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About
Trinda Martin
LPC · EMT-P · CCTP
Licensed Professional Counselor · EMT-Paramedic · Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Telehealth trauma therapy from mid-Michigan, serving the whole state.
Trinda Martin · Mid-MI
The Why
Fifteen years in EMS.
My fifteen years in EMS taught me the challenges that come with working in a fishbowl, with everyone continuously watching every move you make. Even every bite you take. You’re always on, even when you’re not on duty — someone may recognize you, and what you do off the clock can absolutely impact your career. If you know, you know.
I lost colleagues to suicide, watched others struggle to hold it all together, and struggled with burnout myself — not realizing what it was. I learned what PTSD was while googling why a colleague did what they did. It changed the trajectory of my life. Things started to make sense, and I became a therapist to bring others that same understanding — and resilience you can actually feel, on the clock and off. The kind that doesn’t have to be held together by sheer will.
the logo
A search and rescue dog, with a mental health ribbon.
A search and rescue dog doesn’t judge how you got lost, doesn’t get angry that you ended up out there. They’re happy they found you and stay with you until you’re safe.
THE NAME
STATUS CHECK.
“Status Check” came from Steve VanHolstyn, a friend and EMS colleague. Thank you for the name, your friendship, and of course the numerous unforgettable memories from the years we worked together.
Love your guts.
The Practice
How the work comes together.
Practice basics
Mid-Michigan, Statewide Telehealth.
Based in mid-Michigan. The practice is 100% telehealth, so we can work together from anywhere in the state. Sessions run 53 minutes; rate is $160. In-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Care Network, and Priority Health. Private pay and superbills available.
Clinical context
Integrated By Default.
Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Modalities I draw on include EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — and others, depending on what fits. Sessions are integrated by default — mind, body, and nervous system addressed as one system.
On Trauma
The work isn’t about avoiding the punch. It’s about getting back up.
Quick note on language. The field has gotten loose with the word “trauma,” and that does damage in both directions — to the people who’ve experienced something genuinely traumatic, and to the people who haven’t. I use it here the way most people do — as a catch-all for what life has put your nervous system through. In that everyday sense, we all have it. Clinically, what I see is more often operational stress injury, cumulative stress, post-traumatic stress, or a nervous system that hasn’t been allowed to recalibrate in years. The distinctions matter — they call for different paths — and I watch for which is which. Here, the everyday word is enough.
Just about everyone has trauma. Most people work, raise families, lead teams, run shifts, build careers — all carrying things life has handed them. The question isn’t whether you have it. The question is whether you’ve built the infrastructure to carry it well.
Trauma works like a punch. A trained body absorbs it and gets stronger. An untrained one can take the same punch and not recover. Some punches are designed to make you sharper if you’re ready for them. Some can drop anyone, no matter how trained. Even the strongest athletes get knocked down.
Avoiding a life where you might take a punch isn’t strength — it’s a smaller life, lived afraid. Stepping into the arena anyway, prepared and knowing some punches will land, is what courage actually is. That’s where a fulfilled life happens.
Some try alone. Some don’t recognize there’s anything to rebuild. For those who want to do the work, it tends to go further with someone who knows the territory walking with you. Therapy here is two-directional: building infrastructure that wasn’t there before, or rebuilding after a punch landed too hard.
A note on progress
Mental health is like medicine in the sense that progress is rarely a linear path.
Continued Learning
Trainings I actively pursue.
Continuing my education matters to me. I seek out trainings, stay current on research, and implement what fits — operational stress, neuroscience, the gut-brain axis, sleep, and nervous system regulation, including areas that live off the beaten path of traditional mental health practice.
Closing
I believe God gave us dogs to show us what love looks like.
True love, forgiveness, and compassion.
Trinda & the why · Mid-MI
Next Step
Book a free 15-minute consult.
If something here lines up with where you are, book a free 15-minute consult. No commitment, no script. We talk, you decide.
or voicemail · 616 · 920 · 0924