HOLISTIC TRAUMA THERAPY IN franklin, TN
Holistic Integration of Bottom-up offerings
Sometimes understanding what happened isn’t enough to change how your body responds. Red Deer integrates somatic, subconscious, and evidence-based trauma therapies for people experiencing persistent patterns of tension, hypervigilance, fight-or-flight, and physical bracing.
Understanding Your Trauma Doesn't always change how your body responds
You may understand where your reactions come from and have strong skills for managing your emotions, yet still experience physical patterns that are difficult to change. Trauma and chronic stress can persist through hypervigilance, muscle tension, physical bracing, and other autonomic responses.
THIS APPROACH MAY BE APPROPRIATE IF YOU:
- Feel stuck in fight-or-flight, hypervigilance, or physical bracing
- Notice stress or trauma showing up strongly in your body
- Have experienced medical or physical trauma
- Understand your patterns intellectually but still feel them physically
- Have developed insight and coping skills but continue to experience persistent physiological stress
- Want therapy that considers the connection between your mind and body
WHAT IS A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO THERAPY?
Many traditional approaches begin with thoughts and beliefs, using cognitive strategies to influence emotions and behavior. A bottom-up approach also works with the body, including physical sensations, nervous system responses, and subconscious processes that may continue even when you understand your experiences intellectually.
HOW RED DEER INTEGRATES BOTTOM-UP THERAPY
Depending on your needs, treatment may incorporate Somatic Experiencing®, clinical hypnosis, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and established trauma therapies such as EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), or prolonged exposure. Your treatment plan is shaped around your individual needs rather than a single method or protocol.
A PERSISTENT TRAUMA RESPONSE MAY REQUIRE A DIFFERENT THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
You may have spent years processing your experiences, identifying patterns, and developing a clear understanding of your trauma. That work can be valuable. But when the same physiological responses persist despite substantial insight-oriented or cognitive work, more of the same may not address what is keeping those patterns in place.
Bottom-up therapies offer another point of entry by incorporating the body and nervous system into treatment. For clients who understand their trauma but continue to experience its physical effects, that shift in approach can open up therapeutic work that cognitive strategies alone have not addressed.
IS THIS APPROACH RIGHT FOR YOU?
You May Be a Good Fit If:
- You have insight into your experiences, but your physical responses have been harder to change.
- You have developed emotional regulation and coping skills but continue to experience physiological stress or activation.
- You have made progress with cognitive or insight-oriented therapy and want to incorporate the body more directly into treatment.
- You are interested in understanding the connection between your psychological and physical responses.
- You want an individualized approach that can draw from multiple therapeutic methods rather than relying on a single protocol.
- You are open to working with physical sensations, nervous system responses, and subconscious processes as part of therapy.
THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES WE MAY INTEGRATE
Your treatment may draw from several evidence-based and body-based approaches, selected and combined according to your needs.
Clinical Hypnosis
Uses focused states of attention to work with subconscious processes involved in persistent physical and physiological responses.
Somatic Experiencing®
A body-awareness approach that works with physical sensations and autonomic nervous system patterns associated with fight, flight, and bracing responses.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Explores protective internal patterns and the ways they may contribute to ongoing emotional and physical responses.
Somatic & Physical Trauma Integration
Integrates approaches such as EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), or prolonged exposure with somatic work for medical trauma, accidents, injuries, and other physical trauma.
Ancestral & Biological Timeline Integration
Examines generational stressors and inherited nervous system vulnerabilities, with treatment potentially incorporating IFS, Somatic Experiencing®, and clinical hypnosis.
“Drs. Saxby and Shollenbarger have become an integral part of our sleep medicine team.”
Psychologists who specialize in treating sleep-related behaviors are even rarer than those who provide CBT for insomnia. Since discovering Drs. Saxby and Shollenbarger’s practice, I have referred patients to them for CBT for parasomnias, all of whom have successfully learned to control their behaviors. Despite the distance, they have become an integral part of our sleep medicine team.
DR. HRAYR P. ATTARIAN
Fellow, American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Professor of Neurology & Sleep Medicine
“They are both compassionate, respectful, and collaborative.”
“Both Dr. Saxby and Dr. Shollenbarger at Red Deer are highly trained clinical psychologists with a long history of helping people reach their health goals. They are both compassionate, respectful, and collaborative.”
DR. BERET SKROCH
Clinical Psychologist & U.S. Navy Veteran
“Dr. Saxby is a talented clinician who is able to connect with complex patients.”
