Therapy for Medical Trauma & Chronic Illness in Los Angeles

Unravel the impact of past medical experiences and chronic illness- gently, in a space where your body’s story is honored and heard.

Healing-centered therapy practice near Santa Monica helping clients navigate codependency and self-worth struggles

You deserve care the sees the whole you.

Medical trauma doesn’t always come from dramatic moments- it can come from being dismissed, poked, ignored, or left without answers.

If you’ve experienced medical trauma, chronic illness, or autoimmune conditions, therapy can help you feel safe in your body again. I offer trauma-informed, somatic therapy that supports nervous system regulation, emotional recovery, and rebuilding trust—especially after years of navigating dismissive or invalidating care.

Living with chronic illness can leave you feeling like a mystery to yourself. You may carry layers of anxiety, exhaustion, or hypervigilance that don’t always make sense on the surface. You might also be grieving the body or life you used to have—and that grief deserves space, too.

My approach blends Somatic Experiencing®, parts work, and attachment repair to gently support your healing. We’ll move at your pace, listening to what your body needs and never forcing what it’s not ready for.

You’re not imagining it. You’re not too sensitive. Your body holds real stories—and together, we can begin to make space for them.

IFS and EMDR therapy tools used by a Beverly Hills trauma therapist to support nervous system healing and integration

Healing happens when your body feels seen and believed.

Medical trauma and chronic illness aren’t “all in your head”—they live in your nervous system.

Medical experiences can leave lasting imprints—especially when you’ve felt dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told your symptoms were “just anxiety.” Living with an autoimmune or chronic condition can create patterns of hypervigilance, shutdown, or internalized mistrust in your own body.

Together, we’ll gently attune to what your body’s been holding. You’ll learn to recognize signals of overwhelm, reconnect with parts of you that have been in survival mode, and build safety and trust from the inside out. This is about tending to your body—not bypassing it.

What We Can Work On Together

Medical trauma and chronic illness can affect far more than your physical health. In therapy, we’ll gently explore how you body, emotions, and nervous system have adapted- and how we can support your healing.

Mistrust in Your Body or Doctors

After being dismissed or misdiagnosed, it's common to feel like you can’t trust your body—or the people supposed to care for it. Therapy can help rebuild that inner trust, so your body becomes a place you live in again, not a battleground.

Grief Over What Your Body Can’t Do

Maybe the small stuff feels like too much lately. Or you find yourself snapping at loved ones, then collapsing into guilt. These are signs your nervous system is overloaded. Together, we’ll use somatic tools to build more capacity and respond with compassion instead of shame.

Hypervigilance, Anxiety & Medical PTSD

If you freeze during appointments, spiral after symptoms, or feel on edge even when you're “fine,” your nervous system might be stuck in protection mode. Together, we’ll work on gently regulating these responses so you can feel more grounded and safe.

Shame, Self-Blame & Feeling “Too Much”

You may carry internalized shame from being told you’re dramatic, sensitive, or making things up. Therapy helps unlearn these false narratives and build a new relationship with yourself—one rooted in compassion, not blame.

We listen to the body. We honor what it’s been through. And we begin the slow, steady work of trusting it again-together.

What Healing Can Look Like in Medical Trauma & Automimmue Therapy…

This isn’t about “fixing” you—it’s about rebuilding trust in your body.

Chronic illness and medical trauma can leave your nervous system in survival mode. In therapy, we slow down, listen to your body, and begin healing what’s been dismissed or ignored.

Understand your body’s cues instead of overriding them

Practice regulation tools for flares, fatigue, and anxiety

Release shame from being dismissed or misdiagnosed

Rebuild body trust and emotional safety

Live with more ease while honoring your limits

Imagine

Feeling safe in your body after years of shutdown, flare-ups, or fear

Trusting your symptoms without second-guessing or self-blame

Having boundaries with doctors, loved ones, and even yourself—without guilt

Moving through flares or appointments with regulation tools that work for you

Letting go of the pressure to "be strong" and allowing yourself to soften

Living with illness and still feeling connected to joy, creativity, and meaning

How Therapy for Medical Trauma & Autoimmune Works

Let’s start rebuilding safety in your body, your boundaries, and your lived experience.

Reach Out

Schedule a free, no-pressure consult.
We’ll talk through what you’ve been navigating—whether that’s chronic illness, medical trauma, or years of being dismissed by providers. I’ll answer any questions you have, and we’ll see if this space feels like a good fit.

Build Trust & Safety

We go slow, listen to your body, and follow its pace.
Medical trauma often leaves the body feeling unsafe or unheard. In our work, we’ll gently explore the survival responses (like shutdown, anxiety, hypervigilance, or disconnection) that helped you cope—and start to shift them using somatic tools, parts work, and compassionate attunement.

Reconnect & Reclaim

Rebuild trust in your body and reclaim a sense of wholeness—even with illness.
Therapy isn’t about ignoring symptoms—it’s about honoring them with care. We’ll identify what your body needs to feel safe again, release internalized shame, and help you move from coping into something more connected, more spacious, and more you.

FAQs

  • Medical trauma happens when a healthcare experience leaves you feeling unsafe, unseen, or violated—physically or emotionally. If you've ever felt dismissed, gaslit, misdiagnosed, or overwhelmed by invasive procedures, that may be medical trauma. In therapy, we gently explore these experiences and how they’ve impacted your nervous system.

  • Yes—while I can’t treat physical illness, I support the emotional, somatic, and psychological toll that chronic conditions often bring. Together, we can work on rebuilding trust in your body, regulating your nervous system, and easing the emotional pain that often comes with ongoing health issues.

  • If you've felt dismissed or told your symptoms are "just in your head," you're not alone. My work is grounded in the belief that your body’s signals are real and valid. Therapy here is about listening to your experience—not minimizing it—and offering tools for regulation and repair.

  • I use a blend of Somatic Experiencing®, Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, and mindfulness-based practices. These approaches help us gently reconnect to your body, heal protective parts, and release stuck survival responses—without re-traumatizing or rushing your process.

  • Not at all. We go at your pace. You never have to share anything before you're ready. This work is about creating safety first—sometimes that means sitting with how your body feels now, not retelling the whole story.

  • Absolutely. It’s common for your nervous system to stay on high alert after traumatic medical events. We’ll use body-based tools to help you regulate, reconnect, and feel more at ease—especially in moments that used to feel activating.