Last updated: 09-10-2026

How to Choose a Trauma Therapist

In short: Look for a licensed clinician who has experience with people who have been through trauma, who can say plainly which treatments they offer, and with whom you could be honest. Guidelines most strongly recommend specific trauma-focused therapies for PTSD, so ask any therapist whether they offer the one you want. Licenses and training claims can be checked.

Not everyone who has lived through something overwhelming needs a therapist. If you are still weighing that, start with Do I need trauma therapy?

If you have decided you want that support, this page covers what to check, what to ask and what the research says about fit. It applies to any therapist you are considering, including Dr. Rabin. If you are in crisis while you look, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.

What license should a trauma therapist have?

The license to check is in a profession, such as psychology, social work or mental health counseling. This guide found no state license and no single national credential called "trauma therapist" in the sources it reviewed. What exists are profession licenses and the treatment-specific credentials described below. Psychologist, psychiatrist or counselor explains the differences, including who can prescribe.

You can check a license yourself. Massachusetts has a public look-up at checkahealthlicense.mass.gov. Its page says: "Verify any license, registration, or certification issued by the Bureau of Health Professions Licensure (BHPL)." It covers psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors and nurses.

A license does not tell you how much of a therapist's work is with trauma, so treat it as the starting point.

What experience and treatments should you ask about?

Start with experience. The VA's National Center for PTSD advises: "Make sure the provider has experience treating people who have been through a trauma." It also says that many providers specialize in assessing and treating people who have experienced trauma, and that if yours does not specialize in PTSD, "you can ask for a referral to someone who does."

Then ask about treatments by name. The VA suggests trying to find a provider who focuses on "effective talk therapy for PTSD, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)." The 2023 guideline from the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense (VA/DoD) gives its strong recommendation to those same three. The American Psychological Association's 2025 guideline gives its strong recommendation to CPT, PE and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and a conditional recommendation to EMDR, cognitive therapy and narrative exposure therapy. So the two guidelines rate EMDR differently. Types of trauma therapy and what the research says sets out where they differ.

Psychodynamic therapy has been studied much less for PTSD. The same 2025 panel looked for studies and "found that there was still insufficient literature that met the criteria to be able to make a recommendation regarding psychodynamic approaches." That is a statement about how little research exists. It is not a finding that the approach fails.

What this means for choosing: if you want a specific trauma-focused treatment, ask any therapist, including Dr. Rabin, whether they offer it or would refer you. If a profile says "trauma-informed," trauma-informed vs. trauma-focused therapy explains what that label does and does not tell you.

How can you check a training claim?

Several treatments have public rosters or credentials you can look up. The VA's Find a Provider page links to an international CPT provider roster, two lists of therapists trained in prolonged exposure, and the EMDR International Association's locator. A roster is not a complete list. The CPT roster, for example, says it lists providers who have met its requirements, and it invites providers to submit their details to be added. A therapist who is not on a roster may still be trained. Ask.

What each credential certifies:

EMDR. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) says a Certified Therapist "is a licensed mental health professional who has demonstrated advanced competency in EMDR therapy beyond basic training." Certification requires an approved basic training, at least 50 EMDR sessions with a minimum of 25 clients, at least 20 hours of consultation and 12 hours of continuing education. It is granted for two years. So "EMDR trained" and "EMDRIA Certified" are different things.
CPT. The treatment developers' site lists two levels, CPT Provider and Quality-Rated CPT Provider. Provider status requires a professional license, a live CPT training of 2 to 3 days, case consultation and completed treatment cases.
Prolonged exposure. The University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety offers three levels of certification: PE Therapist, PE Consultant and PE Trainer.

These credentials come from a professional association, a treatment's developers and a university program. EMDRIA's applies to clinicians who are already licensed, and CPT provider status requires a professional license. None of them is itself a state license.

How much does fit matter?

It matters, and the research has limits. A 2018 meta-analysis of the working relationship between client and therapist, which researchers call the alliance, pooled 295 independent studies covering more than 30,000 patients in psychotherapy for all kinds of problems. It found an overall association between alliance and outcome of r = .278. That is a correlation. It does not show that the relationship causes the improvement, and it is not specific to PTSD.

