Trauma Recovery and Resilience

Surviving a traumatic event can change the way a person experiences the world, including their emotions, identity, memory, perception of safety, and ability to relate to others. Trauma symptoms vary, and can include fear, anxiety, emotional distance, shame, anger, irritability, perfectionism, difficulty trusting others, or persistent alertness. Scanning for safety, uncontrolled outbursts, and seemingly "out-of-nowhere" reactions can all be trauma responses.

I work with adolescents and adults processing trauma and adverse life experiences in a grounded, collaborative, and trauma-informed therapeutic environment. My approach integrates relational therapy with evidence-based trauma practice, with a focus not only on symptom reduction, but also on recovery, resilience, and restoring a greater sense of flexibility and agency in daily life.

Many people enter trauma therapy hoping to return to the person they were before the trauma occurred. While healing often includes relief from distress and a renewed sense of stability, recovery frequently involves developing a deeper understanding of oneself, one's values, and one's resilience. Rather than erasing the experience, therapy can help clients integrate it into their life story in ways that feel meaningful, affirming, and no longer overwhelmingly painful.

I am nationally certified in two evidence-based trauma treatment protocols: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment model that guides children, adolescents, and their families as they process traumatic experiences and reduce trauma-related distress. Treatment usually occurs in stages: developing coping skills, improving emotional regulation, processing traumatic memories in a gradual and supported way, and strengthening communication and safety within important relationships. While TF-CBT can be structured, in treatment I am committed to remaining flexible to the individual needs, developmental stage, and lived experiences of each client and family.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is an evidence-based cognitive therapy for trauma and post-traumatic stress. It focuses on the ways traumatic experiences can shape beliefs about safety, trust, control, responsibility, intimacy, and self-worth. Trauma can sometimes leave people feeling "stuck" in patterns of guilt, shame, fear, self-blame, or hopelessness that continue long after the event itself has ended. Through CPT, clients learn to identify and examine these patterns, develop more balanced and flexible ways of understanding their experiences, and reduce the ongoing emotional impact of trauma.

A Relational Approach to Trauma Therapy

While structured interventions can be extremely helpful, I also believe trauma therapy should move at a pace that feels thoughtful, collaborative, and emotionally manageable. Effective trauma treatment is not simply about revisiting painful experiences; it is also about re-developing safety, trust, self-understanding, emotional flexibility, and the ability to connect meaningfully with work, relationships, family, and everyday life. The therapeutic relationship can be as important to these goals, if not more so, than the specific treatment intervention used.