Off trail · Trauma and PTSD
Now accepting new clients · evening and weekend hours available
Trauma and PTSD therapy, by telehealth across Virginia
Something happened, and you have built a lot of your life around not looking at it. That got you through. It also takes a toll, and there is a well-tested way to set it down. Dr. Thaxter is a VA-trained clinical psychologist and a listed provider on the national CPT Provider Roster, and she is currently accepting new clients.
What it looks like
Usually not a crisis. Usually years of managing it alone.
“Something happened a long time ago and I still plan my life around it.”
“I sleep with one eye open and I don’t remember when that started.”
“I know it’s over. My body hasn’t gotten the message.”
“I’m fine at work. I’m not fine anywhere else.”
Post-traumatic stress rarely looks like it does in films. More often it is replaying, jumpiness, guilt, distance from the people you love, and a whole life quietly arranged around not going near something. It can follow a single event or years of exposure. It is just as real for a nurse, a first responder, a survivor of assault, or someone who was in a car accident as it is for someone who deployed.
If any of that sounds familiar, it is reason enough to reach out. You do not need a diagnosis to start, and you will not be asked to relive anything at the first appointment.
The treatment
Cognitive Processing Therapy, from someone trained to deliver it properly.
CPT is one of the treatments most strongly recommended for PTSD by the VA and Department of Defense clinical practice guideline. Dr. Thaxter trained in it through the VA’s national program during her APA-accredited internship, completed the training and consultation the developers require, and is listed on the national CPT Provider Roster they maintain. It is structured and time-limited, often around twelve sessions, and never applied rigidly.
It works on the beliefs that formed during a very hard time and have not been looked at since. “I should have known.” “I can’t trust my own judgment.” These were reasonable conclusions at the time. They have simply never been revisited with everything you know now. You are not asked to retell what happened over and over. CPT asks less about the event than about what you concluded from it, and the pace is yours.
Where CPT is not the right approach, Dr. Thaxter draws on CBT, ACT, and DBT skills. The plan comes out of a full intake.
Individual therapy
Begins with a 60 to 90 minute intake: your history, what has been happening, what you have tried, and what you would like to be different. The plan is chosen with you, not for you.
Cognitive Processing Therapy group
The same protocol in a group format, twelve sessions, enrolled directly with no intake. Often the first proof that you are not the only one.
Trauma skills group
A gentler way in. Eight sessions of skills first, with no requirement to share the details of what happened. This is the one group that begins with an intake, so Dr. Thaxter can make sure it suits you.
Telehealth, across Virginia
No office. No waiting room. No drive.
Telehealth isn’t a lesser version of trauma therapy. CPT by telehealth has been studied extensively, including across the VA system, with outcomes on par with in-person care. Sessions run from home, from a parked car, or from a private office, and nobody sees you go. The one rule is that you are physically in Virginia at the time of each session.
Dr. Thaxter’s years in the VA make Veterans, Service Members, first responders, and the cleared community familiar ground, and seeking care there is generally seen as a sign of good judgment. It is one part of a general adult practice, and everyone is welcome here.
Do I have to talk about the details of what happened?
Less than most people expect. Trauma-focused work here concentrates on the beliefs that came out of an experience rather than on repeated retelling of it, and the pace is set with you.
How can it feel?
Trauma work sometimes feels harder before it feels easier. If you have spent years organizing life around not looking at something directly, beginning to look at it can be uncomfortable. That’s expected, it passes, and you’ll talk it through together beforehand so you’re never caught off guard.
How long does it take?
A standard course of CPT runs around twelve sessions, usually weekly, with short written work between sessions where much of the change happens. The number varies with the person, and you and Dr. Thaxter will talk openly about where things stand rather than letting it drift.
What happens in a consult?
You meet Dr. Thaxter live over telehealth for 15 minutes. You say what is going on, she asks a few questions, and she tells you plainly what she thinks would help. If this looks like the right place, the two of you sketch a plan of care: individual therapy or a group, what the work would focus on, and roughly how many sessions it tends to take. You leave knowing what the next step is. Whether to take it is up to you.
Can I use my insurance?
Sessions are private pay, and a monthly superbill is provided that you can submit to your insurer for out-of-network reimbursement. Many plans in this area reimburse a meaningful share once the out-of-network deductible is met. Dr. Thaxter will help you check your benefits and work out a way to receive care before you commit to anything.
Is this the right place if I’m in crisis?
No. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Veterans press 1), or call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Acute crisis needs stabilizing first, and this practice is for the work that comes after.
You don’t have to have it figured out to start.
Not sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Thaxter: a short, live call over telehealth about what is going on and whether this is the right place, with no paperwork and no charge. When you are ready, the same button lets you book an intake for individual therapy or enroll in a group. Everything runs through the secure client portal, and the first step takes about two minutes. If you would rather talk first, call (571) 206-0096 or send a message.