Telehealth Appointments Available
Licensed therapists providing trauma-informed counseling in our Coralville and North Liberty offices near Iowa City. We focus on safety, collaboration, and pacing so you can stabilize, build skills, and move toward healing when you’re ready. Our trauma-informed team is here to support adults, teens, and families in person, close to home.
Healing is possible. Our trauma-informed therapists create a safe, collaborative space to help you understand your nervous system, rebuild a sense of safety, and move forward with confidence. 👉Request Trauma Informed Therapy or Contact Us today.
Our trauma-informed therapy team serves clients in person at our Coralville and North Liberty offices near Iowa City. Each therapist brings unique strengths to support healing, stabilization, and growth, always at a pace that feels safe for you.
Daniel Mills, LMSW – EMDR-trained, serving diverse individuals, using a strengths based approach.
Kinsey Wohlers, LISW – EMDR-trained, trauma-responsive support for diverse individuals.
Lori Holman, LMHC – EMDR-trained, specializes in trauma-informed therapy, helping adults process past trauma and navigate current crises.
Safety and choice: pace that respects your readiness.
Collaboration and transparency: goals and next steps are co-created.
Cultural humility and strengths-based care.
Integration of mind–body approaches to address nervous-system responses.
EMDR (where clinically indicated), cognitive and behavioral tools, parts-informed work, mindfulness and grounding skills, and relationship-focused interventions—all tailored to you.
We start with a careful intake to understand your history, stressors, and supports. Early sessions emphasize stabilization (sleep, routines, coping skills). When appropriate, we may process specific memories or patterns, always at a pace you control.
In-person: Iowa City area, with offices in Coralville and North Liberty
Online: Secure telehealth sessions available statewide in Iowa
Alli Center has therapists who specialize in treating trauma, including complex trauma. We know that every person’s experience with trauma is different, and so we focus on building relationships with our clients to support them. Our trauma-informed approach begins with stabilization, resourcing and, when appropriate for the individual, can include therapeutic techniques that handle the traumatic material itself. Our therapists have experience working with complex, childhood, sexual, relational, and systemic trauma. They work collaboratively with you to create an individualized treatment plan that’s right for where you are right now.
Alli Center has therapists trained in a variety of trauma-focused modalities, including Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), and others. Our therapists understand that trauma affects both the mind and body, including how we process things, make sense of our bodily sensations, and access memories. We often weave together multiple modalities to leverage the wisdom of healing practices like somatics with the power of cognitive restructuring and strengths-based adaptation.
We take training seriously at Alli Center, knowing that our clients trust us to provide a safe, supportive environment that is also effective in helping them reach their goals. That said, it’s important to note the differences between training and certification. While all of our therapists are trained and fully licensed professionals who practice in accordance with their code of ethics, certification (beyond training) in specific therapy modalities usually involves large additional expenses that can rise into the many thousands of dollars in addition to the opportunity cost of taking large blocks of time away from seeing clients. For some of us, this is the right path, and for others it is not. In either case, we put our clients first, which means practicing with peer consultation, seeking continued education to sharpen our skills, and reflecting on successes and challenges collaboratively with our clients.
Appropriate pacing is essential in treating anyone dealing with trauma. Something you’ll hear from us time and again is how each person is unique. That makes it hard to give definite answers for questions like this, but there are some general guidelines we follow. We are client-centered clinicians, and that means moving at the pace that is most comfortable for you. Each therapeutic relationship begins with assessing where you are now and hearing from you what priorities you have as we begin working together. That means we don’t dive into the deep end right away. We start with resourcing and stabilization, making sure that you have the tools you need for right now even as we keep our eye on longer-term goals. At the end of the day, there are lots of modifications our therapists make to individualize treatment so that it is paced correctly for each person.
