Therapy for Trauma

ONLINE THERAPY FOR ADULTS IN OHIO

Traumatic experiences can leave us feeling like life is happening to us.

You can see that there are good things in your life - at the same time, you feel a chronic underlying sense of not being good enough. It feels confusing to sort out what “trusting your gut” means, because you’re often struck with intense feelings that signal danger. You might feel surprised by the intensity of your emotions at times - or find yourself feeling disconnected/numb. You might be contemplating if past experiences are impacting you more than you realize, and then telling yourself it’s not “bad enough” to qualify as trauma, or that others have had it worse.

Trauma can be both painful experiences or events that happen to us - and can also be the good things that didn’t happen.

I often work with clients whose connection with the important adults in their life was obscured at times by struggles with substance use, conflict, lack of presence, or lack of understanding. Or they’ve experienced ruptures or trauma in relationships as an adult that have left a lasting impact.

Trauma can impact our lives in different ways. Do any of these resonate with you?

Feeling too much - Getting flooded and feeling on high alert, feeling constantly on edge, feeling surprised by the intensity of your emotions, feeling overwhelmed and like you’re running out of time, being reminded out of nowhere about distressing experiences.

Feeling too little - Feeling like you’re experiencing things on autopilot, like there’s a wall between you and your emotions, difficulty concentrating or feeling numb, the world feeling unreal or dreamlike.

Low self esteem - Having a sense that there is something wrong with you at your core, going out of your way to make others happy in relationships that aren’t reciprocal,  de-prioritizing your needs and not setting boundaries

Struggling in relationships - Feeling unable to trust other people, struggling to manage your emotions when triggered in your relationships, feeling that you’re not worthy of love and care.

Feeling unsettled in your body - Having medically unexplained symptoms, hypertension, difficulty sleeping, gastrointestinal problems

My Approach to Treating Trauma

Using a holistic approach tailored to you, we will get to the root cause of your distress.

Therapy approaches that are focused solely on talking or challenging/shifting your thoughts can sometimes be helpful in gaining new understanding or perspectives, but they don’t change the activation that comes when we run into things that unsettle us or make us feel unsafe. I specialize in therapy approaches (including EMDR and IFS) that allow us to get to the root of your distress. We’ll spend time learning new ways to self-soothe and cope - while moving towards the goal of healing what’s going on underneath the surface that’s prompting the activation you’re feeling.

I’ve worked with many people who struggle to trust providers, who are often feel stuck on high alert, and/or may be used to masking how much inner turmoil they are truly feeling. Because of this, it’s important to me to build a strong and trusting relationship with my clients. Trauma therapy inevitably involves growth and change, which isn’t always easy or comfortable. But it can and should also involve joy, humor and connection.

Methods

What we’ll work on

Trauma Therapy can help you to:

  • Resolve traumatic memories/experiences so that you’re able to experience greater relief and emotional regulation.

  • Develop new healthy ways to cope and self-soothe, increase emotionally resiliency, and rebuild trust in yourself.

  • Improve current relationships in your life and cultivate new ones

  • Increase your sense of self-worth and ability to practice self-compassion

Discover your strength, resilience and ability to create a life that’s yours.

FAQS

Common questions about therapy for trauma

  • Trauma can be anything that was too much, too soon, too fast, not enough. I see trauma not as the event that occurred, but the shifts that occurred inside you in response to the event. These shifts inside you can be experienced in a variety of ways including:

    Low self esteem

    Flashbacks/Nightmares

    Difficulty focusing

    Difficulty regulating your emotions

    Fear of being alone, fear of being abandoned

    People pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries

    Anticipatory fears/phobias

  • How long therapy takes depends on your goals and your history. I work with clients anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. While the answer is “it depends”, after an intake assessment, it’s possible for me to answer this question with much more detail and specificity to you. I also enjoy doing intensive work with motivated clients who would like to accelerate the therapy process rather than meet for weekly sessions.

  • EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a psychotherapy technique primarily used to treat trauma-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but it has also been applied to other mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and phobias. Click here to learn more about EMDR and how it can help.