What is trauma therapy and how does it work?

Trauma therapy supports people whose systems are still responding to past overwhelm, stress, or unsafe experiences. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, trauma therapy helps build safety in the body and gently process what was too much at the time. The goal is increased regulation, choice, and connection, not reliving the past.

Do I need to have trauma for EMDR to help?

No. EMDR can be helpful even if you do not identify with having a single big traumatic event. Many people carry the effects of chronic stress, emotional neglect, medical experiences, or repeated overwhelm. EMDR works with how your nervous system responded, not whether your experiences meet a specific definition of trauma.

How does EMDR therapy work?

EMDR helps the brain reprocess experiences that were never fully resolved. Using bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping, EMDR supports the nervous system in integrating memories, emotions, and body sensations so they feel less activating in the present. The process is guided, paced, and collaborative.

Is EMDR therapy safe if I feel easily overwhelmed?

Yes, when done thoughtfully and with preparation. EMDR therapy should begin with building safety, resourcing, and stabilization. You are not rushed into processing, and you can pause or slow down at any time. The work is guided by your current capacity, not a predetermined timeline.

What does trauma-informed therapy mean?

Trauma-informed therapy prioritizes safety, choice, collaboration, and respect for your pace. Rather than pushing for change, it focuses on understanding how your nervous system learned to cope. This approach assumes your responses make sense and that healing happens when support comes before pressure.

How is EMDR different from talk therapy?

While talk therapy focuses on insight and understanding, EMDR works directly with how experiences are stored in the brain and body. For some people, this allows changes to occur more naturally, without needing to repeatedly analyze or explain what happened. EMDR can be especially helpful when insight alone has not brought relief.

What if I’ve tried therapy before and still feel stuck?

Feeling stuck does not mean you failed therapy. Often it means your nervous system needs a different kind of support. When trauma responses are involved, body-based approaches like EMDR can help shift patterns that traditional talk therapy may not fully reach.

Trauma recovery therapy in MA, Vt, and WA

Move from surviving to thriving

Let me guess…

Do you find yourself stuck in the past or having reactions that are hard to understand?

Trauma can overwhelm our ability to stay present and regulate our emotions. You may find yourself living with intense anxiety, painful memories, or waves of emotion that don’t seem to settle. You might avoid certain people or situations, or feel numb, foggy, or disconnected, like you’re going through the motions without fully feeling there.

After trauma, it’s common to develop ways of coping that help you survive what felt overwhelming at the time. This might look like avoidance, dissociation, perfectionism, eating disorder behaviors, self-harm, or emotional shutdown. These responses are not signs of weakness; they are understandable strategies your nervous system learned to protect you. In our work together, we approach these patterns with compassion, while gently building new ways of coping that feel safer and more supportive.

Beginning trauma therapy can feel daunting, especially if you’ve learned to manage on your own. You don’t have to do this alone. Together, we move at a pace that respects your nervous system, helping you loosen the weight of the past and create more space to live your life on your own terms.

Reconnect. Reclaim. Restore.

Trauma therapy can help you return to yourself and live life authentically.

Trauma can disrupt your sense of connection—to yourself, your body, and your relationships. Trauma therapy offers an opportunity for reconnection to happen gradually, within a steady and contained therapeutic relationship that supports regulation rather than overwhelm.

Trauma and its aftermath often happen in isolation, which can deepen feelings of disconnection or self-reliance. In trauma counseling, you don’t have to heal alone. I walk alongside you throughout the process, offering consistent support as we move at a pace that feels manageable and respectful of your nervous system.

My approach to trauma-informed therapy is rooted in empowerment and choice. I support you in learning to listen to your body and reconnect with its internal wisdom, helping you feel more grounded, present, and steady over time. For those who are curious about the clinical framework, I integrate EMDR therapy, somatic regulation techniques, and am informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS) in my work.

What we’ll work on

Here’s what we’ll do together:

I use a three phase approach to help folks heal from trauma: stabilizing, reprocessing and integrating.
- Stabilizing: here we will look at your current life and work to build coping skills to make life easier to live right now. This might include new coping skills, reconnecting with your body (at your own pace!), and exploring current relationships.
- Reprocessing: processing past events that are impacting your current life. You will always have agency to which parts of your story you want to focus on.
- Integration: here we will take the learning from reprocessing and apply it to your life now. This can mean making sense of the freedom you feel from your past and exploring your vision for the future.
These three steps can be non-linear and are always taken at your pace.

FAQS

What others have wondered about trauma recovery therapy.

Trauma therapy supports people whose systems are still responding to past overwhelm, stress, or unsafe experiences. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, trauma therapy helps build safety in the body and gently process what was too much at the time. The goal is increased regulation, choice, and connection, not reliving the past.
No. EMDR can be helpful even if you don’t identify with having a single “big” traumatic event. Many people carry the effects of chronic stress, emotional neglect, medical experiences, or repeated overwhelm. EMDR works with how your nervous system responded, not whether your experiences meet a specific definition of trauma.
EMDR helps the brain reprocess experiences that were never fully resolved. Using bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping), EMDR supports the nervous system in integrating memories, emotions, and body sensations so they feel less activating in the present. The process is guided, paced, and always collaborative.
Yes, when done thoughtfully and with preparation. EMDR therapy should always begin with building safety, resourcing, and stabilization. You are never rushed into processing, and you can pause or slow down at any time. The work is guided by your current capacity, not a predetermined timeline
Trauma-informed therapy prioritizes safety, choice, collaboration, and respect for your pace. Rather than pushing for change, it focuses on understanding how your nervous system learned to cope. This approach assumes your responses make sense and that healing happens when support comes before pressure.
While talk therapy focuses on insight and understanding, EMDR works directly with how experiences are stored in the brain and body. For some people, this allows changes to occur more naturally, without needing to repeatedly analyze or explain what happened. EMDR can be especially helpful when insight alone hasn’t brought relief.
Feeling stuck does not mean you failed therapy. Often it means your nervous system needs a different kind of support. When trauma responses are involved, body-based approaches like EMDR can help shift patterns that traditional talk therapy may not fully reach.

More questions? Check out my FAQs page.

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