Many people begin therapy unsure whether their experience “counts” as trauma. You might not have a single event that stands out, or be able to remember much about your past. Instead, maybe you notice patterns in the present. Maybe you live with a constant feeling of being on edge, a pervasive numbness, or a nagging sense of being bad or worthless. Maybe relationships feel hard and confusing, like something you’ll never get right. Or maybe it feels like your emotions run the show, no matter how hard to try to rein them in or outrun them. Whether what you went through was “bad enough” or not, these patterns can point towards trauma. 

What is Trauma?

Traumatic events are ones that cause us to feel a sense of threat, as well as a sense of powerlessness in the face of that threat. This combination overwhelms our survival instincts, leading to trauma. Trauma, however, is not so much about the event itself, but the wounds it leaves behind. 

Much of these wounds take root in parts of our brain that exist outside of logic, language, and consciousness. Instead, trauma is largely held in our emotions, sensations, and physical impulses. It shows up as fear, shame, emotional reactivity, a hyper-active nervous system, difficulty connecting with others, and attempts to dampen feelings that seem too big to handle. 

The wounds of trauma are triggered whenever we encounter something reminiscent, on some level, of traumatic events. Quickly and unconsciously, emotions and sensory experiences related to the event flood our system, and our overwhelmed survival instincts scramble to keep us safe. The result is interfacing with the world predominantly through survival strategies, the ones that got us through traumatic events and developed to protect us from emotional and sensory flashbacks. 

The Difference Between PTSD and Complex PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is usually the result of a single traumatic event, such as an assault, accident, or disaster. On the other hand, Complex PTSD develops from chronic, repeated traumatic events, which are often interpersonal in nature. 

PTSD and Complex PTSD share many features, however, Complex PTSD tends to be more strongly characterized by reactive emotions, relationship difficulties, and negative feelings and beliefs about oneself.

How Therapy Can Help Trauma

My approach to therapy addresses the ways in which you continue, here in the present, to experience the wounds traumatic events have left behind. We’ll move gently, at your pace, without needing to relive painful memories in vivid detail.

Starting with respect for the resilience you already hold, together we’ll build your capacity to contain and shift intense inner experiences, as well as explore ways to be with what comes up. We’ll work to understand and transform your automatic, unconscious responses to reminders of traumatic events. Over time, this creates space for more of your authentic self to emerge and respond to the world, rather than your survival strategies. 

My approach is collaborative, warm, and grounded in the belief that you already carry the impulse toward healing. I’m just here to support its unfolding.