Trauma Counseling
Trauma doesn't just live in a memory. It shapes the way you think, feel, relate, and move through the world. Effective trauma work requires a clinician who understands that complexity and is equipped to meet it with both care and skill.
My approach to trauma
Trauma touches every dimension of a person's experience: emotional, cognitive, physical, and relational. My work is grounded in ongoing training and informed by clinical research and the highest standards of care. Healing is rarely linear and rarely simple, and my approach accounts for that at every step.
I draw on a range of evidence-based modalities tailored to each client's needs and readiness. EMDR and ART are my primary modalities for trauma work, and I bring specialized training in each. Alongside these, a foundation of trauma-informed relational work creates the safety and pacing that deeper processing requires. No single approach fits every person, and I bring the training and flexibility to meet you where you are.
Trauma-informed talk therapy
A foundation of safe, paced, relational work that honors each client's readiness and builds the stability needed for deeper processing.
EMDR
An evidence-based approach using bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess stored traumatic memories and reduce their emotional charge.
ART
A focused approach that uses image replacement and the processing of bodily sensations to support the potential for accelerated healing and relief.
Trauma-informed talk therapy
My trauma work with both individuals and couples is guided by a three-stage model originally developed by Dr. Pierre Janet and further established by Judith Herman in her 1992 work, Trauma and Recovery. This model informs how I help clients navigate the work at every level, whether the focus is personal healing, relational recovery, or both. It is not a linear process. Clients may move between stages as needed, and stage one is always the foundation before moving forward.
I think of trauma recovery as both a marathon and an onion. The finish line is rarely in sight, and that's okay. My goal is to help you see the mile markers along the way and honor the layers you've already peeled back before ever walking through my door.
Stage One: Safety & Stabilization
Before anything else, we work to establish a sense of safety and stability. This includes developing a personalized treatment plan, building emotional awareness and regulation skills, identifying healthy coping patterns, and understanding your own trauma triggers and responses.
Stage Two: Remembrance & Mourning
With a stable foundation in place, we begin to approach the traumatic memories and experiences themselves at a pace that honors your healing. This stage involves carefully processing pain points, allowing the brain to relegate trauma to the past, and making space for genuine grief and mourning of what was lost.
Stage Three: Remembrance & Mourning
The focus shifts to building a new normal, one where the past no longer drives the present. Clients work toward reclaiming emotional, cognitive, physical, and relational well-being and redefining what a full life looks like from here.
Trauma issues I work with
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Past sexual abuse
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Childhood abuse & neglect
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Sexual assault
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Crime & violence
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Vehicular crashes
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First responder experiences
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Relational trauma
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Complex & developmental trauma
Trauma doesn't travel alone.
Trauma is often a root contributor to anxiety, panic, depression, anger, and relational difficulties. My approach accounts for this. Treatment plans are tailored to address multiple areas of a client's life when appropriate and can include a combination of individual and couples work depending on what's needed.
Trauma also ripples through relationships. When one or both partners carry significant trauma, it shapes the whole relational system. I am equipped to hold both individual trauma recovery and the relational impact of that work, collaborating across treatment as needed to support the whole picture.
Wherever you are in your healing journey, whether you're just beginning to name what happened or you've been carrying it for years, there is room to move forward. You don't have to go at it alone.
If you're ready to invest in your relationship, I'd welcome the conversation.