. Brainspotting, EMDR , somatic therapy and other mind body therapies known to access implicit memory networks are vital to healing. They help move memories from an unconscious and unresolved state to a more conscious and adaptive state.
25 Years Experience
Online in El Cajon, CA (Online Only)
El Cajon is a San Diego County city home to one of the largest concentrations of Iraqi Christians (Chaldeans) outside Iraq and one of the most significant Somali and East African refugee communities in California, as well as substantial communities from across the Middle East, making it one of the most culturally distinctive cities in Southern California and creating specific demands for culturally and linguistically competent mental health services. The trauma of displacement, war, and refugee journeys is a central concern in the local mental health landscape, and finding therapists who speak Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, Arabic, or Somali and understand the cultural and religious dimensions of these communities' mental health experiences is essential but consistently challenging. San Diego County Behavioral Health provides public services, and community organizations serve immigrant and refugee populations. Common therapy concerns include refugee trauma and PTSD, acculturative stress, religious and cultural identity in diaspora, family and intergenerational conflict between refugee parents and American-raised children, and the grief of displacement and community loss.
Trauma and PTSD therapists in El Cajon, CA Statistics
Trauma and PTSD therapists in El Cajon, CA average 15 years of experience and charge around $207 per session. 100% offer online sessions. The top treatment approaches are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (63%), Psychodynamic Therapy (40%), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (39%).
Average years in practice
15 Years Experience
Average cost per session
$207
Accept insurance
38%
Offer sliding scale
49%
Gender ID
| 71% |
Female |
|
| 24% |
Male |
|
| 3% |
Non-Binary |
|
| 2% |
Gender Fluid |
|
Session Type
| 61% |
In Person and Online |
|
| 39% |
Online Only |
|
Top Treatment Approaches
| 63% | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) |
| 40% | Psychodynamic Therapy |
| 39% | Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) |
| 36% | Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian) |
| 34% | Existential / Humanistic Therapy |
| 33% | Somatic Therapy |
| 32% | Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) |
Ages Served
| 98% | Adult |
| 61% | Young Adult |
| 49% | Senior |
| 49% | Teen |
| 25% | Children |
Client Focus
| 60% | Women |
| 45% | LGBTQ+ |
| 34% | Men |
| 25% | Hispanic / Latino |
| 24% | Asian |