Trauma & Complex PTSD Therapy
EMDR & Somatic Experiencing® Treatment in Los Angeles
It’s okay not to be okay.
Surviving trauma can leave invisible scars that affect every part of your life.
You might be experiencing nightmares or flashbacks, feeling constantly on edge as if waiting for something bad to happen. Perhaps certain sounds or places trigger intense fear, or you struggle with trusting others after abuse or betrayal. For those with complex trauma (C-PTSD) from prolonged hurt (like ongoing childhood abuse or repeated toxic relationships), the wounds can run even deeper – affecting your sense of self and safety in the world.
If you recognize these experiences, I want you to know: there is a path to healing, and you don’t have to walk it alone.
Trauma therapy helps reduce symptoms like flashbacks, anxiety, emotional numbness, or hypervigilance—and gives you tools to feel safe, grounded, and empowered again.
Trauma-informed therapy means that I prioritize safety, choice, and collaboration in every step of the process.
What is Trauma Therapy?
Trauma therapy is a form of psychotherapy focused on helping you heal after distressing or overwhelming experiences. Whether the trauma was from a single event (like an accident) or ongoing exposure (such as emotional abuse or neglect), these experiences can leave a lasting impact on your mind and body.
I understand that certain therapy techniques or even words might be triggering, so I’m always checking in with you. We’ll move forward together when you feel ready. It also means I view many symptoms (anxiety, depression, even rage or dissociation) as understandable responses to trauma, rather than something “wrong” with you. This perspective helps reduce shame and empowers you as the expert of your own experiences. In practical terms, trauma-informed care might involve taking breaks if you’re overwhelmed, ensuring you have coping skills to handle emotions between sessions, and never pressuring you to talk about details until you feel safe. My job is to support you and help you regain a sense of control and empowerment in your life.
A Mind, Body, Spirit Approach to Trauma Therapy
Healing from trauma is possible with the right support.
Somatic Experiencing®
Trauma doesn’t just live in your mind—it lives in your body. You might notice it as tension in your chest, a knot in your stomach, numbness, or chronic pain.
Somatic Experiencing® is a body-based therapy that helps you gently notice and track your body’s signals in real time. Together, we’ll support your nervous system in completing the fight, flight, or freeze responses that may have gotten stuck.
This kind of somatic therapy helps release trauma that traditional talk therapy sometimes can’t. Over time, your body can begin to feel more relaxed, safe, and at home.
IFS/ Parts Work
We all have different parts of ourselves—the critic, the people-pleaser, the anxious part, the angry part. Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you get to know these parts with curiosity and compassion rather than judgment.
In IFS therapy, you'll learn to listen to what each part needs and help them find new, healthier roles. When your parts feel heard and valued, they can step back and let your core Self lead—the calm, connected, curious part of you that knows how to heal.
This approach helps you develop a loving relationship with all aspects of yourself, creating inner harmony and lasting change from the inside out.
Mindfulness
Racing thoughts, overwhelming emotions, constant worry—sometimes your mind feels like it's running the show. Mindfulness-based therapy teaches you how to step back and observe your thoughts and feelings without getting swept away by them.
Through gentle practices like breathing exercises, body awareness, and present-moment techniques, you'll learn to create space between yourself and your experiences.
Over time, mindfulness helps you feel more grounded, less reactive, and more connected to your inner wisdom and strength.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a proven therapy that helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories using bilateral stimulation.
It’s not hypnosis—you stay in full control. EMDR allows you to revisit painful experiences in a safe, supported way so that they become less triggering over time.
Many clients feel more grounded after EMDR: the memory may still exist, but the panic or intensity around it softens. You no longer feel hijacked by it—and that’s powerful.
You don’t have to carry it all alone.
With the support of Somatic Experiencing® and EMDR, it’s possible to process what your body has been holding, release what no longer serves you, and return to a steadier sense of safety—one step at a time, and always at your pace.
Who Can Benefit from Trauma Therapy
No matter your story, you deserve a safe place to heal.
