Hi, I’m Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. I’ve hosted Therapy Chat podcast since 2015 and I created a second podcast called Trauma Chat in 2021. I started out in the mental health field as a volunteer in a non profit organization providing crisis counseling to survivors of sexual violence back in 2002. I was so fortunate that my career began with learning about the impact of trauma and attachment wounds on childhood brain development before learning anything about the medical model or diagnosis. I immediately knew I’d found my calling. 

Little did I realize I had my own trauma and attachment wounds which contributed to my passion for this work! It’s amazing how we can be protected from understanding our own wounds until we are really ready to heal. Not knowing helped me continue functioning back then, and of course, the moment came when I was confronted with the understanding that had been missing. What made the difference? Finally getting my own “bottom up” trauma therapy! No shame – we don’t know what we don’t know! 

Since then, I’ve gone on to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with an emphasis on gender-based violence in 2005 and a Master of Social Work in 2010. I’m a licensed trauma therapist (LCSW-C) practicing in the state of Maryland, USA, and a Board Approved and Registered Social Work Supervisor. 

Since grad school I have worked in a variety of clinical and trauma focused settings, including working with survivors of torture, refugees and asylees, and those returning from incarceration; doing trauma focused in-home family therapy in West Baltimore; working with traumatized children and families and schools and an outpatient mental health clinic; leading anti-sexual violence programs in the community and for the military; working in a hospital; and I’ve been in private practice since 2013 and I still carry a clinical caseload and supervise emerging clinicians. I also offer training and consultation to individuals and organizations. 

My group practice is in the Annapolis area of Maryland and together with my team, we focus on a relational, holistic approach using EMDR, Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP), Trauma Conscious Yoga Method, IFS/parts work and other somatic and expressive modalities.

I’m a trauma therapist and when I went searching for trauma therapy for myself, family and friends, I could never find it. I’d look through all of the directories for therapists and would end up more overwhelmed than hopeful.

I knew if it was hard for me, a trauma therapist who knew what I wanted, it would be even worse for trauma survivors who didn’t know where to begin.

Most people who are looking for trauma therapy have experienced the frustration of working for years with therapists who worked with symptom reduction, leading to temporary relief, but never helped them with the root cause – trauma and attachment wounds. Eventually, if they don’t give up on healing completely, they may find their way to search for a trauma therapist.

People think “trauma therapy,” and expect it to be a specialized type of therapy. Well, that is true. But what is confusing is that there are as many different types of trauma therapy as there are different experiences that cause trauma and PTSD or CPTSD! 

That’s why I created Therapy Chat podcast in 2015, and later Trauma Therapist Network in 2021. I wanted to help people learn about how trauma shows up in our lives and the types of trauma therapy that can help. Now trauma survivors can learn about trauma and feel empowered to search for a therapist who knows how to guide them to feeling better through the searchable directory on Trauma Therapist Network! 

Trauma Therapist Network’s Find Trauma Therapy directory lists the specific types of trauma each therapist specializes in, and what they’re trained in, to help people know what to expect when they reach out for help. 

Trauma Therapist Network is an integrative trauma therapist community. We are not focused specifically on any one method or modality. That’s what creates such a rich experience. 

TTN Therapists and our clients are a diverse group, and what we share in common is a passion for trauma therapy, a focus on the inherent dignity and human rights of each person. We share the belief that trauma is real and healing is possible. 

We all love the methods we are trained in and we all love learning about new ways to serve our clients and help them to heal. Whatever you’re trained in, you’ll be treated with respect and we know you have something valuable to contribute, even if that is only your presence! 

If you prefer to hang in the background and observe, you can do that too! If you’re a trauma therapist who cares about human rights, there is a space for you here.

There’s something for everyone in the Trauma Therapist Network membership community.

I (Laura Reagan, LCSW-C) facilitate all of our calls, and sometimes we have guest presenters. We’ve been meeting four times a month on Wednesdays at noon Eastern time since March, 2022 and we’re just getting started! 

Here are some details about our calls:

Are you a trauma therapist who needs a space for intentional self care? Come to the first TTN meeting of the month, which is focused on compassionate nervous system co-regulation and resilience building. 

Feeling stuck with some of your clients? Maybe you need more tools in your toolbox. Or maybe it’s a countertransference situation that’s causing you to feel de-skilled. Whether it’s one of those issues or something else, you’ll be surrounded by compassionate, non-shaming colleagues in our Case Consultation call the second week of the month. The group is small enough to feel intimate, and the depth and breadth of our members’ experience and wisdom astounds me every time.

The third call of the month is more open ended. The Q&A/Networking call is intended for questions about anything trauma related and networking. Sometimes we talk about practice building, sometimes we do case consultation, sometimes we talk about new things we’ve learned, and we always have a good time.

The last call of every month is our Learning Call. We talk about trends in the constantly evolving world of trauma therapy, hot topics in the field, and basic, foundational things that are often left out of graduate school training but are crucial to trauma therapy work. No CE’s are available for our learning calls but you’ll find an incredible library of topics from our past and ongoing calls.

If you can’t or don’t want to meet with us live every week – maybe Wednesdays aren’t good for you! That’s okay, the Inner Circle membership tier gives you access to all of the past and future call recordings. And if you just need a directory listing so people can find you, and maybe have time to attend the live Community Calls four times a year, that’s great! Join us at the Listing Plus level. 

You can always upgrade or downgrade, and cancel if it’s not right for you!