Dr. Heather Poma, Psychologist, IMFT-S Specializing in online trauma therapy, couples counseling, & Christian Counseling In Youngstown & across OH & PA

Discover a life of freedom:
One that aligns with your values and nurtures deep, authentic relationships.

Maybe you’re here struggling with…

Relationships—feeling disconnected from your partner, fearful for the future of your family post-deployment, unsure how to define yourself as questions about gender or sexuality come into focus.

Faith—wondering why God feels distant, if you’re doing something wrong, if who you are is wrong, or how to get through this desert season.

Memories—they surface unexpectedly, leaving you on edge, exhausted, or pulled back into experiences you wish you could leave behind.

Hi. I’m Dr. Heather Poma, and I have faith that healing is possible for you. My goal is to help you live in freedom instead of fear. My clients long to feel deeply known and secure in their relationships, couples who want to thrive rather than settle, families who want to look forward to time together instead of simply getting through it.

Many have experienced life-altering events that disrupted their sense of meaning and direction. Some clients want help sorting through what God says about them versus what their mind tells them is true, and we thoughtfully incorporate faith and Scripture into that work. Others are questioning their sexual or gender identity and want a place to explore the maze of faith, culture, attractions, and identity with care and integrity.

Wherever you’re starting, we’ll work together toward clarity and a trustworthy path forward.

Here’s how we’ll work together:
* A free 15-minute consultation call

* Brief paperwork to help me understand your situation

* An assessment session (with couples or families together, followed by individual sessions as needed)

*A shared treatment plan, carried out collaboratively

* Gradual movement toward the life you want to live

E-mail for free consultation

Methods

Evidence-based treatments I use to help my clients heal.

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based approach to treating PTSD that has been shown to be effective with survivors of war-related, sexual, automotive, and other forms of trauma.

CPT focuses on examining how the traumatic experience has changed your perspective of yourself, others, and the world. It specifically examines changes in the areas of safety, trust, power, esteem, control, and intimacy.

CPT encourages emotional processing and identifying problematic thinking and generally requires 12 treatment sessions.

CPT has two forms, which clients can choose. In the original form, clients describe the trauma that occurred in the initial sessions. In the CPT-C form, clients proceed without a detailed description.

Hope-Focused Couples’ Counseling

Hope-Focused Couples Counseling (or the Hope Approach) is an evidence-based couples’ therapy treatment that has been shown to improve couple relationships and decrease distress. While it’s effective with Christian couples and can incorporate distinctively Christian elements such as prayer, it has also been shown to be helpful with non-religious couples without these Christian elements.

The Hope Approach incorporates elements of the Gottmans’ research-based practices, Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Couples Therapy, and Forgiveness work. It’s appropriate for marriage enrichment as well as marital difficulties.

I am not only certified, but have also supervised others in this approach as part of the clinical research project to establish its efficacy.

Sexual Identity Therapy

Sexual Identity Therapy (SIT) is an APA-recognized therapeutic approach to working with people of faith who are questioning their sexual or gender identity.

As opposed to Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, which have been shown to be generally ineffective, SIT has a goal of client congruence-a client leaving therapy feeling that their beliefs and behaviors correspond. In contrast to LGBTQ Affirmative Therapy which can feel like pressure to adopt a particular sexual orientation or identity, SIT focuses on helping the client resolve tensions between their faith and their sexual or gender identity.

SIT focuses on clarity of language, understanding the self-in-context, and examining what factors contribute to distress, and analyzing relational change that may result from moving in authentic identity.

Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD

Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT) is an evidence-based therapy for PTSD designed to be used for a couple in which at least one member is struggling with PTSD. This approach has been shown to improve both PTSD symptoms and couple relationships.

CBCT generally takes 15 sessions, and it has three phases. First, the psychoeducation phase teaches both partners about PTSD and trauma. The second phase focuses on improving communication and helping the couple work together to avoid the avoidance that is characteristic of PTSD. The last phase of therapy helps address the ways that clients and their partners think about both their relationship and the traumatic events that keep them stuck in negative reactions and relational distress.

Prepare-Enrich

This evidence-based assessment-focused couples’ therapy is used both by church leaders and professionals. It lowers couples’ risk of divorce by 31%. Couples have increased relationships satisfaction, and it reduces the impact of unreasonable relational expectations.

First, the couple completes the assessment, then the therapist shares their results with them. This identifies areas of knowledge, skills, and growth areas. Next, the therapist meets with them to help them build relational skills to improve their marriage.

Prepare-Enrich includes customization for partners of different faiths, including Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Orthodox Christian, and Interfaith Relationships.

Why clients trust working with me

Therapy is more than talking things through. You may have already shared this struggle with friends, searched for insight in books or podcasts, or tried to reason your way forward. Therapy offers something different: a skilled, objective perspective that helps clarify what’s actually happening and why change feels so difficult.

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, I help you understand how past experiences shape your reactions in the present. Together, we identify what’s keeping you stuck and adapt practical strategies to fit your values, needs, and real-life circumstances.

As a Christian therapist, I see no conflict between faith and psychology. God heals in many ways—through Scripture, the Spirit, and sometimes the miraculous—but also through the truths woven into creation itself. Therapy draws on what we’ve learned about the brain and emotions to reduce suffering and support growth.

