Therapy for Trauma
Depth-oriented therapy virtual across California“Healing is about reclaiming our power and rewriting our future.”
Trauma is less about a specific event and more about the internal blueprint left behind. As we understand it clinically, trauma is the physiological and psychological imprint of experiences that overwhelmed your system’s ability to cope.
Whether it stems from a single event or the chronic "quiet" trauma of emotional neglect and instability, the result is the same: your system learns to prioritize survival.
It shows up in your daily life as patterns you can’t seem to break—like overreacting to small things, struggling to trust people, or living with an inner critic that constantly brings you down. You might find yourself stuck in a cycle of high-anxiety (fight/flight) or feeling completely checked out and numb (freeze/dissociation).
These are the ways your system learned to protect you. While these responses once kept you safe, they may now be the very things keeping you stuck.
How trauma may be showing up in your life
You might not think of your experience as “trauma,” especially if nothing obvious or dramatic happened. But you may recognize yourself in some of these patterns:
You overreact to small things and then feel ashamed of how intense your reaction felt.
You struggle to trust people, even when you want closeness, and you’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You’re hyperaware of other people’s moods and needs, automatically scanning the room and adjusting yourself to keep the peace.
You live with an inner critic that is relentless, no matter how much you do or accomplish.
You feel stuck in a cycle of high anxiety and overdrive (fight/flight) or checked out and numb (freeze/dissociation).
You find yourself repeating familiar dynamics in relationships—feeling unseen, too much, or like you’re always the one holding things together.
Parts of your story still feel confusing, unreal, or easier to minimize than to name.
Trauma doesn’t always look like “Big T” events
When we hear the word “trauma,” many of us think of accidents, assaults, or disasters. Those experiences absolutely count, but they aren’t the only ones that leave a mark.
You may find yourself saying, “Other people had it worse,” or “It wasn’t that bad.” Meanwhile, your body and relationships tell a different story.
Trauma can also come from:
Growing up around emotional volatility, criticism, or instability
Being the “responsible one” in a family where adults weren’t fully available
Chronic emotional neglect—no one really seeing or responding to your inner world
Long-term relational pain, betrayal, or feeling like love is conditional
OUR PROCESS
Healing from trauma isn’t about revisiting the past for its own sake. It is about updating your nervous system so that the past no longer dictates your present. Our work focuses on:
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We start by identifying the specific triggers, relationship loops, and limiting beliefs that are showing up in your life right now and understanding how your past may be "leaking" into your present.
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We help your body move out of survival mode and into a steadier, grounded state. Using EMDR and somatic-informed care to create the physiological safety necessary to process and integrate stored distress.
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We work to take the emotional charge out of past experiences that are still "live" in your system. This helps your brain finally file them away as things that happened in the past and stop influencing your life in the present.
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Trauma often leaves you with a "default" setting of shame or self-doubt. We work to shift those beliefs to a more accurate, grounded sense of self and confidence.
How we can work together
I’m a licensed therapist based in Los Angeles, offering depth‑oriented trauma therapy for adults, along with EMDR and somatic work when it’s a good fit. I work with people who are ready to move beyond white‑knuckling their way through and do the slower, more meaningful work of changing what their nervous system believes is possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Trauma is less about a specific event and more about the imprint it leaves when an experience overwhelms your ability to cope, and your system has to adapt quickly to keep you safe. That can come from one event or from years of more subtle emotional injuries.
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You don’t need a clear, dramatic story for your experience to matter. Many people I work with have trouble naming what happened, but they feel the effects in anxiety, shame, relationship patterns, or a sense of being “too much” or “not enough.” Part of our work is gently making sense of that together.
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No. We move at a pace that feels manageable. Trauma therapy isn’t about forcing disclosures; it’s about creating enough safety that the pieces of your story that need attention can emerge in their own time.
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When it’s appropriate and you’re interested, we can incorporate EMDR to help your nervous system process stuck memories or beliefs. We’ll discuss what that looks like and whether it feels right for you before we begin.
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We offer flexible pricing based on project type and complexity. After an initial conversation, we’ll provide a transparent quote with no hidden costs.
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Everyone’s process is different. Some people come in focused on one specific event or relationship; others are working through a longer history. We’ll talk about your goals and check in along the way so your therapy feels purposeful and responsive to what you’re noticing.
If you see yourself in any of this and are curious about trauma therapy, I offer a free 15–20 minute consultation so you can get a feel for what it’s like to talk with me, ask questions, and see whether this space feels like the right fit for the work you want to do.