Cassie McCarthy, LICSW

10/29/2025

I’m spending the next few days at the Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) Summit, diving into the latest research and clinical applications for trauma recovery.

Even after years of using CPT, I’m reminded how powerful it is when evidence-based therapy meets deep human understanding.

It’s easy to get comfortable with the tools we already know, but trauma work demands that we keep learning — not just to refine our skills, but to do justice to our clients’ healing.

If you’re attending, what session are you most excited about?
If you’re not, what’s a topic in trauma therapy you’d love to explore more deeply?

10/28/2025

Excited to spend the next few days at the Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) Summit diving deep into the latest research &applications for trauma recovery.
CPT has been a cornerstone of my work with women healing from PTSD, and I’m looking forward to learning from the leaders who shaped this field — and connecting with others committed to evidence-based trauma therapy.
There’s always more to learn, and I love seeing how this model continues to evolve.

10/28/2025

If you’ve been living with the effects of sexual trauma—freezing during intimacy, avoiding relationships, or constantly feeling unsafe—therapy can help you reclaim your life.

As a trauma therapist who works exclusively with women, I understand how complex and confusing it can be to carry trauma that others might not see. I use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an effective treatment designed to help you move from survival mode to true healing. If you’ve been trying to find a therapist with deep experience in sexual trauma recovery, I offer online sessions that make it easier to get support from wherever you are.

📍 Serving women in MA, VA, VT, IL, and FL. 📲 Let’s talk. Book your free consultation today.

10/27/2025

So many therapists were never trained to recognize relational trauma — especially when it doesn’t look like “classic PTSD.”

Most of our graduate training focused on crisis or combat trauma: flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance.
But for women, trauma often hides behind “high-functioning” patterns — over responsibility, people-pleasing, emotional shutdown, or perfectionism.

When trauma happens in relationships, it shows up through relationships.
And if we’re not naming that pattern as trauma, we’re missing it — and our clients are internalizing the blame.

I wrote about this gap in my new article:
👉 Why So Many Therapists Miss Relational Trauma

It’s time we expanded how we define — and treat — trauma.

🩷 Read the full article here →

So many therapists were never trained to recognize relational trauma — the kind that doesn’t look like “classic PTSD.” In most graduate programs, PTSD was taught through a combat or crisis lens: flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance.

10/23/2025

So many therapists were never trained to recognize relational trauma — the kind that doesn’t look like “classic PTSD.”

Most of us learned trauma through a combat or crisis lens: flashbacks, nightmares, startle responses.
But for women, trauma often looks different.

It shows up in perfectionism.
In people-pleasing.
In over-functioning and self-blame.

These are trauma symptoms too — they’re just quieter ones.

When trauma happens in relationships, it shows up through relationships.
And if we’re not naming that pattern as trauma, we’re missing it — and our clients are internalizing the blame.

Relational trauma deserves the same recognition as every other form of PTSD.
When we expand our framework, we don’t just give clients a diagnosis — we give them language, validation, and hope.

🩷 I help women heal from PTSD, sexual trauma, and relational trauma using evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). I also train clinicians to recognize and treat trauma through a female-centered lens.

10/23/2025

When you’ve lived through sexual trauma, it’s common to minimize your experience or assume it “wasn’t bad enough” to need help. But if the impact is showing up in your body, your relationships, or your thoughts—it matters.

I specialize in trauma therapy for women and offer a structured, supportive approach to healing. If you’ve been trying to find a sexual trauma therapist who understands how these wounds show up emotionally, physically, and relationally, you’ve found a safe place to start.

🌐 I provide online therapy for women across MA, VA, VT, IL, and FL. 📞 Book a free consultation today. Your healing is valid—and possible.

10/21/2025

Many women stay in unhealthy relationships — not because they don’t see the red flags, but because trauma taught them to ignore them.

When love has been tied to pain, control can feel like care.
Intensity can feel like intimacy.
Anxiety can feel like love.

Trauma wires the brain to seek familiarity, not safety. So if chaos was familiar, calm can actually feel uncomfortable — even threatening.

That’s why it’s so common for women to say, “I know this relationship isn’t good for me, but I can’t seem to leave.”
It’s not weakness. It’s survival wiring.

The good news? You can rewire it.

Through trauma-focused therapy — particularly evidence-based methods like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) — we help your brain learn that safety doesn’t have to feel dangerous.
You begin to trust your instincts again. You stop mistaking intensity for connection. And you finally understand what it feels like to be safe in your body and in your relationships.

Healing doesn’t just mean leaving unhealthy relationships — it means never losing yourself in one again.

10/21/2025

Women often tell me they’ve Googled “how to find a sexual trauma therapist” more than once—only to feel overwhelmed or unsure where to turn. If you’ve been looking for a therapist who truly understands the emotional and relational toll that trauma takes, you're not alone.

My work centers specifically on helping women recover from the effects of sexual trauma. I use Cognitive Processing Therapy to help you stop reliving the past and start living again—with more peace, clarity, and self-trust.

💻 I provide online therapy to women in Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Illinois, and Florida. 📲 Reach out today to schedule a free 20-minute consultation.

10/20/2025

We don’t always recognize it while we’re in it.
The anxiety. The walking on eggshells. The way your sense of self slowly starts to disappear.

Unhealthy relationships don’t always look toxic from the outside.
Sometimes they look… normal. Especially when you've spent a lifetime normalizing harm.

I wrote this blog to help women name the patterns that so often get minimized, explained away, or blamed on them. If you've ever wondered “Is this actually unhealthy?”—this post might bring clarity.

Feel free to share with clients, friends, or anyone trying to make sense of what they’re feeling in a relationship that just doesn’t feel right.

You don’t have to wait until it gets worse to take it seriously.

🔗

Read this week's blog on how to find the signs of an unhealthy relationship and what to do if you find yourself in one.

10/16/2025

Talk therapy helps you understand what happened.
Trauma therapy helps your brain process what happened so it stops feeling like it’s happening right now.

That’s why insight alone isn’t enough for trauma.
You can know you’re safe and still feel constantly on edge.

Approaches like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) work differently — they help your brain relearn safety, rebuild trust, and let your body finally exhale.

10/16/2025

f you’ve been trying to find a therapist who truly specializes in sexual trauma recovery, it can be hard to know where to start. Maybe you’ve been searching for support near you and wondering, “Will they really get it?”

I provide trauma-focused therapy for women who are living with the effects of sexual assault, coercion, or abuse. Whether your trauma happened years ago or more recently, your story matters—and so does your healing. I use Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a research-backed approach that helps you process trauma and rebuild your sense of self.

🌎 Online sessions available in MA, VA, VT, IL, and FL. 📅 Schedule your free consultation today. Let’s get you the care you deserve.