Trauma therapy in Seattle, at a pace that feels safe

What trauma can look like

Trauma isn't only the big, obvious events. It can be a single frightening experience, or a long stretch of feeling unsafe, unseen, or responsible for things no one should have to carry. Often the effects show up long after the fact, and they don't always announce themselves as "trauma." People come to me with things like:

• Feeling constantly on guard, jumpy, or unable to fully relax, even at home
• Going numb, foggy, or "somewhere else" when things get intense
• Memories, images, or dreams that intrude when you least expect them
• Strong reactions to small triggers, followed by shame about the reaction
• Difficulty trusting people, or a pattern of relationships that repeat old hurts
• Chronic tension, pain, sleep trouble, or stomach issues with no clear medical cause
• A harsh inner voice that treats what happened as your fault

If some of this sounds familiar, it isn't a sign that something is wrong with you. It's what a nervous system does when it learned, at some point, that it had to protect you. The good news is that nervous systems can learn something new.

How I work with trauma

Safety comes first, and I mean that practically. We don't start by diving into the hardest material. We start by building a relationship where you feel steady enough to look at difficult things without being overwhelmed by them, and by giving you tools to settle your body when it gets activated. I'm trauma-informed in everything I do, and I'll never push you to go faster than feels right.

My foundation is Internal Family Systems (IFS), which understands the parts of you that protect, avoid, or react as having good reasons for what they do. Instead of fighting those parts, we get to know them, and they gradually learn they can let you lead. Alongside that, I use somatic and polyvagal-informed tools for calming the body, attachment-based work for wounds that happened in relationship, and DBT-informed skills for riding out intense emotion.

EMDR: helping the brain finish what it couldn't

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, well-researched approach for processing traumatic memories so they stop hijacking the present. Under stress, the brain sometimes stores an experience in a raw, unprocessed form; that's why a memory can feel like it's happening now rather than then. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements, or tapping in online sessions) while you briefly hold a memory in mind, which helps the brain file it as something that happened in the past. Over time the memory loses its charge. You remember what happened; it just no longer runs the show.

You don't have to describe every detail of what happened for EMDR to work, which is one reason many people find it more tolerable than they expected. We always begin with preparation and resourcing so you have ways to steady yourself, and we only move into processing when you're ready. EMDR works well over secure video, and I use it alongside IFS rather than as a stand-alone technique, so the whole of you comes along.

What to expect

We start with a free 15-minute consultation so you can ask questions and get a sense of how I work. If it feels right, our first session is a gentle intake where we talk about what's bringing you in and what you'd like to be different, at whatever level of detail you're comfortable with.

Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly, and held online via secure, HIPAA-compliant video from wherever you feel most at ease. Trauma work isn't linear, and I'll check in regularly about pace. Many people notice, over the first months, that they feel more present in their own lives: fewer spikes, quicker recovery when something does get stirred up, and more room to feel things other than fear.