Healing from Trauma: Therapy to Reconnect with Life
Maybe you keep telling yourself, “That was long ago” or “I should be over this by now”—but your body and mind tell a different story. You might find yourself easily triggered in situations that seem safe, overwhelmed by shame or anxiety, or struggling to relax. Perhaps you’re caught in cycles of hypervigilance or emotional numbness, or your relationships feel fraught with mistrust or distance.
For many people, trauma can leave behind lingering symptoms that affect everyday life: sleep disruptions, trouble concentrating, feeling disconnected from others, or a constant sense of dread or unease. Sometimes these patterns began in childhood; other times they stem from a more recent event or series of experiences. Whatever the source, trauma can keep you stuck in survival mode long after the danger has passed.
The Many Faces of Trauma
Trauma can take many forms. Some experiences—like physical abuse, sexual assault, or surviving an accident—are easy to recognize as traumatic. But many others are more subtle or chronic. Emotional neglect, childhood emotional abuse, having verbally abusive parents, living with ongoing family conflict or mental illness, or being in an emotionally abusive relationship can leave just as deep an imprint. So can chronic stress from systemic racism, homophobia, or exposure to community violence.
Sometimes, clients come to therapy unsure whether what they’ve been through “counts” as trauma. If you find yourself struggling with the aftereffects of painful experiences—whether recent or long past—therapy can help. It’s about how these experiences are affecting you now, not how others might define them.
Trauma and Relationships
Unresolved trauma often affects how we relate to others. It can make trust difficult, relationships feel overwhelming, or boundaries hard to navigate. You might notice patterns of conflict, distance, or feeling stuck in certain relationship dynamics. Therapy can help you understand these patterns, process the underlying pain, and foster healthier, more connected relationships.
How I Work with Trauma
Trauma touches each person differently. What helps one person heal might not be what another needs. That’s why I draw from a range of approaches and shape our work around what will help you most.
Depending on the situation, we might draw from approaches such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Internal Family Systems (IFS), experiential dynamic work, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), or Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). These methods can help process emotional pain, address symptoms like intrusive memories or avoidance, and gently rebuild trust in yourself and others.
Across all approaches, my goal is the same: to help you build greater emotional flexibility, a deeper sense of safety, and a renewed capacity for connection—with yourself and with others.
What You Can Expect in Therapy
Many people worry that trauma therapy means reliving painful experiences. In therapy, you should never feel as though you are being made to re-experience trauma. Therapy should always help you stay grounded in the present as you work through difficult emotions, memories, beliefs, or body sensations—always at a pace that feels safe for you.
In our work, you will learn ways to calm and regulate your nervous system, gently process difficult emotions, and loosen the grip of trauma-based patterns. Over time, this can help you:
Sleep more restfully
Feel more present and grounded
Respond to triggers with greater flexibility
Improve your relationships and sense of trust
Reconnect with parts of yourself that may have felt lost or shut down
Develop a stronger sense of self-worth
Moving Forward
Healing from trauma takes courage—and often unfolds one step at a time. If the past is still affecting your life now, therapy can offer a path forward.
Through our work together, you can begin to feel more grounded in your body, calmer in your emotions, and more able to trust yourself and others. Over time, many clients find that they reconnect with parts of life that once felt shut down—joy, creativity, intimacy, or a renewed sense of purpose.
Whether this is your first time reaching out or a return after past efforts, I invite you to connect. Together, we can work toward helping you feel more grounded, more connected, and more free to live the life you want.
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