Candace Dickinson, LMHC

Hi, I’m Candace Dickinson, MA, LMHC. I’m a trauma therapist licensed to work with clients in Massachusetts, California, Virginia, Utah, and Florida. I specialize in EMDR therapy for adults healing from complex trauma, narcissistic abuse, coercive control, intimate partner violence, dissociation, attachment wounds, and relational trauma. Many of my clients come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, hypervigilant, disconnected from their bodies, or unsure whether what happened to them “counts” as trauma. They may be replaying conversations, questioning their memory, minimizing their own pain, over-explaining, people-pleasing, freezing, fawning, or feeling like they have lost access to who they used to be. I work especially well with adults recovering from narcissistic abuse, antagonistic relational stress, coercive relationships, emotionally abusive relationships, post-separation abuse, childhood trauma, developmental trauma, religious trauma, medical trauma, and complex PTSD. These experiences can affect your sense of reality, your nervous system, your attachment patterns, your relationships, your health, your work, your faith, and your ability to trust yourself. My approach is active, collaborative, warm, and direct. I integrate EMDR therapy, trauma-informed therapy, attachment-focused therapy, Polyvagal Theory, somatic awareness, nervous system education, and parts-informed work. I am a Certified EMDR Therapist and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and I use EMDR thoughtfully and carefully with clients who need more than surface-level coping skills. I do not believe in rushing clients into trauma processing before they are ready. Preparation matters. Safety matters. Your nervous system matters. At the same time, I also do not believe trauma therapy should keep you in stabilization forever when you are ready for deeper work. Together, we will focus on understanding your survival responses, building internal and external resources, identifying trauma patterns, and moving toward reprocessing when it is clinically appropriate. Therapy with me is not about telling you to “just leave,” “just set boundaries,” or “just move on.” It is about understanding the full context of what you have survived and how it still lives in your body, relationships, beliefs, and daily life. We will work together to reduce shame, rebuild self-trust, strengthen your sense of agency, and help you create a life that is no longer organized around surviving someone else’s chaos. I am a good fit for clients who want trauma therapy that is compassionate, clinically grounded, relational, and honest. My goal is to help you make sense of what happened, honor how you adapted, and reconnect with the parts of you that were never actually gone.