More about my therapeutic approach

What drives my work:

I believe in our innate capacity to heal.

I believe it is a fundamental right to have access to the appropriate treatment modalities to experience that healing.

I believe in the transformative power of a compassionate, collaborative therapeutic relationship.

Meet your therapist: Cassidy Gallegos, MA, LPC

I work with adults who have experienced complex trauma – often relational, developmental, or ongoing experiences that shaped how their nervous system learned to survive. Many of the people I work with are thoughtful, capable, and self-aware, yet feel emotionally disconnected, overwhelmed, or stuck in patterns that no longer make sense.

My approach is grounded in the belief that trauma responses are not symptoms to eliminate, but adaptations that once served an important purpose. In our work together, we move beyond surface-level coping strategies to gently explore what your system has been carrying – at a pace that prioritizes safety, consent, and nervous system regulation.

I use an integrated experiential approach to therapy that may include parts work, somatic and body-based awareness, attachment-focused work, and trauma-informed processing. Therapy with me is collaborative, relational, and attuned – you don’t need to have the right words, a clear narrative, or a specific goal to begin.

Healing from complex trauma is not about pushing harder or “fixing” yourself. It’s about creating the conditions for your system to feel safe enough to change. It would be an honor to embark on this journey with you.

The Cred

This is the part where I reassure you that I’m qualified to do this work. My approach is grounded in specialized trauma training, ongoing consultation and supervision, and years of clinical experience supporting trauma survivors. Below is a snapshot of the advanced trainings that have informed how I approach working with complex trauma and dissociation; I believe learning is ongoing, and my work continues to evolve alongside the survivors I support. Click on these bolded words to expand the list of my credentials and areas of expertise!

Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC.0023299:

Credentialed in Colorado by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) – Active status, expires August 31, 2027

Trainings (In person & virtual training programs):

International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD)’s Organizing Disorganization: Case Conceptualization for Structural Dissociation
ISSTD’s Introduction to Complex Trauma & Dissociative Disorders Package
ISSTD’s A Safety Belt for Staying Afloat in the Turbulence of Organized and Extreme Abuse
ISSTD’s From Theory to Practice: EMDR Therapy and Dissociation Package
Janina Fisher’s Complex Trauma Certification Training (CCTP & CCTP-II)
Rachel Walker’s Complex Trauma & Dissociation: Enhancing EMDR with Structural Dissociation, Attachment Theory & Parts Work
Juliane Taylor Shore’s Self Trust And Integrated Resilience (STAIR) Training (Level I & II)
Trauma Therapist Institute’s EMDR Training for Therapists: EMDRIA Approved & Neuroscience-Informed
- EMDR Basic Training
- EMDR Advanced Training:
  - Advanced EMDR Skills Strategies for Enhanced Trauma Processing
  - EMDR & Complex PTSD
  - EMDR For Spiritual Trauma and Religious Abuse
The Embody Lab’s Certificate Program – Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy 2023
The Embody Lab’s Healing Trauma – Working with Somatic Wounds with Dr. Peter Levine
Jamie McCoy’s Nervous System Reset Training

Formal Education:

Boston College – Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling
Boston College – Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Psychology & Human Development and Leadership & Management

Professional Associations:

International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD) Member
- Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Special Interest Group
- Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) Special Interest Group
- Organized & Extreme Abuse (OEA) Special Interest Group

Additional Trainings (Books & Resources):

Bonnie Badendoch’s Being a Brain-Wise Therapist: A Practical Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology
Janina Fisher’s Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors
Alison Miller’s Healing the Unimaginable
Peter Levine’s Healing Trauma
Wendy Hoffman & Alison Miller’s From the Trenches
Sandra Paulsen’s When There Are No Words: Repairing Early Trauma & Neglect from the Attachment Period with EMDR Therapy
Sandra Paulsen’s Looking Through the Eyes of Trauma & Dissociation
Robin Shapiro’s Easy Ego State Interventions
Jim Knipe’s EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation
Steele, Boon, & van der Hart’s Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Practical, Integrative Approach
Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score
Ed Bullmore’s The Inflamed Mind

Modalities and Approaches:

No two nervous systems are the same. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, I adapt clinical approaches collaboratively, guided by your needs, capacity, and sense of safety. My work is integrative and trauma-informed, drawing from the following approaches and frameworks:

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
AEDP-informed work focuses on creating safety and connection so emotions can be experienced, processed, and integrated rather than avoided or overwhelming.
Attachment-Focused Therapy
Attuned to how early relational experiences shape patterns of connection, trust, boundaries, and emotional regulation.
Complex Trauma–Informed Therapy
Focused on the impact of prolonged, relational, and developmental trauma on the nervous system, identity, and relationships.
Dissociation-Informed Treatment
Including work with shutdown, fragmentation, depersonalization/derealization, and other dissociative adaptations, paced carefully and safely.
Experiential Therapy
Engaging emotions, bodily experience, and present-moment awareness to support deeper processing and change.
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy (Dissociation-Aware)
EMDR is one tool we may use to help the nervous system process past experiences that continue to have an impact, without pushing or re-traumatizing. Used thoughtfully and flexibly, with an emphasis on safety, stabilization, and nervous system readiness.
Mindfulness-Informed Approaches
Adapted for trauma survivors, with attention to grounding, orientation, and choice.
Nervous System Regulation & Polyvagal-Informed Work
Helping clients understand and work with states of activation, shutdown, and safety in a compassionate, practical way.
Ongoing Consultation & Continuing Education in Trauma Care
This work evolves, and my approach continues to be informed by ongoing training, consultation, and reflection.
Parts-Oriented Therapy
Working with different aspects of self in a respectful, non-pathologizing way to understand and support internal communication, safety, and integration.
Phase-Oriented Trauma Treatment Models
Attending to stabilization, processing, and integration rather than pushing prematurely into trauma content.
Relational & Attunement-Based Therapy
Emphasizing safety, consent, pacing, and the therapeutic relationship as central to healing.
Somatic & Body-Based Approaches
Supporting awareness of physical sensations, nervous system states, and embodied responses to trauma, rather than relying on insight alone.
Strengths-Based & Anti-Pathologizing Frameworks
Viewing symptoms as adaptive responses rather than deficits, and honoring survival strategies with respect.
Trauma-Informed Stabilization & Resourcing
Building internal and external supports before, during, and after trauma processing work.

Read about my own journey to becoming a clinical trauma therapist

Read about the principles & underpinnings that guide my work

more coming soon…stay tuned!

visit the “Services” tab to learn more about our therapy offerings.