Trauma Therapy
Some things stop happening long before they stop mattering.
I work with adults who are still affected by difficult experiences, including trauma and PTSD-related concerns, and experiences that never had a name. Sometimes there’s a clear event behind it, and often there isn’t. This is individual therapy, and where we spend our time is something we decide together.
Not always obviously about the past
- Bracing for something before you know what it is.
- Going quiet when a conversation turns tense, and not being sure why.
- Being the calm one in every room, and never quite off duty.
- A reaction bigger than the moment, which you can see, and which happens anyway.
Built for somewhere else
A response can make sense and still outlast its usefulness. Staying alert, staying small, staying capable: each can be a reasonable answer to something, whether or not it was ever a single event. You don’t need to know exactly where it came from for it to be worth understanding.
| Makes sense | Still costs |
|---|---|
| Watching how everyone around you is feeling. | You’re tired by the end of every gathering. |
| Keeping some distance until you’ve seen how things go. | Closeness has to wait for a certainty it rarely gets. |
| Needing nothing from anyone. | Being helped feels stranger than managing alone. |
Ordinary calm can feel unfamiliar, even when nothing is wrong.
Not required
- A name for it.
- An account in the right order.
- Certainty that it was bad enough.
- A decision, in advance, about how much to say.
Some people want to talk through what happened, and some would rather not go there at all. Either can be a reasonable place to start, and where we spend our time is something we decide together.
Working with it directly
A reaction that seems out of proportion usually has its own logic. I’m interested in finding it.
The work is collaborative. I’m interested in how earlier experiences shape the way you respond now, in relationships and in how you treat yourself, and in what you’d like to be different.
More room to choose
What may start to shift:
- A raised voice or a long silence registers as information, not an emergency.
- You can be looked after without keeping track of what you owe.
- You can sit in a quiet room without part of you staying on duty.
- A reaction still arrives, but you have a moment to decide what to do with it.
Nothing has to be forgotten for the past to get a smaller say.
Where this tends to connect
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Relationship Issues
If it mostly shows up in how you connect with other people.
-
Anxiety & Overthinking
If it mostly shows up as a mind that doesn’t switch off.
You don’t need to explain it all in your first message.
Get in TouchSessions are online for clients in New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as eligible clients in Florida through my registered telehealth provider status. I provide therapy in English and Spanish. Questions about cost are covered on Rates & Insurance, and other practical questions on the FAQ.