Trauma Specialist Thrives Through Deliberate Specialization

When I decided to leave traditional therapy settings to start Every Heart Dreams Counseling, everyone told me I was crazy to focus specifically on trauma-informed care for teens and families. The safe route would have been general therapy services, but I made the bold choice to specialize exclusively in integrated trauma treatment using DBT, EMDR, and IFS approaches.

The risk was significant - I was narrowing my potential client base in a competitive El Dorado Hills market. But I bet that going deep rather than wide would create stronger outcomes and referrals. Instead of being another generalist therapist, I positioned myself as the go-to trauma specialist who could handle the complex cases other therapists struggled with.

The change was remarkable. My practice filled primarily through word-of-mouth from families who finally found someone who understood their teenager's complex trauma responses. Parents started driving from Sacramento and beyond because their teens were actually engaging in therapy for the first time.

The bold move taught me that specialization creates authority. When you become known for solving one specific problem exceptionally well, you become irreplaceable rather than interchangeable. My teen clients went from treatment-resistant to actively participating because they finally had someone who spoke their language around trauma.

Erinn Everhart, Owner, Every Heart Dreams Counseling