Arlington, Virginia · 5 min read
Trauma therapy in Arlington, VA
Trauma therapy with an AASECT-certified specialist, for individuals and couples in Arlington and across the Rosslyn–Ballston corridor and Crystal City / National Landing.
Written and clinically reviewed by Vanessa Cushing, LPC, NCC, MS — AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, licensed in Virginia & Florida. The Cushing Counseling team covers Virginia, DC, Maryland & Florida.
The short answer
Trauma therapy in Arlington treats the lasting effects of frightening or violating experience — hypervigilance, numbness, intrusive memory, and the way intimacy and sex often carry the cost. The work is paced by you, held by secure video, and the first 15-minute consultation is free.
Book a free 15-minute consultation
Trauma therapy in Arlington starts with a free 15-minute consultation with Vanessa — not an intake form, not a waiting list.
Who you would be working with
Vanessa Cushing, LPC, NCC, MS — AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, MS from Johns Hopkins University. Fewer than one in a thousand licensed therapists in the United States hold AASECT certification.
If this is the year you deal with it, start with a conversation rather than a commitment. Book a free consultation, or call (703) 544-7081.
Why Arlington clients come here
Arlington's client base leans heavily toward Pentagon and federal-contractor staff, national security and policy professionals, and the dense population of young professionals renting across Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square and Ballston. Security clearances and high-visibility employers make discretion the first question here, the same as a county over in McLean — who would ever know, and what goes in a record.
Arlington also carries a large international and diplomatic community and a visible LGBTQ+ population, both of which shape who feels safe asking for specialized help. The practical problem is the same one found across Northern Virginia: there are very few AASECT-certified clinicians in the region, and most general therapists list intimacy as one interest among twenty. That gap is why this work is done by video for clients across Virginia rather than out of a single office.
What trauma therapy treats
Most of what comes through the door is one of a small number of problems, and most of it responds to treatment.
- Sexual assault, coercion and boundary violation, recent or decades old
- Childhood sexual, physical or emotional abuse
- Sexual difficulty that traces back to something that happened, not to anything wrong with your body
- Dissociation, freezing or leaving your body during sex
- Hypervigilance, startle, sleep disruption and intrusive memory
- Medical and birth trauma, including procedures that were experienced as violating
- Betrayal trauma after infidelity or discovered deception
- Shame that has been carried privately for years without being said out loud
How the work is structured
Pacing is the treatment. Nothing is pushed, no account is required, and the explicit right to stop or slow down is part of the frame rather than a concession.
- Stabilisation first. Before any detailed account of what happened, the work is on capacity — sleep, grounding, what to do when the reaction arrives. Going faster than that re-injures people, which is why some previous therapy has made clients feel worse.
- You decide what gets told, and when. There is no requirement to narrate the event to be treated.
- Parts-based and IFS-informed work, then a gradual return to intimacy and sex where that is part of the picture — at a pace you set, with an explicit right to stop.
Sessions, privacy and location
The Virginia licence covers the whole Commonwealth, so clients in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Charlottesville are seen by secure video on the same terms as clients in the D.C. suburbs.
There is no in-person office in Arlington. Sessions are held by secure, HIPAA-compliant video — which is how the majority of this practice's clients are seen, by preference rather than necessity. No waiting room, no drive across the Rosslyn–Ballston corridor or Crystal City, and the exercises get practised at home where they belong.
Frequently asked questions
Do you see clients in Arlington?
Yes. Vanessa Cushing is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so anyone physically located in Virginia at the time of the session can be seen — Arlington included, along with Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston, Crystal City and Pentagon City. Sessions are held by secure video; there is no office in Arlington, and that is stated plainly rather than implied otherwise.
What does the free consultation involve?
Booking is a free 15-minute consultation, held by video, with no obligation to continue. You will speak with Vanessa directly rather than an intake coordinator, and you can ask about fees, confidentiality and whether Arlington residents are seen before committing to anything.
Do I have to describe what happened?
No. Plenty of effective trauma work happens without a detailed account. What is needed is your read on how it still affects you now. If and when you want to say more, that becomes possible rather than required.
Why see someone who is also a sex therapist?
Because the sexual consequences of trauma are where most general trauma therapy stops, and most sex therapy is not trauma-trained. Holding both means you do not have to split the problem across two clinicians who each treat half of it.
Do you take insurance?
This is an out-of-network practice. Superbills are provided on request and many plans reimburse a share of the fee under out-of-network benefits; the insurance guide walks through how to check yours before your first session. Fees are discussed openly in the free consultation.
How private is this?
Sessions are held over a HIPAA-compliant video platform, records are kept to the clinical minimum, and nothing is disclosed to an employer, an insurer you have not billed, or anyone else without your written authorisation. This comes up constantly with Arlington clients — a number of whom hold a security clearance or work in a role where discretion matters professionally — and it is a fair question to ask in detail during the consultation.
Keep reading
- Sex therapy in Arlington — Sexual difficulty specifically.
- Couples therapy in Arlington — The pattern between you.
- IFS Therapy: What to Expect — Our core trauma approach — Internal Family Systems, not EMDR.
- Sexual Trauma Therapy — When past trauma is tangled up with sex and intimacy.
- Does insurance cover therapy like this? — Out-of-network benefits, explained.
Also on this site
- Fees & Insurance — Out-of-network benefits, superbills and what to expect.
- Book a free consultation — Fifteen minutes with Vanessa — no intake form, no waiting list.
- Contact us — Questions about coverage, scheduling or fit.
Next step
Not sure where to start? Take the free 6-question assessment, or book a 15-minute consultation.