Understanding Trauma
Trauma isn’t just what happened—it’s what happens inside of us in response. Sometimes it’s a single overwhelming event. Sometimes it’s the slow drip of repeated disconnection, neglect, or violation. Either way, trauma leaves its imprint—not just in the mind, but in the body, in the nervous system, in the way we relate to ourselves and the world around us.
When something overwhelms our capacity to process, it doesn’t file away neatly like other memories. Instead, it lingers—viscerally, reactively—waiting for the next moment that feels just a little too close to what came before. This is why trauma can leave us feeling stuck, reactive, or like our lives are being run by something we can’t quite name.
Healing begins in relationship—with safety, with pacing, with someone who knows how to go slow enough to keep things tolerable, but deep enough to create real change. Sometimes that includes talking. But often, especially for complex or developmental trauma, the work moves through the body, through presence, through ways of knowing that don’t rely on words.
We’ll find the pace that works for you, and together we’ll explore somatic and trauma-informed approaches that support your system’s own intelligence in moving toward healing.
What is PTSD?
While trauma touches all of us in some way, some experiences leave deeper grooves. PTSD is one way those grooves show up—especially when the nervous system hasn’t had a chance to make sense of what happened, or when the world still feels dangerous long after the threat has passed.
You might find yourself re-experiencing the past through flashbacks or nightmares. You might avoid things that remind you, without always knowing why. You might feel jumpy, irritable, disconnected, or numb. You might find yourself watching your life from a distance, unsure how to climb back in.
These are not signs of weakness. They are the body’s intelligent attempts to survive what felt unsurvivable.
Healing from PTSD & Trauma
Recovery isn’t about forcing yourself to relive what happened. It’s about finding new ways to relate to those memories—ways that don’t retraumatize but slowly build capacity.
We’ll focus on creating safety first. Then we’ll find the practices and approaches that help you feel more in your body, more in control, and more connected to the life you want to live. This might mean targeting specific symptoms like anxiety or sleep disruptions, or it might mean gently working through the deeper layers of the trauma itself.
Whatever your path looks like, you don’t have to do it alone. We’ll work together to create something that feels possible—something that honors both the pain and the strength it took to carry it this far.