Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

I specialize in relational trauma. I begin by helping you feel safe and grounded through a combination of mindfulness, regulation techniques, and DBT skills. Your body and mind will become free to process your trauma as we journey from anxiety and shame toward reclaiming the forgotten parts of you, embracing the life you want to live, and embodying your authentic self. Alongside listening and processing, I use Internal Family Systems and a narrative approach to support you in this process.

I specialize in treating PTSD using EMDR, DBT-informed techniques, emotion-focused therapy, and psychodynamic approaches, tailored to each client's unique experiences with complex and intergenerational trauma. This integrative approach helps effectively process trauma and manage symptoms, promoting healing and improved quality of life.

I am an Emdria trained EMDR clinician and am extremely honored to assist people in healing from the symptoms and emotional distress that comes from disturbing life experiences. EMDR therapy is an evidenced based treatment that focuses on assisting you in reprocessing memories/past traumas that ultimately result in alleviating the distress associated with them.

You wonder if you have PTSD……. Trauma can present differently in each person. When you experience a sudden event or change in your life it can set off a trauma reaction. It either creates a “flight” or “fight” response. If this upsetting news or event can’t be processed by the mind it impacts you in a few different ways. Our therapy sessions will use Dialectical Behavioral, Narrative, and mindfulness-based practices. When working in therapy we will engage in a conversation that tells your story

As the Program Director for the Trauma, Stress, and Resilience Program at UCEBT, I understands that the impacts of trauma are typically far-reaching within oneself and often lead people away from being able to build the fulfilling life and relationships they desire. I strive to empower my clients to reclaim their lives, to prevent trauma from getting in the way of living in accordance with their values, and to find peace within themselves.

Stressful and traumatic experience can have a marked impact on us! We may have awareness of our triggers and the impact of our trauma, or, like many (most) of us our brains and bodies become hijacked and we feel anxious, unsettled, irritable, tense, fidgety, forgetful, or otherwise "off." Whether you have experienced stress/trauma from childhood or your family of origin, your relationships, medical/reproductive trauma, grief/loss, identity issues, abuse/neglect or otherwise.

You may find it difficult to create or stay in deep relationships, constantly waiting for the next shoe to drop, or feel like you're always a moment away from snapping, wanting to run away. Trauma touches us to our core, changing how we view life, self, and others. Trauma can range from problematic family dynamics to returning home from war. You deserve to share your story and release the control that trauma may have on your quality of life.

As part of our commitment to LGBTQ affirmative therapy in our clinical work, we focus on issues of stigma and shame, which are issues particularly notable to those in the LGBTQ community who are often marginalized by the prejudice and heterosexism that is pervasive in society. We are committed to helping all those we work with live lives of meaning, integrity, belonging, and dignity.

Treating trauma begins with a mind-body connection. Often people come to therapy to treat unresolved trauma. Sometimes this is known and other times it is revealed through a safe relationship with a therapist. Further, talk therapy alone is not usually enough to recover from trauma. I am trained in using eye movements, hypnotherapy, mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy, brainspotting, and yoga. Integrating these methods has proven to be most helpful for my clients.

Process and heal from old wounds, break out of the cycles that keep you stuck, and learn to connect with yourself and others in a way that helps you rediscover a sense of peace and meaning in life.

Trauma recovery begins with developing skills to reduce distress. EMDR is a therapeutic approach that has been shown to help overcome symptoms of PTSD. Trauma experiences are stored in the wrong form of memory, leaving you stuck and unable to move forward in an integrated and healthy way. Through EMDR, you can feel at peace with the past and empowered in the present. After a successful course of EMDR therapy, you can remember the trauma without being triggered.

Trauma experiences often continue their very real presence with us and know no timeline. Addressing this trauma in a safe space with plenty of time to slow down and work through all of the details and impacts on your life is the goal when I am with my clients. I will support you to take the lead in what you feel ready to process, and I will guide you in this healing with a strong and protective presence so you can focus on your own needs.

I have received training in EMDR, a powerful therapy approach for addressing trauma and emotional wounds. Additionally, I have undergone training in trauma-sensitive yoga and am a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). Drawing from these two approaches, I will help you connect with your physical and spiritual self to provide holistic healing.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a disorder. It is a a natural body function when we experience an unspeakable paradigm shift. The issue is that we are not educated on how to regulate ourselves and reorient our bodies for the lives we choose to live. I can help get “you” back by using techniques such as somatic experiencing, kundalini yoga and particular exercises that reorient you to living a more wholesome, empowered and connected experience in your body, mind and life.

Trauma is any experience that was beyond your ability to cope at the time, thus your entire system took note of that situation as "too much" and "must avoid at all costs", so that even when your capabilities change, your body's assumptions don't let you respond differently yet. This is a solvable problem! You can't just push through. Your body needs extra guidance to learn how to be okay now. Let's get that shit cleared out!

I have both lived and professional experience with PTSD, and work with clients who are experiencing both acute and complex PTSD (C-PTSD). I have completed additional trainings on treating CPTSD led by experts in the field of trauma therapy, and my approach to the therapeutic process is inherently trauma-informed, and centered around fostering both safety and agency.

Life's unexpected twists often leave us feeling lost in the aftermath. In the realm of trauma, where the unpredictable reigns, I strive to emerge as a steady hand for healing. With certifications from Trauma Institute International such as Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist – Individual (CCTSI), Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist – Family (CCTSF), and Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist-S (CCTSS) in Sex Trafficking and Exploitation, my expertise expands a spectrum of traumas.

Seeing a trauma therapist, or a brainspotter, can help almost any area of your life where you are feeling stuck. Together we can help release trauma, constant worry, the darkness of depression, feelings of not being good enough, artistic blocks, increase hope, support emotional regulation and so much more. Many folks have come to me after seeking sexual abuse therapy or traditional trauma therapist and continue to feel stuck. Brainspotting can help change that.