Trauma-informed therapy begins with an understanding that difficult experiences can affect much more than how you remember the past. They can influence how you respond to stress, experience relationships, see yourself, and feel in your body.

When we work with clients who have experienced trauma, we do not assume that they need to immediately talk through everything that happened. For many clients, the first step is creating a greater sense of safety and stability. We may work together on understanding emotional and physical responses, developing coping strategies, and building the ability to stay grounded when difficult emotions arise.

As clients feel more stable and ready, we may begin processing experiences that continue to affect them. The pace is collaborative and individualized. Our goal is to help you feel more grounded in the present rather than controlled by what happened in the past.

There is no single approach to trauma therapy that works for every client. In our work, we consider your history, symptoms, goals, and readiness when determining which approach may be most helpful.

Some clients benefit from EMDR, which can help process distressing memories that continue to feel emotionally charged. Others benefit from Trauma-Focused CBT, particularly when trauma has contributed to negative beliefs, anxiety, avoidance, or behavioral patterns.

We may also incorporate somatic approaches when trauma is showing up strongly in the body, hypnotherapy when appropriate, or mindfulness and DBT skills to support emotional regulation and coping.

Sometimes we use one primary approach. Other times, we integrate several modalities as therapy progresses. The goal is always to find an approach that feels appropriate and useful for you.

EMDR and CBT are both approaches we may use when working with clients who have experienced trauma, but they work in different ways.

Trauma-Focused CBT focuses on the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. In our work, we may use CBT to help clients identify beliefs that developed following trauma and begin challenging patterns such as self-blame, avoidance, or feeling powerless.

EMDR focuses more directly on processing distressing memories and experiences so they feel less emotionally overwhelming in the present. Clients may find that memories that once triggered a strong emotional or physical response become easier to hold without feeling pulled back into the experience.

Neither approach is automatically better. When deciding between EMDR and CBT, we consider what you are experiencing, how you tend to process information, your treatment goals, and what feels most comfortable for you. In some cases, we may incorporate elements of both.

You do not need a PTSD diagnosis, or even certainty that what you experienced "counts" as trauma, to explore whether trauma therapy could be helpful.

In our work with clients, trauma often shows up in ways that are not immediately recognized as trauma. You may feel constantly on guard, have difficulty trusting people, struggle to set boundaries, experience intense emotional reactions, feel disconnected from yourself, or find yourself repeating relationship patterns you do not understand.

For others, it may look like anxiety, low self-esteem, emotional numbness, difficulty feeling safe, avoidance, intrusive memories, or a tendency to shut down when situations become emotionally overwhelming.

Sometimes clients come to us because they understand what happened intellectually but are surprised by how much it continues to affect their lives.

You do not have to know exactly what is wrong before beginning therapy. Part of our work together is understanding what is happening, identifying where these patterns may come from, and determining what can change. A consultation can be a first step in figuring out whether a trauma-focused approach is right for you.