If you’re struggling to move past difficult events—whether they happened recently or years ago—trauma therapy can help. People of all backgrounds and identities experience trauma. This includes childhood abuse survivors, those recovering from sexual assault or medical trauma, and individuals navigating chronic stress or race-based, gender-based, or LGBTQ+ trauma.
As you progress in therapy, those triggers won’t have the same hold on you. You may start to sleep better, trust others more, and feel a resurgence of joy or interest in things you used to love. Many clients say they feel “lighter” and more present. We’ll also work on helping you establish healthy boundaries and self-care, especially if trauma taught you to ignore your own needs. Post-traumatic growth is real – many people come out the other side of therapy feeling more resilient and deeply in tune with themselves than ever before.
The goal of trauma therapy isn’t to erase what happened – it’s to help you reclaim your life and sense of self.
Imagine
Feeling safe in your own body again—without the tension, shutdown, or constant hypervigilance
Reconnecting with the parts of you that went into hiding to survive
Waking up without the weight of fear or the dread of reliving the past
Responding to triggers with grounded presence, not panic
Letting go of shame that was never yours to carry
Trusting that you're not broken—your responses made sense at the time
Experiencing deep rest, connection, and joy—without guilt
Living from your wholeness, not from your wounds
Working through Trauma & Complex PTSD can help you…
Rewire how your nervous system responds to triggers, so you feel safer, more grounded, and in control
Unlearn survival strategies like people-pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional shutdown
Build embodied trust with yourself—feeling at home in your body, not at war with it
Soften harsh inner dialogue shaped by trauma, and practice compassionate self-connection
Reclaim your worth from external validation, achievement, or others’ expectations
FAQs
-
PTSD often develops after a single traumatic event, like an accident or assault. Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), on the other hand, results from prolonged or repeated trauma—such as childhood neglect, abuse, or emotionally unsafe relationships. C-PTSD can include symptoms like emotional numbness, chronic self-doubt, difficulty trusting others, or feeling “stuck” in survival mode. Therapy for C-PTSD addresses both trauma memories and the lasting patterns that formed as a result.
-
Trauma can keep your nervous system stuck in survival mode—constantly scanning for danger, even when you're safe. This may show up as chronic tension, hypervigilance, fatigue, sleep issues, or dissociation. Trauma therapy helps regulate your nervous system using body-based techniques like somatic experiencing, grounding, and breathwork to release stored stress and restore a sense of safety.
-
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy that helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories using bilateral stimulation, often through guided eye movements. It allows you to revisit trauma in a safe, supported way—reducing the emotional charge of the memory without needing to relive every detail. Many clients report feeling lighter and more in control after EMDR sessions.
-
No. Trauma therapy does not require you to relive or share every detail. In fact, somatic and EMDR approaches can help you process traumatic experiences without needing to verbally recount them. We prioritize safety, pacing, and consency—your healing happens in a way that honors your readiness.
-
Absolutely. Feeling numb, emotionally shut down, or disconnected from your body or relationships are common trauma responses. Through gentle nervous system work, mindfulness, and relational repair, therapy helps restore emotional aliveness and rebuild your connection to yourself and others.
-
Trauma-informed therapy means your therapist understands how trauma impacts the brain, body, and behavior. It emphasizes safety, trust, and choice. In our work together, this looks like: honoring your boundaries, never rushing you, and always working collaboratively. You are never pressured to go faster than what feels tolerable.
-
Everyone’s healing journey is different. Some clients feel relief within a few months, while others may work through trauma over a longer period, especially with complex trauma or C-PTSD. We’ll move at your pace, building in tools for safety and regulation before processing deeper material. You’ll always have a voice in the timeline.
-
I work with clients navigating a wide range of trauma, including: childhood emotional neglect, sexual abuse, medical trauma, relational betrayal, birth trauma, and marginalized identity-based trauma (LGBTQ+, race-based trauma, etc.). Complex trauma and attachment wounds are at the heart of much of my work.