Each of our therapists works a little differently (just like our clients!), but there are some general similarities that we share. The first phase of any treatment approach is assessment. That’s where we get to know you, and you get to know us. Therapy is always relational, and so we take this part seriously because it’s the foundation for everything we do together. Assessment is ongoing throughout our work together, but once we have a good idea of where we want to start, we work collaboratively to create a treatment plan. This is what guides our efforts, while still being flexible enough for us to respond to whatever comes up. Next, we help develop resources or foundational skills that will serve you in your day-to-day life. When you’re ready, we will begin accessing traumatically held material to start the process of unburdening. This is typically the longest phase of treatment, and one that we only begin with great care and consideration. Finally, we re-assess, tracking the changes and progress you’ve made, perhaps choosing new targets for our treatment plan, or planning for discharge when appropriate.
We think it’s essential to begin with stabilization before beginning to work directly with traumatically held material. Our therapists individualize the skills and resources we teach to meet each client where they are. However, there are some common ones that we use frequently, such as creating a container, a peaceful image, and a supportive figure that can help give you a concrete way to visualize having more control over your mood and experience. Additionally, we often use somatic interventions, deep breathing, tapping, and sensory grounding strategies to ensure our clients have the tools they need before we begin processing any trauma.
This is one of the most important questions we consider when working with someone dealing with trauma. While each person is unique, there are some key things we pay attention to. The first is stability in day-to-day functioning. One of the reasons we start our work together with grounding and developing resources is to help stabilize our clients. Trauma can wreak havoc on the nervous system. The tools we teach are specifically designed to help manage these symptoms so that we can approach the healing work of reprocessing and unburdening all parts of the self from traumatic memories. The next thing we look for is the ability to access positive affect and adaptive modes of thinking. This is obviously hard to do when our brain and body are fighting for survival, internally reliving trauma. Using the grounding resources we’ve developed already, we are able to begin to access the flexible and compassionate parts of ourselves that are intrinsic to each of us, which helps enormously when we begin reprocessing trauma. This is just the start. You and your therapist will work together to create a plan that’s right for you.
We carefully assess each client for dissociative symptoms when we begin working together, and we continually monitor for signs of dissociation, freezing, or shut down. When these responses come up in session, it’s usually an important sign that at least one part of the client is close to overwhelm, and so their brain is trying to protect them. What we do next depends on the specific situation. In some cases, that means doing some grounding in the present moment and helping you focus on your bodily sensations to come back into the safety of right now, knowing that you’re not in the past. For some, it means attending to a misstep we made as a therapist and repairing our relationship with grace and accountability. Or it could mean switching gears, focusing on a positive memory or special interest, knowing that you know best what pace is right for you. Each situation is unique, and so is how we respond.
Our therapists include somatic and bodily awareness in their work. That said, we also understand that for many folks dealing with trauma it can be disorienting or even dysregulating to focus on their body early on in treatment. We start slowly and seek consent from our clients, including all parts of them, before beginning any new intervention. While it can certainly be useful to engage calming, restful pathways in the body or use proven techniques to regulate and prevent overactivation, we also know that our clients know their bodies best, and we listen when they tell us what’s right for them.
We have experience working with complex PTSD (CPTSD) and attachment-based trauma. When you begin treatment with one of our therapists, they will walk you through treatment options, including modifications to typical treatments we make when supporting clients with a history of complex trauma or attachment wounds. This can look like providing psychoeducation on attachment theory and how the body and brain respond to complex trauma. It can also involve using accelerated resolution techniques that can help you stabilize more quickly (such as Flash or Four Blinks, among others). Throughout your work together, your therapist will seek input and build trust with all parts of you.
Our therapists have a wide range of experiences working with clients from all walks of life, including those in crisis and survivors navigating unstable or unsafe environments. We know that everyone’s journey is their own, and we are grateful to accompany you for this part of yours. When we are working with clients in crisis, we know that they are best positioned to know what their priorities are. Typically in these cases, we start working first towards stabilization. That might mean identifying resources (like crisis shelters, housing, or food), and it might mean building a toolkit for managing difficult emotions (like grounding skills or having a friend’s number on speed dial). Sometimes support looks like making a referral for other specialty care (like medication management) and then following up. Whatever the case, we continue to provide support until you can get into a stable and safe environment.
Our therapists have experience working with the intersections of trauma, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and marginalized identities. We know that whole books can be (and have been) written about these topics. That’s why we seek out continuing education to better inform our therapeutic approaches with the best information available, incorporating anti-racism into our practice, decolonizing therapy, and learning from mad-identifying folks and psychiatric survivors as well as neurodivergent individuals. In addition to this ongoing work, many of our therapists bring their own lived experiences with these issues into their practice.
