When you’ve experienced past trauma, it may be hard for you to see any good in your life or even think you deserve anything good. You’re always waiting for the next shoe to drop. Your nervous system is always on high alert- ready to fight, flight, or freeze. It’s likely the symptoms of depression or anxiety you may be experiencing are a cause of an underlying trauma you’ve experienced or are experiencing now. These beliefs can show up even if there are moments of calm and safety because trauma has been a constant pattern in your life.
​
It may take some time to even feel ready to start talking about your trauma in therapy. Not talking about it or acknowledging it even happened is a way of protecting yourself- to not relive it again or living in denial that it actually happened. There’s a risk you take in inviting others in because you don’t know if you’ll be injured again. Sometimes it feels like there’s no choice but to continue living the way you’re living.
The thought of living any other way
seems daunting and foreign.
It’s important to identify and understand these beliefs because chances are these beliefs are impacting your current relationships and your quality of your life- even if those relationships are safe. Trauma work takes time and patience, and we will explore together what that pace is like for you. It can be a restorative experience when we start to give the past trauma the attention and care it needs. I help you to uncover the places where you feel stuck and with time, you can slowly start to believe that change is possible and not allow the past to dictate your present and future narrative.
Areas of Focus:
-
Physical / Mental / Emotional / Sexual Abuse
-
Neglect / Abandonment
-
Racial / Cultural Trauma
-
Intergenerational Trauma