Empathic Support for Complex PTSD
Healing starts with safety — body, mind, and spirit. Together we’ll work to restore trust in yourself to support recovery from emotional, physical, or sexual trauma.
Psychological & Somatic Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Avoidance, hypervigilance, startle response, emotional disregulation, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, recurring nightmares, intrusive thoughts, isolation, depression and anxiety are all common symptoms of trauma that can lead a survivor to feel trapped and powerless, caged by an inability to fully engage in the present.
Acute trauma occurs after an individual has experienced or witnessed a life threatening event that is beyond their control. The definition of trauma is therefore highly unique, depending not on only the events but on the individual’s unique perception and experience of an event.
By far the form of trauma most likely to develop into PTSD is called developmental trauma and occurs when the foundation of our safety and trust is shattered is shattered in our most intimate relationships. These are usually experiences that accumulate over time with our care givers and loved ones such as abuse, neglect, infidelity, and betrayal.
When the person with developmental trauma has also suffered from isolated instances of acute trauma such as natural disaster, terrorism, war or random act of violence, they are likely to suffer from complex PTSD which develops after prolonged or repeated exposure to traumatic events.
One of the most common symptoms of trauma is the repeated sense of reliving the experience as if it were happening in the present. Trauma informed therapy can help you:
Trauma therapy can help you release frozen states and rediscover your sense of personal agency so you can move forward with your life.
The Body Remembers: Healing from Developmental Trauma
Unresolved traumatic material is frequently triggered by seemingly innocuous cues, latent reminders of an event encoded by our memory in sensory information (colors, sounds, smells) or echoes of the event in words or body language. The body has a preverbal ability to remember experiences and can hold information that has not been encoded in cognitive memory due to automatic psychological survival strategies such as dissociation and disembodiment. Bringing awareness to your triggers can provide a greater sense of control over your experience. These body memories are also important access points that we can use in therapy to complete emotional processing and memory reconsolidation so you can find closure.
Violence originating from those we love and trust is the most difficult to heal from and the most confusing to make sense of.
Intimate partner violence, sexual abuse and child abuse can shatter a person’s sense of reality and their ability to trust in others. It is not uncommon for individuals who have been harmed by those closest to them to overcompensate by taking on the blame for another’s actions or directing their mistrust and rage towards themselves.
Learning to find forgiveness and self-compassion for the shame you feel is the first and most painful part of the healing process. You don’t have to hold this suffering on your own.
I am a licensed trauma therapist in Marin County offering expert treatment for complex PTSD for survivors of acute and developmental trauma in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A Safe Reparative Relationship Based on Loving Kindness
Often what creates change in psychotherapy is a reparative relationship with your therapist founded on loving kindness where you can feel safe to explore those areas that you have repressed for fear of being judged or misunderstood.
The dynamics that play out in the context of the therapeutic relationship are important guide posts to directing the treatment. Situations, responses, and emotions that come up in treatment often echo the dynamics in your outer world. These are opportunities to:
Intensive Trauma Therapy in Tiburon & Marin County
The process of diving deep into the psyche can be by nature disruptive and uncomfortable. My intention as a trauma therapist is to hold a space that is empathic, honest and aligned with your intentions. Schedule an appointment with me today to see if working together is the right fit for your healing journey.
My office is located in Tiburon, CA with easy access to:
I offer in person appointments for San Francisco Bay Area locals and online trauma informed therapy for California residents everywhere.
