Gay Gragson, MSW, LCSW

In Sessions: I am committed to helping you get to know your own internal family system and helping the parts shaped by trauma find relief and release. All parts, no matter what they hold, are welcome in this office. During IFS therapy sessions, my job is to facilitate your processing and experiencing; to monitor progress toward your healing goals; and to offer therapeutic direction when needed. All you need to do is show up. This therapy is a partnership between you (the client) and your internal system, with a little guidance from me and my system. Your system will let us know where the work needs to be done.

A Bit About Me: My journey to becoming a trauma therapist (MSW, UGA, 2010) began about 40 years ago, when I accompanied my husband to the Venezuelan Llanos to live with a hunter-gatherer group for a time, collecting field data. (My undergraduate degree is in anthropology, U. of MT, 1981). That unique and challenging experience brought me face to face with my own mortality (among other things) and was the beginning of my deep appreciation for human resilience. Up until 2008, I worked as a freelance writer and editor (MA, Penn State Univ., 1986) for UGA Press and other universities and publishers, clarifying scientific, medical, and other nonfiction communication and making sure the “t”s were crossed. I also volunteered with hospice, raised our kids, was a foster parent for infants and even taught preschool for a couple of years. After receiving my MSW degree, I worked in hospice for a number of years, supporting patients and families as they journeyed to the end of life. I then moved into private practice, focusing on trauma work to help people reduce suffering and gain or regain a sense of control and meaning in their lives.

Every person on the planet has experienced trauma of one sort or another. To be born is itself traumatic! Not all traumatic experiences result in the extreme pain of PTSD, but the suffering they cause is very real, and can widely impact lives. My hope is that as I help you engage with your own internal family system, you too will experience the relief of emotional suffering released and healed.

Note: I am not a crisis counselor; I do not provide emergency or after-hours services.

If you are in crisis call 988 for immediate support; call 911 if you are in a life threatening situation.