Trauma Therapy

"I have spent 10 years working with children and families to process and recover from traumatic experiences in their lives. In reality, any experience that causes distress can be traumatic not just a major life event. These experiences can have a significant impact on a person's life and affect how they behave and interact with others. I work closely with my clients, taking them through the healing process step by step."

I have clinical experience treating clients with a history of psychological trauma, such as abuse, assault, and adverse childhood experiences. The two therapies that I use, ACT and DBT, are evidence-based treatments for Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders. I'm strongly interested in trauma theories, neuroscience, psychoneurobiology, and interpersonal neurobiology. I've completed three graduate level courses in trauma. I regularly attend trauma-related conferences and trainings.

I was trained to treat clients with trauma history and I use a strengths-based approach when I work with clients. I help clients recognize and understand the impact of traumatized event and I also support clients to unlock the traumatized experiences, so that they can develop coping skills to manage the triggers.

Trained in multiple modalities and have been working with a trauma informed approach since 2014.

We can choose to address trauma in a variety of ways depending on your needs and comfort levels. Trauma therapy can help reduce the intensity and duration of trauma responses. As survivors build healthy relationships in recovery, they often find that past trauma still affects them today. I will help you identify how past trauma is affecting your current relationships.

I have expertise in trauma, and the neurobiology of trauma, and am continuing my studies in trauma-focused therapies.

Trauma work involves formulating a firm foundation of stabilization skills. This involves developing a process of checking in with yourself, tuning into feelings and messages your body is sending you, and regulating emotional, psychological, and physiological responses to stress. Many people refer to this as developing grounding skills. Trauma work also involves identifying triggers and patterns, which includes developing healthier ways of connecting with ourselves and relating to others.

Trauma-focused CBT (T-CBT) is a compassionate and evidence-based approach to healing from trauma. By collaboratively exploring the deeper impacts of trauma on thoughts and behavior, together we gently challenge negative beliefs and develop healthier coping skills. By integrating trauma memories in a safe manner, you can gradually regain control over your life and find renewed hope. Safety, control, resilience, and healing are all possible.

In an instant your life changed forever...perhaps it was a natural disaster, medical diagnosis or an tragic loss loss. Maybe it was a single traumatic event or perhaps a childhood of mistreatment, abuse or neglect. You don’t recognize your life or yourself. You want to feel…well "normal" again. Using a blend of somatic interventions and traditional therapeutic interventions, we will explore what happened to you and how it effects your daily life so you can develop a new normal.

Trauma work is at the root of everything I do. Life is filled with little "t" traumas and big "T" Traumas, but we all have to deal with this pain at multiple points in our lives. The consequences of not doing so can be profound, and the opportunity for healing is a life-changing one.

In use of trauma therapy, I utilize Emotion Focused Technique. Trauma often gets trapped within the body. Each time that it gets triggered we revert back to a time where we experienced this similar feeling and our body reacts to it. In using EFT we learned to work through the bodies reaction to trauma and reduce our response through tapping different points of the body in order to create a space where the body is no longer trapped in a trauma space and we are able to respond more effectively.

Client's experience a traumatic event and reduce their symptoms of PTSD by partaking in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in nine modules over the course of 12-20 weeks.

Really terrifying events can sometimes stick with and follow us like an unwelcome ghost. If we continue to avoid our ghosts, our symptoms and negative experiences get worse and impact our daily lives. Sound familiar? Trauma therapy, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), can help you move through your trauma and develop healthier ways of processing your thoughts, feelings as well as others and the world around you. Essentially, by changing the way you think, you can change the way you feel.

My approach to trauma therapy is the use of Dr. Judith Herman's Three Phase Model (Stabilization, Trauma Memory Processing, and Reconnection). While this method incorporates multiple therapy techniques in an eclectic manner, such as DBT-based interventions for stabilization, it allows the trauma work to happen where the person is, as well as movement between the phases based on the person's current situation.

My primary focus is on creating a safe, supportive, and empathetic environment. I actively collaborate with clients to tailor the therapeutic process to their unique needs and recovery goals. This personalized approach not only enhances the effectiveness of therapy but also empowers clients, reinforcing their resilience and facilitating a sense of control over their healing journey.

Life can be permissive of cruelty and abuse. There is nothing fair about it. Traumatic encounters can upend one's entire perspective about self and one's ability to experience value and worth. It is my desire to help clients heal and reawaken safe love and beneficial engagement.

I am a TCTSY facilitator and incorporate embodied movement into my sessions for clients who are interested. As per traumasensitiveyoga.com: "TCTSY is the first yoga-based empirically validated, clinical intervention for complex trauma or chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)".