Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma occurs when something overwhelms your system. It might look like too much, too fast; too much, too often; or not enough for too long. Each of us carries a nervous system shaped by both our biology and the emotional environments we’ve lived through. When an experience exceeds our capacity to cope, it leaves an imprint—not just in memory, but in the body.
You can seek therapy for trauma even if there isn’t a traumatic event that happened in your life.
Many people assume trauma only counts if something “big” happened — like an assault, an accident, or a major loss. But trauma isn’t defined by the event itself. It’s defined by how your body and nervous system responded. That’s why two people can go through the same experience and walk away with completely different internal realities. That’s because trauma isn’t just about the facts. It’s about your felt sense of safety, connection, and capacity in the moment.
If you're someone who’s always been the responsible one… the achiever, the helper, the one who keeps it all together… you might also be carrying quiet, invisible burdens. Maybe you're feeling the ripple effects of relational or complex trauma. Maybe anxiety and exhaustion have become your norm, even though everything looks fine on the outside.
“Trauma is not what happens to you. Trauma is what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.”
– Gabor Maté
What I Promise as a Trauma-Informed Therapist
I’ll help you stay within your window of tolerance.
Therapy might feel tender, heavy, or even activating at times, but it shouldn’t leave you consistently flooded, shut down, or raw. I’ll always help you come back into regulation before we end a session.
I’ll stay attuned to your body, not just your words.
Trauma lives in the body, and I’m always tracking cues like changes in breath, posture, or presence — signs your system might be overwhelmed or disconnected.
I’ll never rush your healing.
We won’t dive into processing trauma before your nervous system is ready. I’ll help you build capacity, develop tools, and feel safe enough before going deeper.
I’ll honor your symptoms as intelligent.
Anxiety, perfectionism, shutdown — these aren’t flaws to fix, they’re protective strategies your nervous system has developed to keep you safe. I won’t reduce our work to symptom management.
How is your approach different from traditional talk therapy, and what makes your work unique?
While traditional talk therapy often focuses on insight, behavior change, or cognitive strategies, my work goes deeper. We go into the body, the nervous system, and the protective and exiled parts of you that have kept you going for years.
Understanding your patterns is definitely helpful, but true healing happens when your system begins to feel safe enough to let go. My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and grounded in neuroscience. We move at your pace, centering safety, choice, and connection. You don’t have to retell your entire story or push through discomfort to heal. In fact, I’ll often help you slow down, build capacity, and gently reconnect with the parts of yourself that may have gone quiet. Over time, this helps deepen self-trust and expand your ability to tolerate and move through difficult emotions.
