Meet Monica!
Trauma and Attachment Therapist at Trauma Therapy of Nashville
Monica Willhite, PhD, LPC-MHSP, is a relational therapist in Nashville, TN, who helps adults heal from trauma, attachment wounds, painful family patterns, and relationships that left a mark. She holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, has served as a clinical director, and has supervised therapists and graduate counseling students. She brings both a clinician’s heart and a teacher’s eye to her work.
Monica believes that everyone’s story matters, and that giving those stories a voice can change a life. She has deep respect for the courage it takes to take the first step into counseling, and she works to make her office a safe, steady place to find hope and healing.
She came to counseling by a winding and well-lived road. Monica began her career as a teacher in the U.S. and abroad, then spent more than 15 years in international non-profit organizations and community development, including time living and working in a rural village in Haiti. Along the way she fell in love with hearing people’s stories and saw firsthand what true relationships can do. She eventually went back to school to become a counselor, and she considers it an honor to do this work.
Her doctoral research asked trauma counselors what they wish they had known and been taught. She has since taught and supervised graduate counseling students and supervised licensed therapists, which means her own clinical work is shaped by years of asking what really helps.
Monica’s Approach
Monica believes that each person has an inner capacity and drive toward healing and wholeness, particularly when the right conditions exist to reconnect with it. Healing can begin when people no longer have to face difficult emotions and experiences alone.
As a relational therapist, she places high value on a supportive, attuned therapeutic relationship and approaches each client’s experience with curiosity and compassion. Her experience and training have taught her that lasting change involves more than insight. It also means paying attention to emotional experience, the body, and the nervous system; making space to fully process experiences that continue to shape the present; and building the capacity to take in care, connection, and safety.
She works collaboratively, at a pace that honors each client’s unique experience and sense of agency. Her hope is that clients experience a deeper sense of wholeness and more freedom to live and connect in ways that feel true and authentic to them.
Areas of Focus
Monica provides individual therapy for adults ages 20 and older in Nashville. Her areas of focus include:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Attachment wounding and early attachment trauma
- Family of origin issues
- Adult children of addiction and alcoholism
- Recovery from emotionally harmful relationships
- Divorce and relationship endings
- Major life transitions
- Perfectionism and people-pleasing
- Spiritual abuse and adverse religious experiences
- Women’s issues
- LGBTQIA+ affirming care
Therapy Approaches
Monica blends the following approaches, allowing her to shape treatment around each individual client:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Polyvagal-informed EMDR
- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Psychodynamic therapy
- Attachment-based therapy
- Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Somatic practices
Education & Training
- Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation (LPC-MHSP), State of Tennessee
- PhD, Counselor Education and Supervision, East Texas A&M University
- Master of Arts in Counseling, MidAmerica Nazarene University
- Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies/Elementary Education, Texas Woman’s University
- Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)
- EMDR trained
- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Level 1
- Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
- Registered Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator
- Nurturing Parenting Program Certified Facilitator
- Additional training in IFS, polyvagal-informed EMDR, and somatic interventions
Session Rates
Sessions are based on the standard 50-minute therapy hour.
- 50 min (1-hr) Therapy Session: $185
- 90 min (1.5-hr) Therapy Session: $277
Ready to Get Connected?
If you’re ready to take the next step, we invite you to Email our Client Care Coordinator at Admin@TraumaTherapyNashville.com for more information to schedule a session.
You may also complete the NEW CLIENT PRESCREEN INFORMATION FORM and our Coordinator will reach out to you within 24 business hours.