PTSD & Trauma Care
Trauma care that moves at your pace
After something overwhelming, the mind keeps standing guard long after the danger has passed. That vigilance is survivable — and treatable. We provide trauma-informed psychiatric care in Newport Beach and across California, and you will never be pushed to relive anything before you’re ready.
In person in Newport Beach · Telehealth across California · Adults 18–65
When the past won’t stay past
PTSD isn’t only a combat injury — accidents, assaults, medical events, and losses can leave the same fingerprints.
- On alert even in places you know are safe
- Nightmares, or days interrupted by vivid replays
- Avoiding streets, people, or topics that stir it up
- Jumping at ordinary sounds
- Feeling numb — watching your life from outside it
- Guilt or shame that logic doesn’t touch
How we treat PTSD
- 1
Safety and pacing first
Trauma-informed means you control the pace and the depth. A first appointment is about your symptoms and your goals — not a forced retelling of the worst day of your life.
- 2
Medication that quiets symptoms
Evidence-based options can ease the hypervigilance, improve sleep, and reduce nightmares — making daily life livable and trauma therapy more effective.
- 3
The right therapy allies
The strongest trauma treatments are specific therapies like EMDR and CPT. We coordinate with trauma therapists who provide them, and manage the medical side alongside.
Veteran-informed care
Nicholas Cory-Duffy, PMHNP, served five years as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman before a career in emergency medicine, and focuses on veterans’ mental health.
If you’ve worn a uniform — military, medical, fire, or law enforcement — you can skip the part where you explain what it’s like. We know.
Veterans in crisis: call 988 then press 1, or text 838255. Anyone in crisis can call or text 988, or OC Links at (855) 625-4657, 24/7.
Take the PC-PTSD-5 screening5 questions · about 1 minute · scored on this page, nothing is saved
This screening is private — the scoring happens in your browser and nothing you enter is transmitted or saved. Bring the result to your first appointment, or don’t. Either way it’s a faster start than describing everything from scratch.
Care from people who listen
Koehler Mental Health & Wellness is a psychiatric practice in Newport Beach. Our providers — Ricky Koehler, DNP, PMHNP-BC, Amanda Benvenuto, PMHNP-BC, and Nicholas Cory-Duffy, PMHNP, MSN — are all accepting new patients.
Insurance-friendly
In-network with Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross, and Carelon Behavioral Health. Self-pay: $300 initial evaluation, $150 follow-ups.
In person or online
Visit us at 1000 Quail Street in Newport Beach, or meet by secure video from anywhere in California.
Unhurried, evidence-based
Real evaluations, careful medication management, and coordination with your therapist. Meet our providers →
Questions we hear a lot
Do I have to talk about what happened?
No. Effective psychiatric care for PTSD does not require retelling the event. You share what you choose, when you choose. Many patients start with symptoms only — sleep, edginess, mood — and that is enough to begin.
Is it still PTSD if it wasn’t combat or violence?
Yes. Car accidents, medical emergencies, births that went wrong, sudden losses, and years of smaller harms can all produce post-traumatic symptoms. The diagnosis is about what your nervous system experienced, not whether it makes a dramatic story.
Can anything help the nightmares?
Often, yes. Sleep is usually where we start — there are medication and behavioral approaches with good evidence for trauma-related nightmares, and improving sleep tends to soften daytime symptoms too.
Standing guard is exhausting. Let’s stand down together.
A first conversation, at whatever depth you choose — in Newport Beach or by video anywhere in California.
New patients welcome · Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross & Carelon in-network · Read our FAQ
We also treat: Depression · Anxiety & Panic · ADHD · Bipolar Disorder · OCD · Insomnia — or see everything we treat.