Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

You might seek healing from specific traumatic events or from the totality of an overwhelming, complicated childhood. The legacies your traumas left inside of you have caused your nervous system to be extra sensitive to threat and risk. Dreaded states can take over your functioning at any moment, like becoming hyper-vigilant / on edge, fearful, numb, defeated / collapsed, or anticipating rejection -- or even worse, several at once. I'm trained and specialized in treating trauma, and I can help.

People usually think you have it all together and usually you are able to handle your own problems. You may not be sure if you need counseling right now, however, are you: Making the same mistakes in relationships but unable to do something different? Trying to be perfect & please everyone, but your own needs are often unmet? Feeling stuck but worried about making the ‘right’ decisions to change? Feel a disconnection between the life you have and the one you want?

Whether you experienced prolonged abuse and neglect in childhood, survived an abusive relationship, or have experienced an acute traumatic event, I am here for you. Trauma affects the development of the brain and is stored in the body. Anxiety, fear, and hopelessness are a few emotions that can linger and affect your life and especially your relationships. You may be confused about some of the ways that you move through the world. Together we can explore how your trauma uniquely affects you.

Trauma Hits Us At Our Core, it disrupts our world, shakes the floor under our feet. Traumatic events can trigger feelings of rage, heartbreak, irritability, confusion, nervousness, just to name a few. You may feel emotionally numb and wonder, Why me? Even though trauma is one of the most difficult experiences a human being can endure, there is hope in knowing that you don’t need to be alone during this process. Effective psychotherapy has consistently been shown to provide relief from trauma.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event. This could be something shocking, frightening, or dangerous, like a serious accident, physical or sexual assault, war, or a natural disaster. People with PTSD may have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that persist long after the event has ended. Symptoms include flashbacks, avoidance, hyperarousal, intrusive thought, and nightmares

Humans experience trauma reactions in reaction to trauma. The tautology is deliberate; I really want to underscore this. The reactions vary from individual to individual and situation to situation, with different emotions, intensities, and durations. But though these reactions may be expected, they are far from being accepted, particularly among healthcare professionals-many of whom are exposed routinely to death, severe illness, and human suffering.

Trauma is not what happened to us, it is the wound that impacts every part of our lives. Those wounds can be addressed and healed. I utilize trauma-informed care, including but not limited to Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Mindfulness. When protective behaviors and beliefs are addressed in a safe, connected environment, healing can be achieved.

With a Master’s in Community & Trauma Counseling, I am keenly aware of the profound effects trauma can have. Using personalized approaches like IFS, EMDR, and somatic therapies, I support clients in processing their traumatic experiences and reestablishing a sense of safety in both the mind and body.

Trauma can affect us at any age, and its effects can challenge us for various amounts of time. Some traumas are deeply rooted and can affect us across our lifespan whether we are aware of its effects or not. Trauma can affect our ability to complete “normal” daily tasks, make it difficult to function at work or social events, can co-occur with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, etc.

Recovering from the impact of long-term, repeated traumatic events, such as emotional abuse and neglect.

I specialize in PTSD and CPTSD especially. I have worked with thousands of traumatized individuals and know well the symptoms, signs, and at which point to involve medication. In my work with former inmates, many suffered from PTSD. I then ran a grief and PTSD-oriented process group for local college students who witnessed a suicide. I treat many patients with CPTSD in my practice.

I enjoy helping people cope with trauma reactions as we work to reduce them. I believe PTSD symptoms are a natural reaction to an overwhelming and often unnatural experience and that working to reprocess traumas can often mean working our way out of a PTSD diagnosis.

I worked in community mental health for over 13 years. This means that I saw a wide variety of types and intensities of traumas. I realize this world can be a very difficult place. I also know how much trauma can impact a person's daily functioning. I'm certified in EMDR and effectively use that modality to help clients reprocess their traumatic memories so they can feel confidence in themselves and live the life they desire.

Have you experienced a frightening event (recent or long ago) that left you feeling helpless, thoughts that you would die or be badly hurt? Are you now experiencing flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, nightmares and you've become a "different person?" Further evaluation and discussion is needed as you may have PTSD or another trauma disorder which requires professional help in order to recover. The symptoms just won't go away but you probably already know that. Learn to face the FEAR!

Trauma is a powerful and negative event that can be a one-time experience, repeat itself in a cycle of chronic experiences over the course of a lifetime, or even extend itself throughout generations. How we respond to trauma can vary but we can have a deeper understanding of who we are through introspection of these responses. My hope is for us to work together in therapy to reclaim yourself and increase your sense of personal agency to loosen the grip that traumatic experiences hold over you.

I have found somatic work to be helpful for treatment of PTSD - I am fully trained in Somatic Experiencing for trauma treatment. We can work with one specific traumatic experience or complex, chronic traumatic experiences. Trauma treatment can be scary to start and I am much more focused on relationship building in the beginning stages and ultimately you have control over what we work on and when.

I work with individuals who are struggling in their work or study environments. Often times these individual experience stress responses that can be tied back to traumatic or adverse experiences in their life. The way that we deal with stress if often tied to the adverse experiences that we have been through. This can have a large impact on our ability to manage work/life balance.

Women are more than twice as likely to suffer from PTSD due to the high likelihood that women will experience sexual harassment or assault. The good news is, Trauma is treatable, and I'm here to help you make sense of your past a build a rich life in the present.