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• Psychoeducation (providing information on what is occurring and how to heal from it)

• A strong therapeutic relationship and alliance (goal consensus, agreement on therapy approach, personality fit)

• Some form of exposure to what has been avoided (imaginal, in vivo)

• Emotion regulation skills/tools

• Cognitive restructuring, processing, and/or meaning making

• Anxiety and stress management skills/tools

• Interpersonal/relationship skills/tools

• Problem solving skills

• Behavioral activation (encouraging engagement in activities to positively change emotional state)

• A focus on strengths and resilience

• Fostering hope for change, growth, and healing

Recovery from trauma and PTSD is an individual process and will look different for everyone. Recovery is non linear.

Your ability to heal from trauma depends on many factors including:

• Your beliefs and perceptions

• Your level of coping and resiliency

• Your connection to support
  

Here are the 3 core stages of nearly all trauma-focused and trauma-specific therapies.

Safety, Trust, & Stabilization

• We will get to know one another and I hope to earn your trust.

• I will ask you about your current life situation, your support system, and history of trauma.

• We will establish collaborative goals and identify your motivation for healing.

• I will provide you information on why your body and mind are reacting the way they do.

• We will also learn skills and tools to help you feel safer, secure, and more in control in your life, mind, and body.

• These tools and skills will manage and decrease your symptoms of PTSD (e.g. grounding, mindfulness).
  
  

Trauma-Focused Processing & Impacts of Trauma

• We will make more sense and come to terms with the traumatic events through learning how these events impact your sense of self, beliefs about the world, relationships with others, and what you have lost.

• This can include areas of: shame, guilt, anger, rage, sadness, pain, loneliness, self sabotage, ruminating thoughts, and feelings.

• The bulk of this work is decreasing avoidance of your triggers, practicing embodiment, acknowledging emotions, feeling emotions, grieving, and mourning.

• Essentially, we will be processing the memories of trauma through both talking and your body/soma so you are not “stuck” anymore with shame and fear.
  
  

(Re)Integration & Post Traumatic Growth

• In this last stage, we will help you move on from your traumatic experiences, looking to the future, and reconnecting with others. We will review what you have learned, anticipate challenges in the future, and what you can do to mitigate challenges.

• We will identify your values, who and what matters most to you, your resilience, sources of joy and best hopes for the future.

• For some people, we might also identify ways you can take action outside of the therapy room to create change in the world based on your healing journey so far.

• This can include: activism, community organizing, writing, dancing, volunteering, educating others, and/or some sort of expression to channel your pain into whatever it is you wish.

It depends.

Healing is non linear and re-visiting all stages is to be expected throughout your life.

Trauma can be dormant. When our lives are going well, we may be able to manage our trauma more effectively.

However, when life is especially painful, difficult, and challenging, our trauma may re-emerge. In other words, sometimes, our pains and wounds require more tenderness and care.

Whether single incident trauma or complex trauma, trauma recovery requires a relationship facilitating the growth of trust through consistency, authentic emotional engagement, and often multiple experiences of rupture and repair. We hurt in relationships, but this is also where we can heal and grow.

The most important thing I’ve learned throughout my years of practicing trauma therapy is this: trust, safety, collaboration are paramount in treatment.

What happened to us in the past shape us in the present.

Working toward a healthy secure adult attachment style is possible through hard work, patience, radical self compassion, embodied healing, decreasing avoidance, re-framing ways of unhelpful living as survival methods, mourning the life you never had, and finding new paths toward liberation through post-traumatic growth.

I specialize in relational approaches (AEDP, EFT, IFS) to complex trauma recovery.

We hurt in relationships. We can also heal in a healthy relationship.

I use my skills and training in trauma, attachment, emotions, mindfulness, and relational theory to help you learn to ask for what you want, say no without guilt, feel your emotions without overwhelming you, manage overwhelming thoughts, challenging negative core beliefs, increase your self confidence, become more comfortable with vulnerability, and learn to trust in yourself more and those you love.

I regularly attend conferences, workshops, and trainings on the following: attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, somatic therapy, mindfulness, and relational trauma.

Other forms of trauma therapy I don’t offer/practice that might be a better fit for you include:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy

• Prolonged Exposure Therapy

• EMDR

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy

• Brainspotting

• Narrative Exposure Therapy

• Some clients benefit from brief therapy (1-4 sessions) or short-term therapy (3-6 months) for a single issue.

• Other clients benefit from long-term therapy (6-12 months+) for more complex issues.

• We’ll end therapy when your goals have been met, your symptoms have decreased, you want space and time to integrate your learning, and/or at anytime you feel therapy isn’t helpful.

• Some folks also like to pause and take a break, coming back when necessary.

I have 6 years of mental health therapy experience and 7 years of social services experience.

I specialize in working with:

• Childhood trauma/abuse

• Emotional neglect

• Sexual violence/assault

• Intergenerational trauma

The bulk of my training and experience has been in the realm and intersections of trauma, relationships, and culture.

You might cry. Many people do. And it's completely okay.

Crying is a normal, helpful, and natural way for our bodies to release pent-up emotions. Crying is a way to let go of the pain, sadness, or frustration you may be carrying inside.

By crying, you're actually taking a positive step towards healing.

Or you might not cry. And that’s okay too.

While it's possible to work on your own personal healing, therapy offers different benefits that may be difficult to achieve on your own.

Talking to a friend, reading self-help books, journaling, and scrolling through TikTok and Instagram are all tools. Therapy is another tool.

Therapists provide:

• Accountability

• Support

• An objective perspective

• Structure

• Confidentiality

• Expertise, skills, and training

However, some people never go to therapy and live full and complete lives.

Therapy is only one way, but not the only way, toward healing, growth, and transformation.

You get to decide if therapy will be an effective and useful tool on your healing journey.

For referrals to other therapists, pro-bono (free) therapy, and reduced fee therapy, click here