Therapy for Trauma
Online & In-Person in Los Angeles, CA
PROFESSIONAL
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Transform past wounds & move forward into freedom.
The past doesn’t have to define your sense of well-being today.
Areas of Expertise
Complex Trauma
Childhood Sexual Abuse
Incest
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Emotional Neglect
Chaotic Family of Origin
Surviving Violence
Surviving a Loved One’s Suicide
Grief
Betrayal
Enmeshment
Trauma often has a profound, ripple effect on many areas of life beyond the initial event.
Perhaps something major has happened in your life that you need help making sense of & moving past. Or perhaps you feel a constant dis-ease and the source isn’t obvious. Maybe there’s a series of triggers you feel like you can’t get away from that have trailed you since your trauma occurred. If you feel emotionally stuck & in a holding pattern you’re in the right place.
Using a top-down & a bottom up approach we can change the way you consciously relate to your trauma as well as how you unconsciously organize yourself and your life due to the trauma. Working somatically will let you heal beyond insight and explanations. Working with your thoughts will let you examine how you’re thinking and take responsibility for how you’re relating to your thoughts.
This protocol is thorough, deep, empowering, and life-affirming.
Trauma can impact:
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Unresolved trauma can stunt personal development by keeping you trapped in survival mode.
Instead of focusing on growth, achieving goals, or pursuing passions, much of your energy is consumed by managing emotional pain & avoiding triggers.
The big picture may become colored, feeling heavy, bleak & exhausting. Optimism seems naive & futile. A general feeling of powerlessness may cloud your sense of agency & control in your life.
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You’re noticing that you struggle with trust, emotional distance & guarding. Conflict & friction may arise in your relationships because you struggle to regulate emotions & feel volatile. All of this makes it hard to connect with people in your life & you feel extremely isolated in your experience.
Feelings such as despair, guilt, shame, anxiety, or depression flood you when you can’t connect & act “normal”.
Other common issues that can develop from untreated trauma include:
Fear of vulnerability
Attachment issues
Difficulty maintaining healthy boundaries
Unconscious reenactment of trauma through pursuing unhealthy relationships or dangerous situations that resemble the trauma, or
Avoidance of people or environments that are even slightly related to or resemble details related to the unresolved traumatic experience
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You may be wondering why you aren’t excelling in your work life. Or why it seems like everyone else can do life easier than you can.
Perhaps you’re struggling with:
Focus
Memory issues
Decision-making
Reduced productivity
Motivation & exhaustion
Procrastination
These are common trauma symptoms, & they make it hard to keep up with work demands. It’s normal to feel burnout and experience stunted career growth when these symptoms are present.
Alternatively… you could be completely burying your trauma by using work to avoid feeling. Work could be a “safe” place to hide & keep your head down. Perhaps the term “workaholic” has been used to describe you before. You may be overcompensating as well, using your value at work to cover up negative feelings you have as a result of trauma.
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The emotional & mental burden of unresolved trauma almost inevitably detrimentally impacts your sense of self in a variety of ways
Self Direction n & Self-Confidence have taken a hit & become distorted as you struggle to experience a sense of agency in your life. Perhaps you feel like life is happening to you, not for you, like a pinball in a pinball machine. Your sense of agency has been clouded by overwhelming emotions & intrusive thoughts.
Self-Worth has plummeted due to feelings of inadequacy, self-blame, or believing you deserve the pain you experienced. You even avoid pursuing good opportunities or forming healthy relationships because you feel unworthy & undeserving.
Shame, Emotional & Mental Health If you’re having a hard time regulating emotions this can lead to a second layer of shame known as the 2nd arrow. It means this: You’re not only struggling with the intrusion of feelings such as anger, hopelessness, despair, depression, anxiety, fear, & guilt- but you’re also embarrassed or ashamed that you’re feeling that way at all. You feel like you should be coping better.
Emotional Regulation is challenging. Sadness & abandonment are ever present & feelings of joyousness are fleeting if not impossible. Black & white thinking, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or nightmares may be disrupting your peace of mind & overall sense of well-being.
This extra emotional load can impact your ability to be resilient and cope with everyday stressors.
The good news is…
You don’t have to live this way.
Whether you have an accumulation of “smaller” traumas or if something “big” happened, trauma therapy can relieve you from the plague of symptoms that accompany it.
You can think of working with trauma like wiping off a mirror that has a thick layer of dust on it. When you look in the mirror with the all the dust on it, your true self is covered with the symptoms & impacts that trauma leaves. It’s like you’ve been imprinted with fear. Once the mirror is cleaned, your true self is visible again & you can see who you really are.
You are not your trauma or your symptoms.
Together, let’s uncover who you really are.
Together we’ll:
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Process
Develop understanding, cultivate insight, urburden & reveal the causes of your suffering.
