Stephanie Benincase

Narcissistic Abuse Therapist Near Me | Stephanie Benincase, LPC

Trauma-Informed Therapy for Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse and Coercive Control

Hi. My name is Stephanie Benincase, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. If you have been searching for a narcissistic abuse therapist near me and you are still not sure whether what happened to you counts, I want you to know that the question itself is one of the most common places this work starts. I have spent nearly a decade serving survivors of violent crime and abuse. I practice through a trauma-informed, non-pathologizing lens, which means we begin by exploring what you have experienced rather than what is wrong with you.

Sometimes the mental health symptoms we develop are ordinary reactions to extraordinary situations. Sometimes they are coping strategies that helped us survive but no longer serve us. Together we work to understand those patterns and move toward healing and resolution.

What Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Looks Like

Narcissistic abuse rarely leaves the kind of evidence other harms do. There is often no single incident to point to, just a long erosion of your own judgment, and that is exactly what makes it so hard to name and so hard to put down. A great deal of this work is rebuilding trust in your own perception.

I am trained in EMDR and incorporate DBT, CBT, and mindfulness-based approaches. Which of those we use depends on you, not on a protocol. Some people need to process specific memories. Others need skills to get through the week first, and we start there.

• Naming what happened without needing a diagnosis to justify it
• Rebuilding trust in your own perception and judgment
• EMDR for the memories that still hijack the present
• DBT and CBT skills for the weeks that feel unmanageable
• Boundary work for relationships that are still ongoing
• Grief for the version of the relationship you believed you had

Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

I work with people living with Borderline Personality Disorder, and I bring DBT training to that work. BPD is one of the most stigmatized diagnoses in mental health and also one of the most treatable. The non-pathologizing lens matters more here than almost anywhere else: the symptoms labeled difficult are usually survival strategies that made perfect sense in the environment where they formed.

• DBT skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance
• Work on relationship patterns without shame or blame
• Attention to the trauma history underneath the diagnosis
• A therapist who does not flinch at the diagnosis

Who I Work With

As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I work with adults looking for:

• Recovery from narcissistic abuse and coercive control
• Therapy after violent crime, abuse, or long-term harm
• Support with PTSD, complex trauma, depression, anxiety, and OCD
• DBT-informed work with Borderline Personality Disorder
• Help with high-conflict co-parenting, divorce and separation, and court-involved family situations
• Grief and loss, and rebuilding healthy relationships

Credentials and Background

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• EMDR trained
• DBT, CBT, and mindfulness-based approaches
• Nearly a decade serving survivors of violent crime and abuse
• Experience with high-conflict co-parenting and court-involved families

Ready to Find a Narcissistic Abuse Therapist Near You?

I look forward to meeting you, hearing your story, and helping you make sense of what you have been through and where you want to go from here. Reach out today to schedule a first appointment.