EMDR Trauma Therapy in CO & FL | PTSD Therapy for People Who Live Outside the Lines

Trauma Therapy for People Who Live Outside the Lines

Stylized illustration of mountain range with snow-capped peaks, evergreen trees in the foreground, and two birds perched on branches in the foreground.

Online EMDR therapy in CO & FL for queer, religious, neurodivergent, HSP, and relational trauma.

You left the religion. Came out. Unmasked. Questioned the script. That kind of path takes courage, and it leaves marks. EMDR works with how trauma is held in the body, so you can move on from simply surviving and into thriving.

TRAUMA THERAPY

A new path out of the same old crap

You've already done the work. So why does it still hurt like this?

An old image flashes. A specific smell. Your body reacts like you have to do something about it right now. You've tried ignoring these memories. Telling yourself they don't matter anymore. Maybe you've already talked about them in therapy. But they still bring up fear or shame.

You might still blame yourself for things other people did, or feel helpless against getting hurt again. People tell you you're safe now. But, something in you just won't accept that, no matter how much you wish it would.

Time by itself doesn't heal all. Things that are over, even things from decades ago, shouldn't feel this fresh. Mindfulness, self-care, and talking about what happened only go so far. You need something that actually closes the wound.

Specialized trauma care for the paths that aren't in the textbook.

Finding a therapist who gets your life is half the battle.

—Queer Trauma

It's not all rainbows, sunshine, and cute dildos.

Kids at school saying "that's gay." Being told as a child that who you are means going to hell. Finding your people and realizing some of the same rejection wounds play out there too. That kind of conditioning doesn't just disappear. You can work with someone who gets how deeply it shapes you, and how to separate what was put on you from what's actually yours.

—Neurodivergent Trauma

When your whole environment blames you for its failures.

Growing up neurodivergent often means being shown, again and again, that your natural way of thinking and functioning is wrong. Effort doesn't consistently lead to success, so you stop trusting yourself. You learn to monitor and suppress yourself just to get through the day, carrying a steady sense of being either too much or not enough. As someone who was blamed and outcast for typical ADHD behaviors, and who naturally understands the autistic mind, I know how to work through all of that with you.

—Religious Trauma

Weeding out indoctrination is more complex than we want to believe.

Many religions teach you to doubt your own mind, treat healthy development as sin, and link safety and belonging to conformity. Emotions like sadness and anger become spiritual failings. Religious and spiritual abuse contributes to distinct trauma that erodes your fundamental sense of safety and trust (Freund, et al., 2025). We use CBT to replace harmful thinking, EMDR to put painful memories in the past, and existential therapy to build meaning that's genuinely yours. As a gay man raised Mormon in Texas, I help people recover from Catholicism, Mormonism, Adventism, Christian Science, Southern Baptism, Evangelicalism, Islam, and more.

—High Sensitivity & Trauma

We evolved like this to benefit all humans, but we also carry the burdens in ourselves every day.

You feel everything deeply, and sometimes it’s like a curse. When you’ve experienced trauma, your brain gets stuck in a cycle of overstimulation followed by complete emotional shutdown. It is a survival mechanism, not a flaw or a weakness. You might spend days feeling everything intensely, only to numb out entirely because the input is too high. I help HSPs stop apologizing for their sensitivity, regulate their nervous system, and start viewing that depth of feeling as the asset it actually is.

Hi, I’m Adam,

Illustration of Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor, Adam Stanford, wearing a green flannel shirt and khaki pants, standing near a campfire next to a tent in a mountainous forest at night with a full moon and stars.

I'm a queer man who was raised Mormon in Texas. I had parents who loved me dearly but made some big mistakes that stuck with me for many years. Because I have typical ADHD traits, I was often treated like an annoyance and perpetual outsider. I’ve lived through many experiences that left deep emotional wounds. But, I also learned the tips, tricks, and tools to grow into my own authentic, happy self, and I love helping others do the same. I found my true path out of that darkness, and now I want you to find yours.

- Adam Stanford, LPC, LAC

Learn More About Adam

Gottman Method I EMDR I CBT I DBT I Licensed Addiction Counselor I Licensed Professional Counselor

Telehealth therapy services online in Colorado & Florida

How I Work

An in-depth approach that goes beyond the headlining events.

By combining the rational thinking of CBT, the self-soothing skills of DBT, and the power of EMDR to unclog trauma from your nervous system, you will heal in a way you've probably never experienced before.

Rewire the thinking that keeps you stuck.
We identify the harmful thoughts and underlying beliefs fueling your shame, self-blame, anger, and fear, and systematically replace them with patterns that reflect reality instead of old conditioning. It’s not toxic positivity, it’s realistic and constructive thinking.
Build skills for the moments that hit hardest.
Being more present and aware, getting through intense emotions without making things worse, tilting the scales towards more happiness and contentment, and resolving issues between you and other people. Practical tools for riding out panicky moments, managing fear and shame without self-destruction, and holding your ground in relationships without abandoning yourself.
Resolve trauma at the root.
EMDR helps your brain finish processing memories that got stuck when they happened. If you understand your patterns but still feel hijacked by them emotionally, EMDR often provides the missing piece that talk therapy alone can't shift.

FAQ

The real questions people ask before starting trauma work.

Sessions are $225 each (53 minutes). I also offer sliding scale options on a limited basis. I am an out-of-network provider. I prioritize specialized care for my clients, which allows me to work without the restrictions of insurance companies. I provide monthly superbills that you can submit to your insurance for potential reimbursement. I've partnered with Thrizer to handle that process automatically, which typically saves clients around 70% upfront. You can check your benefits in under a minute here.
No. The focus is on processing, not reliving. A central part of effective trauma treatment is making sure you feel safe and in control at all times. We work to lower the distress associated with the memory without going through every difficult detail. You'll learn skills to manage emotional intensity before we address the trauma, so you're never just back in it. One of the great things about EMDR is that you work through trauma quickly and internally. That's completely different from methods that have you talk about it forever.
Trauma is a natural part of being human, and now we finally understand what to do about it. Ignoring your trauma and bottling up the feelings and memories means living with more misery than you need to. You don’t have to change the past to change how it sits with you and continues to impact your life. With the right help, you may be surprised by how much better you can feel.
I won't lie, trauma work doesn't move as fast as people want it to. But you've already spent too much time struggling, and you certainly don't want to spend the rest of your life like this. I make the process easier by providing the structure and guidance to keep you moving forward. EMDR is not only the quickest path out of past trauma, it's also the one clients consistently appreciate the most, because it's easier than they expected.