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Identify Patterns
Identify & break free from mental, emotional, & behavioral patterns that that aren't serving you.
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Build Tools
Create a personalized toolbox with new ways to meet your needs, manage stress, & navigate life's challenges.
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Move Forward
Take ownership of your life & start experiencing the positive change you deserve.
Therapy for trauma can help you:
Overcome the darkness so you can take what you want from the experience & move forward.
I’ll be here each step of the way to make sure you’re getting the support you need to thrive.
FAQs
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If you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or struggling to cope with everyday life or with “big picture” life, therapy can provide support. It's okay to seek help even if you’re unsure—therapy is a safe space to explore your feelings.
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The first session is an opportunity to get to know each other. We’ll discuss your goals, concerns, and how therapy can support you. It’s also a chance for you to ask questions and see if you feel comfortable with the therapist.
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Absolutely. Working on your trauma will have a positive impact on your entire life. The individual therapy will help you navigate relationship challenges.
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The length of therapy varies depending on your goals, needs, and the practice of principles and tools outside of therapy room. Some people find relief in just a few sessions, while most benefit from longer-term support. I will work with you to create a plan that suits you.
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It's common to feel more emotional or vulnerable when first beginning trauma therapy as you start processing painful experiences. However, with a skilled therapist and ongoing support, these feelings tend to subside, leading to long-term healing and relief.
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Trauma is an emotional response to a distressing or life-threatening event. It can result from a single incident, like an accident; or from prolonged, repeated events, such as abuse or benign neglect.
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Trauma can be categorized into acute trauma (a single, isolated event), chronic trauma (repeated or prolonged events like domestic violence), and complex trauma (exposure to multiple, ongoing traumatic experiences, often involving relationships and trust).
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While regular or acute trauma usually involves a single, isolated event resulting in intense shock or fear,, complex trauma stems from ongoing, repeated trauma that deeply disrupts a person’s emotional and psychological foundation, often leading to more complex and long-lasting effects. This often arises from relationships where there’s a power imbalance, such as childhood abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or long-term exploitation.
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Trauma triggers the brain’s "fight, flight, freeze, or fawn" response, which can lead to long-term changes in brain functioning. It can affect memory, emotional regulation, and decision-making, and may manifest physically through chronic pain, headaches, or digestive issues. Essentially, when we are in trauma mode, we are often frozen in a state of fear and the prefrontal cortex, which you can think of at the CEO of the brain, responsible for things like friendship, daydreaming and pursuing goals, is offline, while our amygdala and limbic system, this is the oldest part of our brain, responsible for survival, is on overdrive.
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Trauma therapy involves creating a safe space to explore and process traumatic memories and feelings. I will guide you through exercises or conversations designed to help you understand your trauma, reframe your experiences, and build coping mechanisms. However, trauma therapy does not mean you are not expected to recount or relive your trauma in detail every session. In fact, some clients never retell their story play by play. We want to grow and move forward, and any amount of recounting you feel would be helpful to do that we can do- but that is only one aspect of the process.
Therapy for Trauma Survivors
Who’s it for
Counseling & therapy is for you if you’re ready to heal, dig deep, and experience relief. You’re driven by a desire to not be controlled by your past and you’re open to reflecting on your past experiences, thoughts, and behaviors to improve your life. While trauma therapy does NOT require you to detail the events of your trauma, you ARE ready to unburden yourself from carrying the secrets or the heaviness of the experience.
You understand that this process may be challenging and uncomfortable, but you believe healing is possible and know the rewards will be invaluable. I would be honored to help guide you in that journey.
We’ll use techniques from mindfulness, CBT, IFS, psychodynamic therapy & more to help you foster insight, get unstuck, & move into the life you desire. It may be hard or uncomfortable work at times, but the end result will be deep transformation & irrevocably belong to you. Your results will be worth their weight in gold.
Does this sound like you? Let’s chat. I offer in-person, online sessions, & flexible times to accommodate your busy schedule.
Who it’s not for
If you're looking solely for validation or a place to vent, I may not be the right therapist for you. Therapy is about challenging the status quo, uncovering & healing trauma, & untangling deeply ingrained narratives & perspectives that keep us stuck. True transformation requires time, embracing the process, & being willing to feel & sit with discomfort. Last but not least, it requires being willing to try new things to foster real change
Therapy with me is not for everyone & that’s ok. Those who shy away from feeling uncomfortable or looking into their past will likely not enjoy working with me or get the results they’re looking for.
If you're seeking a quick solution to your stress, hoping a TikTok hack can get you unstuck, to simply return to old habits, I might not be the right fit for you. My approach to therapy is centered on doing the deeper work necessary for lasting change, which takes time. While I do provide tools to help with everyday challenges, the focus is on fostering sustainable, long-term growth.
Feel Better
with
Chrysalis Therapy
Feel Better with Chrysalis Therapy
