Trauma Therapy
Moving Forward Without Leaving Parts of Yourself Behind
Difficult experiences don't always stay in the past.
Sometimes we move forward with our lives while our minds and bodies continue responding to something that happened months or years ago.
You may feel anxious or constantly on alert. You may avoid certain situations, memories, or conversations. Relationships may feel different. You might feel disconnected from yourself, easily overwhelmed, unusually reactive, or unable to understand why certain experiences affect you so strongly.
For others, trauma doesn't feel like a vivid memory at all. It may show up as numbness, disconnection, difficulty trusting, shame, sleep problems, or a persistent sense that something isn't right.
Trauma therapy provides a space to understand these responses and begin processing experiences that continue to affect your present life.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is not defined only by what happened.
People can experience the same event very differently, and experiences that profoundly affect one person may not affect another in the same way.
Trauma may be connected to a single overwhelming event or to experiences that occurred repeatedly over time.
People seek trauma therapy following experiences such as:
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Loss or sudden life changes
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Accidents or medical experiences
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Abuse or neglect
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Difficult childhood experiences
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Relationship trauma or betrayal
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Exposure to violence
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Frightening or overwhelming events
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Pregnancy, birth, or reproductive experiences
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Family instability or separation
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Repeated experiences of feeling unsafe or powerless
You don't need to decide whether what happened was “bad enough” to deserve support.
If an experience continues to affect how you feel, relate, function, or experience yourself today, therapy can provide a place to explore it.
How Trauma Can Show Up
Trauma responses can look very different from one person to another.
You might notice:
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Anxiety or panic
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Hypervigilance or constantly anticipating danger
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Intrusive memories or images
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Nightmares or disrupted sleep
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Avoiding reminders of what happened
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Emotional numbness or disconnection
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Irritability or intense emotional reactions
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Shame or self-blame
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Difficulty trusting others
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Feeling disconnected in relationships
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Physical reactions to reminders or triggers
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Feeling “stuck” even though you understand intellectually that the experience is over
These responses often developed for a reason. Understanding them can be an important part of healing.
Trauma Therapy Is More Than Telling the Story
There is a common misconception that trauma therapy means immediately describing everything that happened in detail.
It doesn't have to.
Trauma work should happen thoughtfully and at a pace that considers your readiness, stability, resources, and individual needs.
We may begin by understanding what is happening in your life now, identifying triggers and patterns, strengthening emotional regulation, and building resources before directly processing traumatic memories.
You remain an active participant in deciding what we work on and how quickly we move.
My Approach to Trauma Therapy
I use an integrative, relational, and trauma-informed approach.
Depending on your needs, treatment may incorporate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), cognitive and behavioral approaches, mindfulness and emotional-regulation strategies, and relational or psychodynamic exploration.
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EMDR
EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy developed to help people process distressing memories and experiences.
Rather than focusing exclusively on talking through an event repeatedly, EMDR uses a structured process to help the brain work with memories that continue to feel emotionally charged or unresolved.
EMDR isn't appropriate for every person or every stage of therapy. When we use it, we first spend time understanding your history, current functioning, resources, and treatment goals.
You Are More Than What Happened to You
Trauma can begin shaping the way a person sees themselves.
Experiences of fear, rejection, loss, betrayal, or powerlessness can become intertwined with beliefs such as:
Something is wrong with me.
I should have handled it differently.
I can't trust anyone.
I'm not safe.
I should be over this by now.
Therapy creates an opportunity to examine these conclusions with compassion and perspective.
Healing doesn't require forgetting what happened. The goal is for the past to become something you can remember without it continually determining how you experience the present.
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Getting Started
You don't need to arrive at therapy knowing exactly what you need to work on.
We can begin by understanding what has been happening, what continues to affect you, and what you would like to be different.
From there, we can develop a treatment approach that respects both where you've been and where you want to go.
Trauma Therapy & EMDR in Calabasas, CA
In-person psychotherapy in Calabasas and online therapy for clients throughout California.