Dr. Nanci Stafford is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Stafford & Associates Counseling in Mooresville, North Carolina. With over two decades of clinical experience, she specializes in helping adults heal from complex trauma, narcissistic and antagonistic relationships, and deep-rooted patterns of self-abandonment and emotional pain.

Her integrative approach combines Schema Therapy, Attachment Theory, Psychodynamic Therapy, DBT, CBT, and Internal Family Systems (IFS), allowing clients to understand how early experiences continue to influence their present-day thoughts, emotions, and relationships.

Dr. Stafford’s passion for this work stems from witnessing how childhood invalidation and relational trauma can shape a person’s self-concept and attachment style. She believes that lasting healing happens when clients reconnect with their inner self, reclaim agency, and learn to create relationships rooted in safety and authenticity.

Known for her warm but direct therapeutic style, Dr. Stafford helps clients move beyond survival mode and develop insight, boundaries, and emotional regulation. She also supervises and mentors clinicians in advanced schema and trauma frameworks, helping to shape a new generation of relationally attuned therapists.

Whether working with individuals, couples, or clinicians, Dr. Stafford’s mission is to help people rediscover their sense of wholeness, rebuild trust in themselves, and live with clarity and confidence.