My practice is fully online, which allows for flexibility without sacrificing effectiveness. Research shows that online therapy—including couples and family work—is just as effective as in-person care. Many clients appreciate being able to work with someone who fits their needs across state lines and to schedule sessions that accommodate real-life demands. I offer evening, late-night, and Sunday appointments and am licensed to see clients in any PsyPact state. 

My work is grounded in extensive training and experience. I hold both a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology and completed my internship in the VA Medical System, followed by post-doctoral training in community mental health with a focus on couples and systemic therapy. This background allows me to individualize treatment while staying anchored in evidence-based care.

I’m Board Certified in Couple and Family Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology and licensed as both a psychologist and an Independent Marriage and Family Therapist. My doctoral training emphasized marriage and family therapy, and I’ve supervised clinicians learning the HOPE approach.

This means I don’t just focus on one person in isolation—I pay attention to the patterns, histories, and dynamics that shape how relationships get stuck and how they heal.

Learn more on my Couples Therapy page.

I’m certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an evidence-based treatment for trauma with supervised clinical experience. CPT focuses not only on what happened in the past, but on how those experiences continue to affect the way you see yourself, others, and the world.

You have control over the pace of therapy and how much detail you share. My role is to help you reduce the lingering impact of trauma while respecting your sense of safety and autonomy.

Learn more on my Trauma Therapy page.

I began my mental health career as a Mental Health Specialist in the United States Army and later completed my internship in a VA Medical Center. Much of my work has focused on trauma, including war-related, sexual, and relational trauma. My husband is also a veteran, and I understand the unique stress military life places on individuals and families.

I’m familiar with deployments, reintegration, command stress, and the ways military culture can shape relationships long after service ends.Learn more on my Military & Veteran Families page.

As a Christian, I pursued training that intentionally integrated psychology and Christian faith at Regent University, and was trained in Hope-Focused Couples Therapy which explicitly includes faith elements. I work with clients who want their faith and values thoughtfully incorporated into therapy, without pressure or assumptions.

I understand that faith journeys can include doubt, desert seasons, and deep questions about identity and calling. Therapy can be a place to engage those questions with honesty, care, and respect.

Learn more on my Christian Counseling page.

I trained in Sexual Identity Therapy, an APA-recognized approach developed by Dr. Mark Yarhouse that focuses on helping clients find congruence between beliefs, identity, and behavior. I joined a research team, the Study of Sexual Identity, that explored sexual and gender identity, focusing my doctoral research on mixed-orientation couples, I have clinical experience working with individuals and couples navigating sexual and gender identity questions, often in the context of faith.

My role is not to push an outcome, but to help you think clearly, reduce distress, and move toward integrity in your life and relationships.

Learn more on my Christian Sexual Minorities page.

As a Christian, I pursued training that intentionally integrated psychology and Christian faith at Regent University, and was trained in Hope-Focused Couples Therapy which explicitly includes faith elements. I work with clients who want their faith and values thoughtfully incorporated into therapy, without pressure or assumptions.

I understand that faith journeys can include doubt, desert seasons, and deep questions about identity and calling. Therapy can be a place to engage those questions with honesty, care, and respect.

Learn more on my Christian Counseling page.

I trained in Sexual Identity Therapy, an APA-recognized approach developed by Dr. Mark Yarhouse that focuses on helping clients find congruence between beliefs, identity, and behavior. I joined a research team, the Study of Sexual Identity, that explored sexual and gender identity, focusing my doctoral research on mixed-orientation couples, I have clinical experience working with individuals and couples navigating sexual and gender identity questions, often in the context of faith.

My role is not to push an outcome, but to help you think clearly, reduce distress, and move toward integrity in your life and relationships.

Learn more on my Christian Sexual Minorities page.

Your therapy should fit you.

If you swear, I’m not clutching my pearls. If you want to wrestle with Scripture—down to the Greek or Hebrew—I’m willing to go there with you. I’m comfortable talking openly about relationships, sexuality, and faith. If you don’t want to share details of your trauma, you get to decide what feels safe and appropriate. If you need to cry, sit quietly, or grieve without filling the space, therapy can hold that too. 

Clients describe me as both deeply compassionate and direct, often telling me they feel genuinely seen and understood. They value my ability to help them connect present struggles to past experiences—family relationships, trauma, former churches, or earlier relationships—in ways that bring clarity and relief.

At the same time, they appreciate that I’ll be honest and straightforward: offering empathy without avoiding hard truths, and gently challenging patterns that keep them stuck.

Therapy isn’t about following a script—it’s about walking together toward meaningful, sustainable change. 

Email to schedule your free consultation

My areas of expertise:

Trauma Therapy

Couples Counseling

Christian Counseling

Military and Veteran Families

Christian Sexual Minorities

Why Overcoming?

I chose the name Overcoming: Psychological and Relational Solutions because it defines what I help my clients do.
We overcome traumatic events in their lives so that they are not only surviving but thriving. We work together as a team to address the blockages in their relationships, and we help Christians live out the abundant life their identities as overcomers implies.
Finally, I work not only on individual mental health, but help clients create the loving and accepting relationships they dream of.  

Email to schedule your free consultation