Trauma
I specialize in working with clients who struggle with not being able to put the pain of the past behind them. This pain is deeply distressing or disturbing that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. Most people have a sense of helplessness and fear. Their sleep and concentration may be impacted.
Complex PTSD is a specific form of long-term trauma. I specialize in helping people who have experienced feelings of being trapped or powerless due to childhood emotional neglect or ongoing physical abuse. It can leave them feeling on edge all the time, stuck in patterns of self-blame, or disconnected from themselves and others. To read more about trauma, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Trauma can spill over into these other symptoms:
Anxiety
Worries keep you up at night, replaying scenarios in your mind that never seem to quiet down. Your loved ones tell you that you’re constantly on edge, and deep down, you know they’re right. You feel overwhelmed by the endless list of things you need to do, as if the weight of it all is pressing down on you, leaving little room to breathe or find peace.
Crying
If you’re someone who easily feels other people’s pain, you might find it difficult to manage the impulse to cry. Many things may stir up your tears, often because unresolved sadness from past difficult experiences is still lingering. On the other hand, you might be the opposite—unable to cry at all. This suppression of tears can also be a byproduct of trauma, reflecting the ways your mind and body have learned to protect you.
Chronic Pain
Have you seen many health professionals who tell you they don’t understand why your pain exists? The pain may be related to a stuck emotion that didn’t get to be expressed and is now showing up in your body. When emotions remain unprocessed, they can manifest physically, creating discomfort or chronic pain that feels unexplainable. Addressing these emotions can often be the key to releasing the tension and finding relief, helping you reconnect with your body in a healthier, more balanced way.
Grief and loss
Losing a love one can be a shock to your body. When you experience a painful event, it can feel like the ground beneath you has collapsed, leaving you unsteady and searching for footing. Grief is the longing for what once was, while trauma is the echo of what happened, replaying in ways we can’t always control.
It’s not just about what happened to you—it’s about how it keeps showing up in your emotions, relationships, and even your body, making everyday life feel overwhelming.
What is Trauma?
During the pandemic, all of us have been through trauma. For some of us who lost a love one, this type of wounding on your emotional life is considered a big “T” kind of trauma. People in your life will probably consider that going to therapy for this type of trauma is expected.
The little “T” are things that are still frustrating and annoying. When they add up, they may have the same impact that the one big “T” has on your life. Little “T” could be like losing your best friend in middle school because she decided to play with someone else. Then, in high school, another little “T” could be that your best friend betrayed you and dated your boyfriend behind your back. As you accumulate more betrayals from friends, you may end up being suspicious of your close friends leaving you. This kind of trauma can be healed with brainspotting so that you are not feeling like something is wrong with you or that you are wondering why friends cannot be reliable.
What are my approaches to healing trauma?
Brainspotting
As your therapist, I will help guide you to where your eyes may want to focus on in the space in my office or if we do your session over zoom, in your own space. Next, you will keep your eyes focused on that position as you talk about your painful memories. At any time, if you noticed that your body is having any sensations, you will be mindful about those sensations by tracking what is happening to you. Combining those two activities allows you to access your midbrain and unravel the traumatic memories that will assist in healing the trauma.
For some clients, the therapy may be done wearing headphones to listen to music where the sound output alternates between the left and right ear. The output is not predictable and this helps the brain to settle into a calmer state.
Some sessions may be filled with laughter and new discoveries may occur. One client told me that she was surprised that she had a memory of her childhood friend who she never thought of for a long time until she started talking about her co-worker who reminded her of this friend. Afterwards, she was laughing because she realized that she never had put the connection until she finished her brainspotting session. She realized that by addressing her old memories, she had less tension in her body whenever she engaged with her co-worker. She was grateful for her brainspotting session to help her move her tension out of her body.
The great thing about brainspotting is that if you don’t want to talk about heavy and painful issues, you don’t have to and you can still receive some benefit so that the painful memories are not stuck inside of you.
Healing is often messy, nonlinear, and deeply personal—exactly why Brainspotting therapy is so effective. It embraces this complexity, helping you navigate the uncertainty and accept the messiness as part of the process. With time, support, and self-compassion, you can build resilience, find strength, and uncover meaning in your journey forward.
Methods
Brainspotting
Drama Therapy
Art Therapy
Outdoor in nature therapy
Mindfulness approach
Internal Family Systems
“so grateful that i did therapy with you. i have my life back.”
This quote was said by a high sensitive trait client. Like her, I felt life deeply such that when a store clerk yelled at me for no good reason, I had a hard time letting go of that yelling energy in my body.
Brainspotting helped me to release a lot of my tension and in time, the pain from the tension became less intense. Eventually, my body felt so much lighter and happier.
My brainspotting sessions were supportive in helping me to trust my sensitive traits to guide me towards my own healing. I am excited to be your therapists to guide you on your healing journey.
I have worked with many highly sensitive clients who are appealed to brainspotting. They see that their intuitive skills are validated when they trust themselves to know where to hold their focused eye positions.
