Therapy for
Trauma

Therapy for Trauma, PTSD, Complex PTSD, and overwhelming life experiences for adults in San Diego and across California via telehealth.

Therapy for Trauma

Trauma can affect the way you feel, think, relate to others, move through the world, and experience your own body. Trauma can occur from a single event or from ongoing experiences that were painful, unsafe, invalidating, or overwhelming.

You do not need to have a formal PTSD diagnosis to seek trauma therapy. Many people come to therapy because something happened that still feels unresolved, because they feel stuck in survival mode, or because their past continues to show up in the present in ways that is disrupting their life.

At Empowered Tales Therapy, trauma therapy is collaborative, affirming, and paced with care. We can create space to better understand your experiences, support your nervous system, process traumatic or overwhelming memories, and help you move toward a life that feels more grounded, connected, and aligned with your needs.

Trauma therapy can help you make sense of how past experiences may be connected to present-day anxiety, depression, shame, people-pleasing, emotional overwhelm, numbness, avoidance, painful relationship patterns, or feeling disconnected from yourself.

What is Trauma?

Trauma can happen after experiencing or witnessing an event, relationship, or ongoing situation that feels overwhelming, frightening, unsafe, or deeply distressing. Trauma can have on impact on our minds and bodies after a single event or after repeated and prolonged exposure to harmful experiences.

Some people experience acute stress after something frightening or overwhelming happens. Others may develop PTSD, especially when symptoms persist and begin to interfere with daily life. PTSD may include symptoms such as intrusive memories, nightmares, avoidance, feeling on edge, difficulty sleeping, emotional numbness, guilt, shame, or feeling as though the danger is still present even when you are technically safe. Some people can also experience complex PTSD (CPTSD), which is often connected to prolonged, repeated exposure to traumatic experiences. CPTSD may include PTSD symptoms along with deeper impacts on emotion regulation, self-worth, identity, and relationships.

Traumatic experiences can include:

  • Painful early life experiences in childhood or adolescence

  • Relationship trauma or intimate partner violence

  • Family trauma or attachment wounds

  • Identity-related stress, discrimination, or systemic oppression

  • Medical trauma

  • Grief, loss, or major life changes

  • Bullying, rejection, or chronic invalidation

  • Sexual trauma

  • Religious trauma or spiritual abuse

Signs Trauma May be Affecting You

Licensed therapists who specialize in providing trauma-informed care can complete a mental health assessment and provide you with more information on your individual experience.
Trauma can show up in many different ways. You might notice:

  • Often feeling anxious, tense, guarded, or on edge

  • Difficulty relaxing, sleeping, or concentrating

  • Feeling disconnected, numb, shut down, or detached

  • Intense emotional reactions that feel hard to control

  • Avoiding certain places, conversations, memories, or feelings

  • Feeling shame, guilt, self-blame, or intense self-criticism

  • People-pleasing, over-explaining, or fear of upsetting others

  • Difficulty trusting yourself or others

  • Feeling stuck in survival mode

  • Struggling with boundaries or prioritizing your own needs

  • Having memories, images, sensations, or body reactions that feel hard to move through

My Approach

My approach is trauma-informed, collaborative, and grounded in respect for your lived experience. I hold a Certificate of Advanced Training in Trauma-Informed Practice and have training in EMDR.
I also have experience and training in providing Trauma-Informed CBT, ACT, and Narrative Therapy. In therapy, we can talk through your experiences and/or we can also work with the body, emotions, beliefs, patterns, and present-day impact of trauma.

Depending on your needs, trauma therapy may include:

  • Building tools for grounding and nervous system regulation

  • Identifying triggers and patterns

  • Understanding and learning how you want to respond to trauma responses

  • Addressing shame or self-blame

  • Processing traumatic or overwhelming memories

  • Exploring how trauma has shaped your relationships, identity, beliefs, or sense of safety

  • Learning about boundaries, self-trust, and emotional regulation

  • Making meaning from your experiences in ways that honor your story

  • Reconnecting with your values, agency, and sense of self

Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma Therapy

  • No.
    If you don’t meet criteria for PTSD or Acute Stress but you feel you are still being impacted by past traumatic experiences, you can still reach out to a therapist to discuss therapy. Many people seek support because they feel affected by past experiences, ongoing stress, relationship trauma, childhood trauma, or overwhelming life events.

  • No.
    You have agency to choose. You can talk about everything that happened, you can wait to feel safe and secure with your therapist before talking about what happened, or you can focus on learning how to self-regulate and support your body before talking about the past. Therapy can include grounding, coping skills, nervous system support, understanding trauma responses, and processing experiences those experiences (if you want to).

  • I integrate evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches including EMDR, TF-CBT, ACT, narrative therapy, existential therapy, and intersectional, identity-affirming care. The approach used in sessions depends on your needs, goals, comfort, and readiness.

  • Yes.
    Online trauma therapy can be helpful for many people. Telehealth allows you to attend therapy from a private and familiar space, while still receiving support for trauma, PTSD, complex trauma, emotional regulation, triggers, and trauma processing. You must be physically located in California at the time of session.

  • Many people minimize their experiences or wonder whether things were “bad enough” to seek support. If something continues to affect your body, emotions, relationships, identity, or sense of safety, it is worth taking seriously. Therapy can help you explore your experiences and learn more about yourself.

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