Victoria Wendell, LPC
Therapist
Victoria Wendell, LPCHolistic Trauma Therapist & Eating Disorder Specialist
"Women often come to me feeling stuck in patterns that are impacting their relationships, self-worth, and everyday life. Together we seek to understand these patterns not just as problems to eliminate, but as adaptations that developed to be able to cope at an earlier time in life, that no longer serve them."
Book a 30-minute consultation call
Issues Victoria helps with
Millenials
College Students (17y+)
Who she works with
Victoria specializes in working with women - complex and acute trauma, as well as, disordered eating patterns, anxiety/depression, perfectionism, OCD, and body image stigma. She works with Young and Mid-life adults navigating longstanding patterns that leave them feeling stuck, disconnected, or at odds with themselves. She's especially drawn to helping clients heal their relationship with food, body image, and themselves, and she understands that trauma rarely shows up in isolation — it often intersects with disordered eating, attachment wounds, chronic shame, and difficulties with identity and self-worth.
How she works
Victoria approaches therapy from the belief that symptoms are the best solution a person's mind and body could find for overwhelming experiences, difficult environments, or unmet needs. Hence, her work focuses on more than symptom reduction: She helps clients understand how these patterns originated, what purpose they've served, how they might now be getting in the way of the life the client wants, and help them develop ways of coping and being that overcome these old ways, one step at a time as a pace that feels supportive.
Her therapeutic space is both validating and gently challenging, in order to help clients build insight, self-compassion, and personal safety so they can move beyond survival and toward a more authentic, connected life. Together, you can make sense of your experiences, understand what has kept you stuck, and create space for building a life in line with your values/goals.
She has extensive expereince in trauma work and draws on a range of evidence-based and experiential approaches, such as, Coherence Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, CBT, DBT, Radically Open DBT, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), choosing what fits rather than applying one method to everyone.
Symptoms are often not the problem — they're the mind and body's best solution to something overwhelming that happened in the past. Healing from that does not require having all the answers, just a commitment to discovering them.
Training & Credentials
Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Marymount University
Bachelor's degree in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Licensed Professional Counselor — Virginia
Specialized post-graduate training in Body Dismorphia & Eating Disorder Treatment, with experience in In-patient and Outpatient care for Eating Disorders.
Trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy for Trauma
Trained in Trauma Focused - CBT
Trained in Exposure and Response Prevention
Trained in DBT & Radically Open DBT
What a first session is like
For individual therapy, the first few sessions are a chance to begin developing a fuller, more holistic understanding of what you are facing now. Victoria will learn about your history, when the current concerns began or became more difficult, what has shaped them, and what you have already tried. Together, you will start to make sense of the larger context around your experiences and identify where the work can begin.
If that sounds like what you are looking for, book a 30-minute consultation call with Victoria.
Questions people ask Victoria
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Yes. Victoria works with complex trauma as much as single-incident trauma — long-term patterns, chronic environments, and cumulative experiences that never got named as "trauma" at the time. If you’re feeling weighed down but your past experiences or find yourself lashing out, feeling overwhelemd, always on the edge, unable to feel safe or trust others, it’s worth exploring in therapy.
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Yes. Disordered eating exists on a spectrum, and you don't need a formal diagnosis to be struggling with food, body image, or the thoughts that come with them. If it's taking up space in your life, it's worth talking about.
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No. Victoria isn't a dietitian, and that's not the work she does. Her focus is the underlying relationship with food and body, and the patterns (perfectionism, shame, anxiety) that often sit underneath disordered eating.
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Victoria is a self-pay therapist. We provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance plan for possible out-of-network reimbursement and have also partnered with Reimbusify to make this process seamless. You can check your out-of-network benefits here. This can tell you whether couples or individual therapy is covered and what reimbursement may be available.
We understand therapy can be a investment in yourself and your relationship and do not take that lightly, which is why our therapists are specialized and will make sure they have the tools to help you meet your goals.
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Yes. You do not need to decide whether your experience “counts” as trauma or be ready to describe every detail before beginning therapy. Ashley offers trauma-informed therapy at a pace that feels manageable, helping clients make sense of how past experiences may be affecting their safety, relationships, body, or daily life. You remain in control of what you share and when.
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My goal is to support your healing, making sure you have autonomy and control in your therapy. If you are an adult (18+), its absolutely your decison to report it or not. I will be with you every step of the way regardless of what you decide, empowering you with informaiton about your options and supporting whatever you decide. Different rules apply when a minor is involved.
If you are under 18 and disclose sexual abuse, or if what you share gives me reason to believe that another minor is currently being abused or may be in danger, I am legally required to make a report. I will explain these limits before you share sensitive details. If a report is required, I will tell you beforehand whenever possible, explain what will happen, involve you as much as I can, and support you throughout the process. My goal is to protect your privacy, autonomy, and sense of control as much as the law allows.
Book a free consultation call
No waitlists and no phone tag. Pick a time that suits you to speak to Victoria.
