Therapy Services

Let's take a look at how the field of psychology is now defining trauma. Trauma itself has been a loaded term throughout history, meaning there is a social and political context to who we recognize as experiencing a trauma, who is diagnosed with something such as PTSD or C-PTSD, who merits support and who is left on their own. 

We used to believe that trauma was the scary event that happened to us (the car accident, the abuse, the harm itself) and now we understand trauma is the legacy of how our bodies responded to that scary event and how it has shaped our relationships and our worldview. PTSD and C-PTSD point to how our bodies continue to respond even once that initial threat is past (grow up and move out of the family home, break up with the toxic person, stop driving a car and only take public transit). 

Trauma

We now understand trauma to be the ways in which our bodies (emotions) and minds (psychology) were shaped by and thus adapted to an outside event. Long after an event has passed, our bodies and minds hold the imprint and continue to cope with the overwhelming sensations, thoughts and feelings from the initial, repeated or ongoing threats. Trauma is located in the ways we have learned to survive an outside overwhelming life event.

PTSD

Not all people who experience or witness a traumatic event will go on to develop PTSD but a portion of us will. Some people may experience feelings such as hypervigilance (feeling keyed up or on edge, on the lookout), feeling checked out, absent, intrusive thoughts or images, flashbacks, strong sensations (body memories), difficulty sleeping or nightmares, desire to avoid people, places, things that remind us of the event. The term PTSD has a long history. As a society we became familiar first with the term 'shell shock'. Which was used to describe the difficulties experienced by soldiers as they returned from war back to their civilian life. Slowly over time the term expanded to include people who experienced sexual assault, either childhood molestation or rape. Now as a society we are grappling with another new term, one that is not yet recognized is the DSM and that is....

C-PTSD + Developmental Trauma

The "C" stands for 'complex' meaning the person doing the harm was the caregiver (parent figure, biological or adoptive). Developmental means that the traumatic event occurred in childhood, thus during a stage of developmental processes and growth. The energy that would have been used for your growth and development as a child is repurposed towards patterns of vigilance or protection as your nervous system shifts from learning about the world to protecting you from it.   

If I have either a history of shock or developmental trauma my nervous system has learned a lot to keep me safe and I may feel states of anxiety or depression or feel that I osscilate between the two. 

Anxiety + Depression

Do you go high or do you go low? You may feel anxious and panicky or lethargic, apathetic, or existential. After an overwhelming event, we may feel keyed up with too much energy, or dulled out with no life force. We may have thoughts that question our self worth, that we are either not enough or are too much. We are in extreme spaces, either feeling have too much feeling or no feeling at all. We may tend toward anxious thoughts of the future, ways of looking out for safety, too many thoughts to keep focus on any one thing; or we may tend to go inwards towards depressive thoughts and feelings, with low energy or motivation and rumination on past events. This is your nervous system attempting to find safety. It's a tough place to be. And there is a way through.

*Wherever you feel yourself to be, in the case of trauma, know that your nervous system kicked on as an adaptation that kept you alive and safe. If you are feeling stuck and curious to learn more, we will get there, one step at a time. 

My work with couples and intimate partnerships is heavily informed and influenced by my formal training in neurophysiology and how we have learned to adapt in the face of traumatic experiences. 

Intimate Relationships, for better and worse, are the one place where all that we learned about relationships from our family of origin will come bubbling up to the surface. This is the intelligence of our systems, looking for a different outcome than what came before. 

Other practitioners that have taught me about relationships and therapy are below:

Erotic intelligence; beyond sex, what sustains you and excites you about your life and your partner? 

Taking on the patriarchy and power; couples as their own biosphere

Developmental model; what stage of development is your relationship in?

PACT; Stan's model of relational therapy blends neuroscience, attachment and arousal regulation. 

Often couples need resources for parenting, we can go there too. 

What does this statement mean to you and what are you willing to do to build one?

Perinatal mental health focuses on pregnant individuals, new parents, and their families, addressing the unique challenges that arise during this transformative time. This includes but is not limited to difficulty conceiving, pregnancy loss & grief, perinatal depression and anxiety, or birth trauma. 

I have worked with teens in both private practice and public-school settings. Teens and young adults are at a pivotal time of their lives which presents its own unique opportunities for growth and challenges. It is in youth where we, often for the first time, are naturally beginning to negotiate numerous aspects of Self, Relationships and Society. And this happens all at once. Questions and concerns about identity and relationships and how they fit into the current social milieu are some of what may be brought into therapy.

This can be a time of both excitement and fear. Like the beautiful Russian matryoshka dolls, this new stage in life is nestled between what came before (childhood) and what is yet to be (the long path toward ‘adulthood’). Youth are literally stepping from one moment in time to another. Similar to a bridge, youth carries us from one land to another; away from our childhoods and towards what lays beyond, with one major difference: the burgeoning ability to create and shape Agency, Voice, Power and Choice. Who do you want to be? How do you want to be treated? Where do your boundaries lay?

This is a time of navigation, learning which door to enter and which path to embark upon. Who do I want to be friends with? Who will be friends with me? Why? Should I date this person or not? Safe sex, no sex, oral sex, anal? How do I know what I want and with who? Is there a god? Why is the world so ____? What will I do after high school? What do I want? What does my family want? Can I voice my own opinion or am I afraid I'll loose connection with my parents if I do? Can I expect to be heard and validated? Or do I shout from the hilltops to deaf ears? How do I get my needs met? How do I even know what I need? How do I drive this thing called ‘life’?

This can be an especially powerful moment to step into therapy. Having a third party, caring and trusted adult at this time aids in you becoming the conscious, active driver of your own life versus an unconscious, passive passenger. 

I welcome any and all questions from you, the teen, and you, the caregiver.