Complex PTSD & Developmental Trauma Therapy for Adults
Work through early attachment trauma and identity wounds using ACT and mindfulness to restore safety, self-trust, and connection.
At a Glance: C-PTSD Therapy
I specialize in long-term trauma recovery. My work begins with stabilization and emotional regulation, then moves toward belief and meaning-making so changes hold up under stress. Using ACT, CBT, and CPT, I help clients rebuild safety, identity, and connection at a sustainable pace.
I'm Dr. Sheila Vidal, a licensed clinical psychologist providing this care. Learn more about my background.
I provide HIPAA-secure telehealth statewide in CA & VA. Limited in-person sessions are also available in Folsom, CA, by appointment.
Quick Facts
A free 15-minute consultation is a chance to talk about what's bringing you in and whether this feels like a good fit.
Who I Work With
I work with adults living with long-term, relational, and developmental trauma, where safety, trust, identity, and intimacy have been shaped by years of adversity. Care is ACT-led and paced for stability.
Childhood emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect
Survivors of coercive control (family, partner, group), complex grief, estrangement
Intergenerational and identity-based trauma (racism, homophobia, transphobia)
Immigrants and refugees coping with displacement, fear of deportation, raids
Attachment wounds (fear of closeness, chronic people-pleasing, shutdown)
Chronic hyperarousal or dissociation that complicates daily life
How I Treat C-PTSD (Phase-Based, ACT-Led)
My approach draws on ACT for trauma and C-PTSD, following a phase model: stabilize, process, reconnect, prioritizing consent, pacing, and identity repair.
ACT: Identity, Values, and Self-Compassion
Strengthen “self-as-context,” reduce avoidance, and practice values-guided actions that rebuild dignity and choice.
CBT: Everyday Stability
Practical skills for sleep, routines, and emotion labeling; gentle experiments that test new, safer behaviors.
CPT: Meaning-Making After Chronic Trauma
Work through core themes (safety, trust, power and control, esteem, intimacy) that often underlie shame and isolation.
Prolonged Exposure (PE): Carefully Applied, If Appropriate
Choice-based, titrated exposure for narrowed lives, used only when stabilization skills are in place.
Mindfulness and Grounding
Mindfulness and grounding skills to support regulation and reduce dissociation, helping you stay present and reconnect with yourself and others.
When helpful, I collaborate with medical providers for sleep or pain care.
What C-PTSD Often Looks Like, and Why It Makes Sense
C-PTSD can follow chronic, repeated, or relational trauma (e.g., childhood abuse or neglect, coercive control, community or systemic harm). In addition to core PTSD symptoms, people often experience “disturbances in self-organization” such as:
Emotion regulation swings: shutdown, overwhelm, or feeling “all gas, no brakes”
A wounded self-view: shame, self-blame, or confusion about identity and worth
Relationship turbulence: fear of closeness or abandonment, boundary challenges
Dissociation or feeling detached from body or emotions
Sticky beliefs about danger, trust, or control that won't shift
None of this means you're broken. These are intelligent adaptations. Treatment focuses on safety, regulation, meaning-making, and gentle reconnection with self and others.
If you are in immediate danger or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Veterans and service members can reach the Veterans Crisis Line the same way, then press 1, or text 838255.
What Therapy Looks Like
Care is phase-based and paced to your nervous system: stabilization first, then deeper meaning-making.
Phase 1 (stabilize and resource): Regulation skills, sleep supports, boundaries, and daily structure so life feels safer and more predictable.
Phase 2 (make meaning): ACT and CPT-informed work on beliefs about safety, trust, control, esteem, and intimacy, always collaborative and paced.
Phase 3 (reconnection): Rebuild routines, relationships, and values-guided actions that hold outside session.
Optional exposure: Only when you choose and when skills are in place; we titrate carefully.
Checkpoints and options: We set 4 to 6 session check-ins and decide whether to keep stabilizing, deepen processing, or pause.
Telehealth is provided with documented informed consent at your first appointment. I review risks, benefits, privacy, and alternatives per California and Virginia law.
Where I Provide Care (California & Virginia)
I'm licensed to provide therapy statewide in California and Virginia via telehealth, with limited in-person sessions available in Folsom by appointment.
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Sacramento Metro (Folsom-based):
Sacramento, Roseville, Elk Grove, Rocklin, Davis
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Northern California:
Bay Area, North Coast, Shasta/Redding, Sacramento Valley
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Southern California:
Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Inland Empire
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Northern Virginia:
Arlington, Fairfax, Reston, Alexandria
Fees & Policies
Sessions are $300 per 50 minutes. I don’t accept insurance directly but can provide superbills for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Cancellations under 24 hours are billed 50%, and no-shows are billed in full.
Uninsured or self-pay? You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges.
Complex trauma work requires steadiness, collaboration, and clarity. For clients on the West Coast, I provide Sacramento complex trauma therapy with statewide online access and limited in-person sessions in Folsom. For clients on the East Coast, my Northern Virginia page explains next steps for complex trauma therapy in Fairfax County and throughout Virginia.
Frequently Asked Questions
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C-PTSD often follows prolonged or repeated trauma and can involve regulation challenges, identity and esteem wounds, and relational difficulties in addition to core PTSD symptoms. I've written more about the difference between C-PTSD and PTSD if you'd like to read further.
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We start with stabilization and skills, add meaning-making and trauma-related belief work (often CPT-informed), and support values-based living with ACT.
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No. We pace carefully. You decide what to work on and when; safety and consent guide the plan.
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Yes, I provide telehealth statewide in California and Virginia, with limited in-person sessions in Folsom by appointment.
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$300 per 50-minute session; self-pay. Superbills are available for possible OON reimbursement.
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We'll use grounding, orientation, mindfulness, and paced regulation skills to build tolerance and reduce overwhelm before any deeper processing.
Have more questions? Visit my frequently asked questions about online trauma therapy page.