Trauma & PTSD Therapy
When something is over, but part of you is still responding as though it isn't
Trauma can affect much more than your memories of what happened.
It can influence how safe you feel in your own body, how easily you trust other people, what you expect from relationships, how you respond to conflict, and how quickly your nervous system shifts into fight, flight, freeze or shutdown.
Sometimes there is one experience you can clearly identify.
Other times there isn't a single event. Instead, there may have been years of experiences that taught you to stay alert, keep people happy, suppress your emotions, handle everything yourself, or disconnect from what you were feeling.
These responses often developed for a reason.
The difficulty comes when the strategies that once helped you survive or adapt continue showing up long after the circumstances have changed.
My Approach to Trauma Therapy
Trauma therapy does not mean immediately asking you to tell me everything that happened.
Before processing difficult experiences, we first understand what is happening now.
We may work on recognizing your nervous system responses, developing grounding and regulation skills, strengthening internal and external resources, and increasing your ability to move through difficult emotions without becoming completely overwhelmed or disconnected.
When you are ready, therapy can move toward processing experiences that continue to feel emotionally present.
My work is informed by a phased approach to trauma treatment and may integrate EMDR, attachment-based therapy, parts-informed approaches, Emotion Focused Therapy, DBT and ACT.
EMDR is one of the primary approaches I use for trauma processing, but treatment is always individualized. Preparation, pacing and your capacity to remain connected to the present are important parts of the work.
