One of my specialties is helping adults heal from trauma. Trauma can arise from a single overwhelming event, repeated painful experiences, or relationships in which safety, trust, and emotional needs were not consistently supported. These experiences may include emotional, physical, or sexual abuse; events beyond a person’s control; abandonment; or loss, including miscarriage, stillbirth, a traumatic birth, or the death of a loved one.
Many adults I work with struggle with attachment trauma rooted in early relationships with parents or caregivers. My speciality is the recovery of Adult Children of Narcissistic or Immature Parents. When those relationships involve emotional absence, inconsistency, neglect, or abuse, the effects can extend into adulthood, influencing how people cope with stress, navigate challenges, and connect with others.
I also help adults navigate difficult sibling relationships shaped by experiences within their family of origin. The roles siblings adopted to cope with their childhood circumstances can continue to affect their relationships long after childhood has ended.
The effects of trauma may appear as anxiety, depression, anger, emotional numbness, racing thoughts, self-harm, or substance use. Some of these responses may have developed as ways to cope with overwhelming experiences, even if they now cause distress or interfere with daily life.
My approach begins with helping clients build a sense of safety, establish healthy boundaries, and strengthen their ability to manage difficult emotions. Drawing on Natural Processing, Somatic Experiencing, Adult Attachment-Focused Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), I work collaboratively with clients to explore the connection between mind and body and support healing. Throughout this process, I encourage greater confidence, empowerment, and resilience.
I offer weekly sessions, sessions every other week, and intensive trauma reprocessing sessions for individuals. Extended and intensive sessions provide additional time for focused work and may be helpful for clients who want to explore persistent patterns or work through experiences that feel difficult to move beyond. Together, we determine the pace and format that best support each client’s needs and readiness.
Trauma affects more than our thoughts and emotions; it can also influence how our bodies respond to stress, relationships, and everyday experiences. Even when a difficult event is in the past, the nervous system may continue to respond as though danger is still present.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented therapeutic approach that helps individuals develop greater awareness of their physical sensations and nervous system responses. Rather than focusing exclusively on talking about painful experiences, this approach gently explores how stress and trauma may be experienced and expressed in the body.
For adults who have experienced childhood trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, abuse, or overwhelming life events, Somatic Experiencing offers an opportunity to explore patterns of tension, hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, or disconnection from the body.
Through a gradual and collaborative process, I help clients recognize their body’s responses, identify sensations associated with safety and distress, and develop a greater capacity to manage difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed.
Sessions move at a pace that respects each individual’s comfort, readiness, and needs. Clients are not required to recount every detail of their traumatic experiences to participate in this work.
Somatic Experiencing can complement other trauma-focused approaches, including EMDR and attachment-focused therapy. Together, these approaches support greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and a more connected relationship with oneself.
EMDR is a structured, extensively researched psychotherapy for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During EMDR, clients briefly focus on a distressing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, typically guided eye movements. This process can help reduce the emotional distress associated with the memory and support more adaptive beliefs about themselves and their experiences.
The goal is not simply to understand what happened in the past, but to help clients experience a greater sense of safety, connection, and choice in the present.
Please watch the video below to learn more about EMDR and how it works.