serving los angeles and all of california
Trauma Therapy
Reclaim your joy and find peace.
Humans are incredibly resilient, but there are times when our innate, self-healing systems become overwhelmed. Physical or sexual violence, childhood abuse or neglect, natural disasters, serious accidents, and war are all terrifying experiences that may overload our natural ability to cope.
They are not the only sources of trauma, though.
Stressful but fairly common experiences like divorce, the loss of a loved one, chronic illness, physical injuries, toxic work environments, and discrimination can also distort the way we perceive and experience ourselves, others, and the world around us.
At times, we may not be fully aware of the lingering impact certain stressful events have on us. We may not see the connection between those negative experiences – which may operate like quiet programs running in the background – and today’s difficulties. Or we may minimize those events and tell ourselves to “just get over it.”
However forcefully we try to push them down, unhealed wounds often have an insidious impact on many key aspects of our lives, like how we regard ourselves, relate to others, respond to stress, experience our bodies, and think about our futures.
Frequently, the parts of ourselves most impacted by a traumatic experience include our sense of safety, our ability to trust ourselves and others, our self-esteem, our sense of empowerment and agency, and our capacity for intimacy and connection with others.
Although individual responses vary, signs of trauma mAY include:
Depression, sadness, or social isolation
Feeling anxious and anticipating threat
Irritability
Sudden anger
Feelings of shame, guilt, or intense worry
Negative beliefs about the self, others, and the future
Difficulty staying present or carrying out daily responsibilities
Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, or flashbacks about the stressful event(s)
Avoiding situations that may be reminders of the event
Substance abuse/dependence
Risky, compulsive, or impulsive behaviors
Chronic pain or health conditions, including medically unexplained symptoms
Feeling numb, floaty, or like things look foggy and unreal
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Whether due to a sudden shock like sexual assault or a more chronic wound like growing up with a dysfunctional parent, you can heal from trauma.
These painful experiences are often the root of many types of stuckness, like perfectionism, depression, or excessive rumination. In fact, you may find that a lot of other difficulties clear up as you resolve these wounds. Results often include more restful sleep, feeling more connected to others, responding more calmly to stress, and experiencing more energy and optimism. Clients have described themselves as feeling lighter, forgetting to be anxious, no longer having crying spells, and enjoying life again during the course of trauma work.
Together we can help you:
Make sense of confusing and distressing events
Heal the distortions to your sense of self
Restore your ability to trust yourself and others
Free yourself from guilt, shame, and constant fear
Find safety and connection again
Live more fully now
Feel empowered and in control again
It’s important to know that, if you can’t imagine ever talking about what happened to you or don’t recall specifics, that’s ok too. EMDR, brainspotting, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) can heal trauma without any need for details.
Next steps
How it Works
01
Reach Out
Schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation. I’m happy to answer any questions and make sure we’re a good fit.
02
FIRST Session
Let’s talk about what brings you to therapy and what changes you’d like to see through our work together.
03
RESOLVE STUCKNESS AND THRIVE
Join me weekly to achieve your goals.