Trauma Therapy

Trauma-focused therapy refers to approaches which aim to transform what we’ve endured into post-traumatic growth. I believe it’s important to be transparent about what this can look like, and how I approach this in our work together.

Single-Incident vs Complex trauma

Sometimes, people come to therapy with what’s known as single-incident trauma and a diagnosis of PTSD, looking for therapeutic approaches which relieve the symptoms of their PTSD. Sometimes, people come to therapy with more complex trauma, which emerged over time with repeated violence, neglect, or other adverse experiences. Often, these experiences arise during our developmental years when we are dependent on caregivers, shaping how our nervous system learns to respond to our environments and to others. Occasionally, we might not be sure if what we experienced counts as traumatic.

I specialize in working with this complex, developmental trauma. I approach this work with a special attention paid to anchoring our relationship in trust, safety, collaboration, and consent, so that the work the work we do uplifts your agency and choice. I utilize experiential techniques to make contact with the places in the body holding emotional memory, which most need to know that the harm is done and that safety is possible. This is deep work which can require frequent contact together so that you are truly held through the tremulous newness of what emerges when these parts of you are finally met. As such, I take seriously my commitment to be available to you before we enter into trauma work together. If you’re curious about what this might look like in practice, please feel free to book a free consultation.

Social Injustice and Marginalization

Trauma can also arise in the form of cultural wounding around who is allowed to be here, who can belong, and who deserves safety. Experiences like homophobia, transphobia, sexism and misogyny, ableism, fatphobia, racism, colonization, poverty, environmental violence, and other kinds of social injustice, violence, and systemic harms contribute to this wounding. Often, we are left longing to heal, while still needing to enter survival mode to get by.

I work with a constant eye toward the wounds caused by social injustice. Together, we can uncover all the ways in which we might internalize the harmful messaging from our own or occupying cultures. When we are empowered to choose our values, to come home to community, ancestral, or cultural healing, and to join with others in our fight for survival, we are engaging in liberatory therapy. I believe this is a critical element of trauma-informed practice.