Absolutely. For us, the client is always in charge of their treatment. That means we go at the pace that is right for you, including taking a break from this work when needed. We know that clients know themselves best. Our therapists view informed consent as an ongoing process. We check in regularly to ensure that the work we are doing is safe and meeting your current needs, always ready to slow down or pause if you need to.
We understand that clients can face a lot of challenges between sessions. Your therapist will work with you to develop a toolbox of skills that work for you in managing whatever comes up during the week. One of the tools in that toolbox is a safety plan. A safety plan is a list of internal and external resources that you can rely on in a moment of crisis. These could include taking a smoke break, deep breathing, calling a loved one, listening to music, or going for a walk. Additional resources your therapist will review with you include places to go for support. In Johnson County, that includes Mobile Crisis Response, GuideLink Center, Healing Prairie Farm, Crisis Stabilization Unit, calling 988 or Iowa Warm Line, checking out R Place or connecting with Compeer.
Yes, part of our approach includes collaborating with other members of your treatment team, which can mean coordinating with medication prescribers. When you start working with one of our therapists at Alli, they will ask about any medications you are on and discuss concerns you have related to your overall well-being, such as sleep disturbances and other health problems. We approach our work holistically, treating clients as complete people because we know that trauma can cause disruptions in all areas of life. We can also help refer you to establish specialty care, like psychiatry, if that’s what you are looking for.
Your therapist will work with you to create a treatment plan as part of identifying what you want to accomplish in therapy. This includes setting goals and deciding together on how you will track progress. Since each person comes to us with different needs and priorities, the goals and cues we look at for monitoring progress can be quite individualized. For some people, we will keep track of fluctuations in mood through bulletpoint journaling, while for others we make note of how frequently the tools we’ve worked on together are helping in day-to-day situations. As treatment progresses, you and your therapist will revisit these goals and update them regularly to ensure that you’re getting what you want out of therapy.
Everyone comes to therapy from their own journey, and sometimes that means they have not been treated well by past providers. At Alli, we take the trust that our clients have in us seriously, especially when that trust is tenuous, informed by painful past experience. Part of our approach includes acknowledging the limitations of the mental health industrial complex, noting how ill-prepared it can be to serve those with marginalized identities, and keeping an eye on the historic and ongoing harms caused by psychiatric policing. When you start working with one of our therapists, they will be open to discussing your concerns and collaborating with you on an approach to this work that is right for you.
Identifying and highlighting strengths is essential any time we begin working with a new client. We know that people most often come to therapy because they have a problem that they want to work on. And also, we know that people are not problems to be fixed. We know that diagnosis is only one lens to look through, and not always the most relevant one. Part of our trauma-informed approach to therapy includes acknowledging that symptoms like dissociation and hypervigilance can serve important, sometimes lifesaving functions. In moments of crisis, these natural body and brain responses can protect us. Our work includes helping your body come out of crisis and find safety. Our work also includes seeing all of you, like your creativity, humor, joy, love, passion, and perseverance.
Part of being trauma-informed means we are thoughtful about creating an environment and approach to therapy that feels safe. From the comfiness of our couches to the lighting, layout and privacy of our offices, we have put care into creating a safe, healing environment. When you come to your first session, we’ll invite you to sit where you like (yes, that even includes sitting in ‘our’ chair). Our therapists also have sensory devices (fidget toys) on hand if having something to fiddle with helps you feel at ease. For clients that see one of our therapists through telehealth, we can walk you through choosing the right environment to protect your confidentiality and help us do this work together.
Yes. We are in-network with many major insurers. Because coverage varies by insurance plan, clients are responsible for confirming their benefits directly with their insurance company.
You can request a trauma informed therapy appointment online or call us at 319-804-9312. We’ll connect you with the right therapist for your needs and help you get started quickly.
Whether you’re in Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, or anywhere in Iowa connecting through telehealth, we’re here to support you.
👉Request a Trauma Informed Therapy appointment or Contact Us today.