You've been carrying this for a long time. You don't have to keep doing it alone.
Maybe it was something that happened years ago that you thought you'd moved past. Maybe it's more recent, and you're still not sleeping right, still scanning every room, still reacting bigger than you want to.
At JPB Counseling in Kernersville, NC, we work with adults, young adults, and teens who are ready to stop just surviving, and start actually healing.
Does any of this sound like you?
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You feel on edge in situations that most people handle fine
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Sleep is hard - you can't get there, or you wake up at 3am with your brain going
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You startle easily, or go completely numb when things get intense
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Flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, or memories that won't stay where you put them
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Relationships feel hard to trust, even when you want to
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You've been told you're "too sensitive" or "overreacting", but you know something is off
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You've pushed through for so long that pushing through doesn't even feel like coping anymore
Trauma is your nervous system trying to protect you from something that already happened. Therapy is where you help it learn that it's safe now.
Wait... do I actually have trauma?
Good question. A lot of people think trauma only "counts" if something catastrophic happened. But trauma isn't about the size of the event; it's about how your nervous system processed it. If your brain couldn't fully make sense of something that happened, it can get stuck trying to protect you from it. Long after it's over.
Trauma doesn't always look like a dramatic event. Sometimes it looks like growing up in a home where nothing ever felt safe. Sometimes it looks like a relationship that slowly eroded your sense of self. Sometimes it looks like being the "strong one" for so long that you forgot you're allowed to need support too.
You don't need a diagnosis to deserve support. If the past is showing up in your present, that's enough of a reason to reach out.
Trauma shows up differently for everyone. It might look like:
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PTSD: flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, feeling detached from life
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Complex PTSD (C-PTSD): chronic emotional dysregulation, shame, difficulty trusting
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Childhood trauma: patterns from early experiences that still shape your adult life
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Relational trauma: emotional wounds from toxic, abusive, or neglectful relationships
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Grief and loss: unprocessed grief from death, divorce, estrangement, or life changes
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Religious or spiritual trauma: wounds from systems or communities that caused harm
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ADHD and trauma: when attention and impulse challenges are rooted in nervous system dysregulation
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Trauma and substance use: when alcohol or substances became the way you learned to cope
If you recognize yourself in any of these, or if you've just had this quiet sense that the past is still running the show, therapy can help. Actually help. Not just cope-and-manage help. Real change.
How we actually treat trauma (not just talk about it)
We're not going to JUST hand you a coping worksheet and send you home. Trauma therapy at JPB Counseling is active, personalized, and built around you. Not a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Some of the approaches we use:
APPROACH 1: EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most researched trauma treatments available. Rather than just talking about what happened, EMDR helps your brain fully process traumatic memories that have gotten stuck. Jessica Beckman is trained in EMDR and uses it for PTSD, anxiety, grief, phobias, and complex trauma. It works at the neurological level — helping your brain file away the past so it stops running your present.
APPROACH 2: Trauma-Informed CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Trauma
Trauma-informed CBT helps you understand the connections between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors — while always acknowledging that those patterns developed for a reason. It's not about blaming yourself for how you've coped. It's about building real skills and insight at the same time. Jessica Beckman, Josh May, and John Adkins all use trauma-informed CBT as a core part of their work.
APPROACH 3: DBT & ERP
Skills-Based Approaches for Emotional Regulation
Josh May uses DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) with teens and adults navigating emotional dysregulation, impulsive behaviors, and trauma-driven avoidance. DBT builds practical skills for distress tolerance and emotional regulation. ERP addresses patterns of avoidance that have made the world feel smaller over time. These approaches are especially effective when trauma has made daily functioning difficult.
Questions we get a lot about trauma therapy
Q: Do I need a trauma diagnosis to start therapy?
A: No. Many of our clients don't have a formal diagnosis and don't need one. If you feel stuck, hypervigilant, emotionally shut down, or like your past is running your present, that's enough of a reason to reach out. You don't need the right words or a label to begin.
Q: What's the difference between trauma and PTSD?
A: PTSD is a specific clinical diagnosis. Trauma is broader; it's what happens when an overwhelming experience exceeds your nervous system's ability to process it. Not everyone with trauma develops PTSD, but both can significantly affect daily life. We work with the full range, diagnosed or not.
Q: Do you offer EMDR in Kernersville?
A: Yes. Jessica Beckman is trained in EMDR and uses it for PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, grief, phobias, and more. EMDR works at the neurological level to help your brain fully process traumatic memories that have gotten stuck without requiring you to talk through every detail of what happened.
Q: How long does trauma therapy usually take?
A: It genuinely depends. Trauma that has been running the show for years takes longer to work through than something more recent. We'll talk about goals early on and give you an honest read on timelines. Some clients see significant progress within a few months. Others grow from weekly sessions to 2-3 times a year, and those are the success stories we love most to see.
Q: Do you offer telehealth for trauma therapy?
A: Yes! All of our therapists offer telehealth sessions to clients anywhere in North Carolina. Mette Finn is telehealth only. Josh May, John Adkins, and Jessica Beckman offer both in-person and telehealth. Sessions are through a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform.
Q: Does insurance cover trauma therapy?
A: We're in-network with UHC, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, and Medcost. Most insurance plans cover mental health therapy. Call the number on the back of your card and ask about your behavioral health benefits. We can also walk you through the right questions to ask. We currently do not take Medicare or Medicaid plans.