“Dr. Saxby has extensive experience treating insomnia, difficulty tolerating PAP therapy, posttraumatic nightmares, hypersomnia, and parasomnias. She is also highly experienced in clinical hypnosis. She is a talented clinician who is able to connect with complex patients and help them improve their sleep and overall well-being.”
DR. THOMAS HURWITZ
Sleep Medicine Colleague
Here's How it Works
STEP 1: START WITH A FREE 15-MINUTE CONSULTATION
We’ll talk about what you’ve been experiencing, what you’ve already tried, and what you’re hoping to address. This gives us a chance to determine whether Red Deer is a good fit for your needs.
STEP 2: IDENTIFY THE APPROACH THAT FITS YOUR NEEDS
Your psychologist will consider your history, current symptoms, previous therapy experience, and the ways stress or trauma may be affecting you physically. From there, treatment can draw from the approaches that are most appropriate for you.
STEP 3: INTEGRATE MIND AND BODY IN TREATMENT
Treatment may incorporate somatic, subconscious, and cognitive approaches rather than relying on a single method. Your treatment plan can evolve over time based on what is most useful for you.
Session Fees
Treatment length and session frequency depend on your needs, the approaches incorporated into treatment, and how the work progresses. We’ll discuss what makes sense for you and adjust the treatment plan as needed.
45-minute session
$200
A standard individual therapy session for ongoing treatment.
60-minute session
$250
An extended individual therapy session that allows additional time for therapeutic work within a single appointment.
We are in-network with traditional Medicare and BCBS. We do not accept Medicare Advantage plans, with the exception of some BCBS Medicare Advantage plans. Coverage and out-of-pocket costs vary by plan, and any applicable copay or deductible is due at the time of your session.
OUR APPROACH
YOUR EXPERIENCES AFFECT MORE THAN YOUR THOUGHTS
Your thoughts, emotions, physical responses, health, relationships, and lived experiences all inform the way we understand your care. Treatment should have room for that full picture rather than reducing your experience to a single symptom or diagnosis.
You can expect thoughtful clinical care from psychologists who take the time to understand what has shaped you, what you have already tried, and what you need from treatment now.
Health Psychology & Integrative Trauma Therapy in Franklin, TN
Dr. Dyani Saxby &
Dr. Skyler Shollenbarger
WHAT SETS OUR PRACTICE APART
- Two Ph.D. psychologists with specialized clinical training
- Expertise in the connection between psychological and physical health
- Integration of cognitive, somatic, and subconscious approaches
- Individualized treatment rather than a single therapeutic protocol
- Evidence-based care grounded in each client’s needs
RED DEER WAS BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT THERAPY TO ADDRESS THE FULL PICTURE.
Our psychologists bring specialized clinical training to concerns that involve both psychological and physical responses. Rather than assuming one therapeutic approach will fit every person, we draw from evidence-based cognitive, somatic, and subconscious methods according to your needs.
We also know that specialized care should still feel human. You can ask questions, tell us when something isn’t working, and bring the context of your health, relationships, history, and daily life into the room.
Our goal is thoughtful, individualized treatment from psychologists who take your concerns seriously and take the time to understand you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT YOU MAY BE WONDERING
IS BOTTOM-UP THERAPY RIGHT FOR EVERYONE?
No. This work is intended for clients who have a stable foundation and established emotional regulation skills but continue to experience physical bracing, fight-or-flight, or other persistent physiological responses. Red Deer does not specialize in this work for people who are currently medically or psychiatrically unstable or who require frequent crisis support.
DO I NEED TO KNOW WHICH THERAPY I WANT BEFORE I START?
No. You do not need to decide between Somatic Experiencing®, clinical hypnosis, IFS, EMDR, CPT, or another approach before reaching out. Treatment may integrate different methods based on your needs and what you are working to address.
HOW MANY SESSIONS WILL I NEED?
It is difficult to determine the length of treatment before we begin. For concerns such as complex trauma, treatment may extend beyond 12 sessions. We’ll discuss your needs and treatment plan as our work progresses.
CAN I MEET WITH YOU VIRTUALLY?
Yes. Red Deer offers both virtual and in-person appointments. Virtual clients receive a video link, while in-person appointments take place at the Franklin office.
DO YOU ACCEPT INSURANCE?
Yes. Red Deer is in-network with traditional Medicare and BCBS. We do not accept Medicare Advantage or other insurance plans. Any applicable copay or deductible is due at the time of your session.