A 2018 systematic review looked at adults in treatment for trauma-related distress. Nineteen studies met its criteria, and the authors reported that the vast majority found the alliance was predictive of or associated with a reduction in symptoms. They also named limits: small samples, and studies without random assignment or a comparison group.

The American Psychological Association's 2025 guideline encourages clinicians "to consider the critical role of a strong therapeutic alliance" in treating PTSD. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says: "Rapport and trust are essential."

What should you ask on a consultation call?

You do not need to describe what happened to you in order to ask these. The first three are questions the VA suggests. Questions 4 to 6 are from NIMH's list. The last three are this guide's own.

Can you tell me a little about how you assess PTSD?
How often do you do PTSD assessments, and how long have you been doing them?
What formal training have you had for PTSD assessment?
What approach will you use to help me, and what is the rationale for the therapy and its evidence base?
Do you recommend a specific time frame or number of sessions?
How will progress be assessed, and what happens if I am not starting to improve?
Do you offer CPT, prolonged exposure, EMDR or another trauma-focused treatment? If not, would you refer me?
Who decides what we talk about, and when?
What do you charge, and do you accept insurance?

What are signs to keep looking?

These are this guide's own suggestions about fit and professionalism. They do not come from a study or a guideline.

A promise of a result, or of a date by which you will feel better.
Vague or irritated answers when you ask how they work. NIMH lists the rationale for a therapy and its evidence base among the things to ask about.
A license you cannot verify.
Pressure to commit before you have had a chance to ask questions.
A first conversation in which you do not feel listened to.

If you start and it is not working, NIMH's advice is: "If you have been in therapy for what feels like a reasonable amount of time and are not getting better, talk to your therapist. You might want to explore other mental health professionals or approaches."

What practical details should you settle first?

The VA's advice is to find out what insurance a provider accepts and what you will have to pay.

For reference, Dr. Rabin is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 21 years of clinical practice. Her training, which includes The Trauma Center, is described on the about page. Her approach to trauma therapy is psychodynamic, attachment-based, trauma-informed and mindfulness-based, guided by safety, pacing and the therapeutic relationship. She can coordinate with a prescriber. This guide makes no statement about whether she offers any named trauma-focused treatment, so ask her.

She sees clients in person at 1577 Beacon Street in Brookline and by secure telehealth to clients anywhere in Massachusetts. Her fee is $375 per session. The practice is private-pay and out-of-network, with a monthly superbill and a sliding scale on request. Details are on the fees and insurance page. Every question on this page is fair to put to her. She offers a free consultation of about 15 minutes, which you can request through the contact page.

Keep reading

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. This guide is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a therapist who works only with trauma?

Nothing in the sources for this guide says so. The VA's advice is to make sure the provider has experience treating people who have been through a trauma. It adds that if your provider does not specialize in PTSD, you can ask for a referral to someone who does. Ask how much of their work involves trauma and which treatments they offer.

Is a therapist who is not on a training roster untrained?

Not necessarily. A roster is not a complete list. The CPT roster, for example, lists providers who met its requirements and asked to be added. It is reasonable to ask where and when a therapist trained in a treatment, whether the training included supervised cases or consultation, and whether they hold a credential such as EMDRIA certification or CPT provider status. Those are different from a state license.

Does the relationship matter more than the type of therapy?

The research in this guide cannot settle that. A stronger alliance is consistently associated with better results, but the studies are correlational. Guidelines most strongly recommend specific trauma-focused therapies for PTSD, and the American Psychological Association's 2025 guideline also stresses the alliance. Looking for a method you want and a person you can work with is a reasonable aim.

What if I start and want to change therapists?

You can. NIMH's advice is to talk to your therapist if you have been in therapy for what feels like a reasonable amount of time and are not getting better, and it adds that you might want to explore other mental health professionals or approaches. 8 signs therapy is working describes what progress can look like.

Ready to talk?

Dr. Rebecca Rabin, PsyD sees clients in person at 1577 Beacon Street in Brookline and by secure telehealth across Massachusetts. Start with a free 15-minute consultation to ask questions and see if it is a good fit.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Phone Consultation